For illustration purposes only.
How would you feel if you stumbled upon your child’s school teacher on Facebook and sees that he proudly displays his clubbing and female exploits for students to comment on? This is exactly what happened to a parent when her daughter failed to log out after a browsing session.
A Physical Education teacher in Singapore infuriated a parent. His Facebook page boasts of an array of pictures depicting his not-so-wholesome life after the sun goes down. There were images of him with numerous girl companions.
The parent, who wants to remain anonymous, said: “He had many photographs taken when clubbing and with different girls (seemingly of different nationalities) on different days in his profile pictures and mobile uploads which have attracted likes and comments from students. Exactly what message is he trying to send across with those photos on his profile?”
The dilemma
The post attracted mixed reactions from readers. There is also the question of how much privacy you can allow your kid. How much trust do you have for you kid?
One netizen responded: “Over here you are complaining about the teacher taking photos with women and you invade your daughter’s privacy. Look at yourself before you complain about others. Did you discuss with your daughter regarding this issue?”
Yet another replied: “Teachers are humans too and need to enjoy themselves outside of work. They do not need to stress about how their students have done badly, misbehaving in class or getting complaints from parents all the time!”
We also asked our readers how they would feel if they were faced with a similar situation. A mummy of one blurted: “Lead by example. If the teacher is exposing his weekend promiscuous behaviours on FB but does not block his younger viewers from viewing it, he is not suitable to be a teacher. Teachers are supposed to mold the minds of young children and not taint it with unmoral activities.”
An expat father also commented: “I believe that a child has to learn that life is the way it is. In my opinion, it’s no use protecting children from bad examples by adults. There will always be people who will express themselves in unusual ways. I would definitely mention that this is not the way to behave as a responsible adult. Educate and explain.”
Keeping your personal life private
When your chosen profession is to educate young minds, then discretion is needed. Go ahead and play, just don’t display it to the kids and get them to ‘Like’ and ‘Comment’. It may gain some brownie points with the kids as they might think it’s a cool life—but think again it’s not a wise action on the part of a teacher who is supposed to be a responsible adult.
Parents, what do you think about this issue?
Useful links
10 important online safety tips
Should you ‘friend’ your child on Facebook?
Teach kids to use social media wisely