Teachers on Facebook and night out

[GreenGreenGrassBlue]

I’ve name changed for this, my friend was showing me photos of her children’s SLT (Dep Heads, other teachers) out on a night out in a City. She’s friends with one of the Teachers on Facebook.

There are photos of them enjoying a night out, doing shots etc and this Teacher is friends with a number of parents on Facebook.

AIBU to think it’s probably not appropriate to share these sort of photos on Facebook?

It is titled like a pre back to work night out with a number of parents commenting things like ‘are you ready?’.

Im not saying don’t go out but not sure how appropriate it is for teachers to be sharing like this on Facebook.

What's in app here is having parents as friends on Facebook and not having right privacy settings. Teachers are expected to retain a professionalism and dignity outside of work however they are allowed a life.

Nothing wrong with teachers drinking on a night out or posting it on a private social media account but very silly to make it visible to parents.

We aren't supposed to be Facebook friends with parents. Tricky if you have your own children in the school where you teach and are friendly with their friends' parents.

In training once, we were shown a very innocuous picture of a young teacher sat beside a bar with an alcoholic drink next to her. The photo had been posted on social media and she had been sacked from her Catholic school because of it.

I sit on the fence. I work in education and have no reference to my role on Facebook. I don’t accept requests from parents. It’s discouraged and besides, I don’t want to include them in my personal life anyway.
I know colleagues who are less private about work and don’t seem troubled by having parents on their list and putting it all out there. I don’t judge them…we have a life that takes place when we leave the school building. What’s wrong with a night out on the lash? Nothing.

I meant *inappropriate not in app

Ffs. Teachers can have a night out. They are over 18 I believe? Legal drinking age?
As long as they aren't vandalising, doing drugs, being drunk and disorderly there is nothing wrong at all. Or was it their bad dancing that offended you?
And yes, they can post pictures on their private facebook too, it sounds like they have settings set to 'friends' as they should and you wouldn't have been able to see if if your mutual friend hadn't shown you.
In small communities teachers often have friends amongst the parents. The benefit to this is those parents tend to recognise that teachers are normal humans who have normal lives outside school and do normal things. You know you don't own the teachers right and they don't have to check with you before they do normal legal grown up things in their free time?

It probably isn't. If their settings are friends only, they aren't doing anything illegal, no nude photos, etc. then it'd be worrying if a school policed them beyond that. I'm an exec in education, I've seen plenty of teacher friends with a drink in hand at festivals, on holiday and nights out posted on their friends only profiles. I wouldn't give them so much as a warning.

Ffs 😂

Regardless of the profession this is why your Facebook privacy should be water tight because judgemental nosey busy bodies can see everything. Also another reason why it’s a bit ‘2008’ to post nights out pictures too, I mean who does that?

Simply not true.

The night out and photos aren’t the problem. The issue is being friends with students and parents.

🤣🤣

Who uses Facebook anymore? OP needs to get with the times.

No, having a photo with a beer is not under normal circumstances, a stackable offence.
Doesn't stop parents trying to use it though.
A few years back a group of teachers went on a night out and posed with a pole. A nasty parent printed the picture out and put it under the doors of all the locals.
The parent should have been charged with harassment.

Nothing. Just keep it off Facebook.

Most professional organisations have very clear standards/guidelines/ethics about behaviour both in and out of the work environment.
Failing to follow them could be make a member subject to disciplinary action.

One common guideline is to maintain appropriate professional boundaries. So it would appear that the issue is not the activities on the night out but being FB 'friends' with parents.

However, without knowing what the specific Code of Practice is for these teachers it's difficult to make a judgement about the situation.

The teacher needs to rethink her ‘friends’. That’s all.

I’m a nurse. My social media is private but obviously I am also careful about who I follow/who follows me.

Were the teachers doing anything illegal? Breaking any local laws or regulations? Were they in school hours?

Or were they doing what everyone else does in a night out?

Would it offend you to see your doctor, dentist, solicitor, plumber, etc having fun in a night out? If not, why not?

Children under 13y shouldn't be seeing them anyway as social media isn't for their age.
Children over 13y should be able to realise that adults are allowed to enjoy a night out. Their parents should be explaining this, it's called parenting.

However, I do believe that, for their own sake, teaching staff are better to have private social media accounts. It's stops the hassle of judgemental parents ime.

Mind you, I've met parents and children when enjoying an afternoon/evening out with friends in local bars, etc. I'm not going to pretend to be a recluse just so I don't upset a parents by daring to have drinks in my own time.

Different schools have different rules.

There was a teacher on here not long back saying she wasn't allowed to smoke in her garden because she lived too close to the school!

YANBU teachers shouldn’t be seen outside the hours of 9-3:30pm.

Why does everything have to be shared in social media? Just enjoy a night out without having to show everyone.

You are being massively unreasonable.

Teachers aren’t something that lives in a cupboard during school holidays and only come out to teach your children. They are human beings and obviously these particular teachers enjoy a night out.

If that offends you, don’t look

Presumably, the teacher had her privacy settings nice and tight so only her ‘friends’ can see her settings.
The problem has arisen because one of these ‘friends’ has chosen to ignore this privacy and show them to a nosy, judgemental outsider who has no right to know anything about the teacher’s life or activities.
In case it’s not crystal clear, that nosy judgemental outsider is you, op.

I voted YANBU only because they as with other certain professions get judged like you're judging them for the things they do away from work and in order to protect themselves from it probably is wise not to post photos of you enjoying your life away from work.
I personally think it's unreasonable that I feel I have to have this view and that they should have to do this but I know what it's like being scrutinised all the time, I wish I didn't have to do similar but there are certain jobs out there where the public is very quick to jump on people that they have to pretty much be the model professional citizen round the clock and its an unrealistic expectation but many have it and I for one really do keep a low profile to protect myself ad my family from that kind of judgment and scrutiny.
When I started my profession it's drummed into us to be very careful in how we live our lives as people will report you for all sorts as their expectations are much higher for you and it can have a huge impact on your life. Its sad it has to happen but hey ho.

She’s friends with one of the Teachers on Facebook.

Is she real life friends with the teacher? Or has the teacher added a random parent as her friend?

If the former then your friend is being horrid to judge her mate for daring to have a drink and showing everyone else.

Why though? They are as entitled to use social media as anyone else. What is actually wrong with a teacher posting photos of a night out?