Teacher's Held to "Higher Scruitny"

Last year, I had the pleasure of taking a course in Educational Law at UIC. It was quite eye opening in general but, what realy peaked my interest are the current Supreme Court rulings on teachers and their 'morality.' Basically, without getting too letigious, "teachers, because they are responsible for the moral upbringing and models of American democracy are held to a higher scruitny in terms of morals and values." Although there has not been a specific ruling on the following two examples below, the law, as written, leaves these types of issues open for interpretation by school boards across the Nation. I am posting it on this blog in order to a) make you aware of the challenges that you'll face going into a profession that values 'discretion,' among other things, yet wants technology to be at the forefront of a your work. You, as young people, going into the profession will have to balance the amount of communication, the propriety of the subject matter, and what messages, direct and indirect, these would sent to your school and students. Finally, your 'rights' as citizens are put to the test and according to current law, limited somewhat, because of the title, "teacher," that you hold. Read these two stories of young women who either were denied certification or fired from their teaching positions due to 'my space' photos that were found. Let me know what you think. My OWN, personal tip... take down your my space pages and/or be very careful- there are no 'laws' written to protect people's privacy on the open forum, which is the internet. http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/index.php?id=2029 http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_110094401.html