Proposal

Okay I thought I would get my Proposal out of the way So Im posting it today! Not sure exactly how to upload a file and I'm to lazy at the moment to figure it out so I'm just going to copy and paste it in my blog.

This is a proposal for my Essay.



Facebook for Teachers (Proposal): Legal, Ethical and Privacy issues surrounding teachers and Facebook.

Facebook is a primary source of trouble within high schools today. Instead of being used for means of keeping in touch with family and friends, it has turned into an online version of bullying, gossiping, and scandals. For teachers, it means a number of things: not only does it affect their at school activities, but also their personal lives. There are very few limitations on Facebook. People post anything from family vacation photos to nearly nude pictures of themselves (and only because complete nudes are banned from the website).
While entering into a career in education, teachers have to be aware that almost anyone, including students, will be able to view their Facebook pages. This means that discretion must be taken while creating one's page; no longer is a teacher able to put pictures from their latest “Friday night” festivities.
What I want to look at are the legal implications Facebook has on teachers and how it applies to them; whether or not teachers have, can, or will be fired from teaching because of their Facebook pages. I will be discussing the privacy that every teacher should be permitted , both before and after Facebook was created, and the boundaries that have now been crossed through the creation of popular social networking sites including Facebook.
I also want to discuss the past ten years in Canada, and specifically in Saskatchewan, where teachers have been directly affected by their lack of consideration in regards to creating personal pages on the internet. My plan is to focus on one or two of these cases and to point out the legal rights of the teachers/students and whether the punishments were just.
There are many ways that teachers can still have a Facebook page in a respectable manner. Steps need to be taken to make a student-friendly account which will not lead to any legal action. I will outline some of the steps to be taken to ensure that the page is acceptable to both students and staff.
Teachers must realize that their jobs do not go from 9:00 until 3:30; being a teacher is a 24 hour job. More specifically, in small towns, the actions taken by teachers are watched by everyone in the community. Regardless of what the teacher is doing, word will get back to the students about these events. In a larger community, teachers can take part in “non-school” activities more unnoticed, however, this is where Facebook becomes a big part in portraying their private lives. They have to aware that students, parents, and staff are able to access their accounts and what they have on their pages reflects who they are as an individual and a professional.
Also I want to discuss the future of social networks on the internet and the implications that they will have on teachers and the school. Will teachers continue to be punished for what they post on their Facebook accounts? Who should be allowed to access teachers' pages? Why should teachers be forbidden to express the fun they had on a weekend? There is a fine line that must be walked in order for teachers to have a successful Facebook account which is free from legal implications and privacy issues while still keeping the profile true to who they are.