Social media update

​Dear Members,

 
Across the nation, social media has presented Educators with a unique set of challenges. Conceptually, social media is neither “good” nor “bad”; it is the use/misuse that can make it so. However, it is an unsettling reality that social media has changed the face of education forever. Instagram became “Insta-shame,” Twitter became “Twitter-gret,” and Facebook became…well I can’t write that name in an email to membership, but I am sure you get the idea. (Don’t get me started about Snapchat. I wonder what that developer was thinking about when…never mind, I digress.)
 
That leaves educators with a few questions. Who is the arbiter of what is acceptable? Where does our role as municipal employees end and the right to free speech begin? What rights do I have if my employer reprimands me?
 
You may say, “I know how to manage my use of social media.” Yes, you can manage your use, but you cannot manage others. As educators, we need to know what recourse we have if parents post slanderous comments about us online. Unfortunately, termination due to social media related issues has become more common.
 
Please attend the Workshop on Social Media, presented by Ira Fader, MTA legal, on Wednesday, October 14, 2015. The workshop will be held at Adams School at 3:45-5:45. I look forward to seeing you there.
 
Regards,

Ydana Chella
WEA President