Worried about fellow teacher's facbook post - WWYD?

[bluechameleon]

On my facebook feed this morning I saw that a colleague had shared a post from This is England that worries me. It says "RIP Great Britain" then lists a number of things including "Parents were told 'No you can't smack the kids'. Teachers were prevented from chastising kids in schools... We have lost a (nearly) whole generation and turned (most of) them into selfish disrespectful little assholes."
It makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable that someone who agrees with this is responsible for vulnerable children and I think it demonstrates a complete lack of respect for young people and by extension our pupils. Should I do something about this? And if so, what? Or is it none of my business?

Report it to your HT. Print it out (Removing all your details) if you're concerned about repercussions..... this will only work if more of the staff are her FB friends too!

Whilst I agree it's pretty unpleasant and I hate those sorts of comments from teachers I really can't agree with printing it off for the HT. It just doesn't seem right to me. The HT doesn't need to know everything that's said in the staffroom or to friends/family. No students have been named, no confidentiality issues. It sounds like the person is a bit of a dick but I don't know that that's something that the HT can police.

I totally agree - do not print it out and show it to the head. People are entitled to their own beliefs, no matter how disgusting and provided they do not impact on their professional life, they are no concern of anyone's, least of all the Head.

So you are a friend? Unfriend them and tell them why.

But it's not your colleague who wrote it. She just shared it. She probably wasn't even focussed on the part you quoted.

She probably liked it without reading it properly. If you feel uncomfortable about her ideas hide her time thread or unfriend her as by planning to do this you are creating trouble.

Very surprised that after all that has come to light via the media, years later people think OP should keep quiet and not voice concerns to the head. Of course if the head is of same views then it could be another case of history repeating itself as all too often happens. Very sad situation. If it concerned my child and i found out years later then i would want all those covering it up to be held accountable. The fact that the colleague may not have read it all just makes the person even worse.

What a situation. As she did not actually write these words, I would ignore it unless you have other, concrete reasons to questIon her work and the security of the children in her care. Big Brother should not be policing every forwarded bit of crap she sends unless it shows up in her work or is a lot more worrisome thAn that.

But you will get judgemental and over- excited people accusing you of being part of a cover up if you don't report. A cover up of what?? She has not necessarily ever said a cross word to a child in her life.

I think what you do depends on the publicity of her profile - ie could parents, children, members of the public search for her and find this - if so I think you need to discuss it with the head as it reflects badly on her profession and the school.

six covering up what? It's an ill-advised share, nothing more.

Have you had professional cause to doubt her ability to do the job? Have you worried about the children in her care based on your observations of her behaviour at work?

If not, why would you print this off and tattle to the HT?

Or is it 1984?

If it is a colleague, why don't you ask her/him about it and alert them to the fact that you found it a bit disturbing and others may too?

Six, should teachers report every parent to SS that shares a generic post that contains negative ideas as to what to do with their troublesome children?
These things zip round the web every hour of the day, along with the ' share this if you are a mum/daughter/dad/child of the 70s' nonsense.
If the OP had ever heard or seen the colleague do anything that made her think she was less than professional, that's when she reports her to the head.

I decided that it wasn't my place to report it. The teacher is a bit "old school" in their approach and doesn't always treat the pupils very respectfully but I have never seen or been told of anything more than that.
Thanks for your views everyone.

Good choice.
Now think about whether you'd have reported it if the individual was someone you liked and thought of as a friend. If you would have treated them the same way, then your motives were fair and honest.