Teacher forced to resign over inappropriate pics on her phone. Something is just wrong here

[Mizzoufan]

Kid to blame for stealing and distribution of porn. He needs to face criminal charges. The teacher is also to blame for bringing porn to school. serious lack of judgment on both sides.

 

[Poohforyou]

Does it include never being partially nude? Or not taking a picture of yourself partially nude?

I think this whole thing is ridiculous. The student should be punished. I don't think the teacher did anything wrong (however, if she was going to leave her phone at all unattended around kids, she should have a passcode on it).

Since I have never and will never take nude pictures of myself I've never checked whether that's included. The bottom line is this teacher brought something that many would consider pornography into a school. It was really stupid and makes me question her judgement on a lot of things.

 

[gwynne]

I guess I don't see the why a teacher would bring nude photos of herself to her workplace.
She was comfortable taking the risk, I guess. Maybe she'll put a passcode on her phone in the future.


I doubt the school is going to announce any punishment of the minor. That doesn't mean there weren't consequences. He's no angel, obviously.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I think a teacher has a reasonable right to expect that photos on a personal cell phone are private and would not be seen by students (not wallpaper easily viewed if the phone happens to fall into someone'S sight lines, but photos in the gallery somewhere) . it doesn't sound like she loaned the phone with these photos to students and left them to look through her pictures, or otherwise gave any sort of permission for use of her phone. much less looking at the photos on it or distributing said photos.

While I think she made a stupid mistake that she probably regrets, she should not lose her job over it.

 

[sam_gordon]

makes me question her judgement on a lot of things.

I'm curious... what other things do you question her judgement on?

I'm not going to fault her for having the pictures. I will fault her for not locking her phone, ESPECIALLY since she has those pics. A suspension (2-3 days) is appropriate in my mind. Termination is not.

 

[PollyannaMom]

What about this story has made you come to the conclusion that you wouldn't want your child in her class?

She probably wants her child to have a smarter teacher.

Exactly. If she's that careless with her electronics, leaving students alone, etc., I wouldn't expect her classroom to be the kind of calm, organized environment my particular kid flourishes in.

And honestly, it did also occur to me that if my kid saw his teacher "partially nude" he'd probably lose some respect for her...which means he wouldn't listen as well in class...which means he wouldn't do as well in the subject. Grown-ups certainly have a right to see themselves in different ways than "teacher-mode", but I also believe we should be very careful to separate that from how the kids see us.

 

[nugov2]

I don't know how I feel, part of me thinks it was wrong to bring something with those photos, but where does it end? What if she was sexting her husband and that was found? Nude photos aren't illegal, she didn't intentionally distribute them. While she should have been smarter about a pass code on her phone, I'm not sure she should be fired. Conducting yourself in an inappropriate manner in public is a reason to be fired, but this IMO doesn't fall under that clause. This was private and was stolen from her.

 

[NHdisneylover]

So, if a teacher (one who works with teens, not little kids) who smokes had cigarettes in her purse, was out on hall duty, and a student went through her things nad took and smoked cigarettes would those of you who blame the this teacher also blame that one for bringing cigarettes to school?

What if the student had stolen the teacher'S prescription medication and taken it?

 

[Poohforyou]

I'm curious... what other things do you question her judgement on?

I'm not going to fault her for having the pictures. I will fault her for not locking her phone, ESPECIALLY since she has those pics. A suspension (2-3 days) is appropriate in my mind. Termination is not.

I question her carelessness and thought process. Is this an isolated instance of very poor judgement or is it systemic of her overall character. I don't care what kind of pictures she takes but don't bring inappropriate material into a school building.

 

[declansdad]

She probably wants her child to have a smarter teacher.

Exactly. If she's that careless with her electronics, leaving students alone, etc., I wouldn't expect her classroom to be the kind of calm, organized environment my particular kid flourishes in.

That is quite the leap by both of you.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Conducting yourself in an inappropriate manner in public is a reason to be fired, but this IMO doesn't fall under that clause. This was private and was stolen from her.

I think that is the crux of the matter to me (though I do not like codes which tell people how to behave in non working hours, other than as it might directly relate to the job anyway, but that is another topic)

 

[Shmily1]

I could see her being made to resign if she had distributed the photos to the student but she didn't. I think she should press charges on him personally and maybe even on the school system for making her resign.

 

[gwynne]

So, if a teacher (one who works with teens, not little kids) who smokes had cigarettes in her purse, was out on hall duty, and a student went through her things nad took and smoked cigarettes would those of you who blame the this teacher also blame that one for bringing cigarettes to school?

What if the student had stolen the teacher'S prescription medication and taken it?

Someone who smokes may have cigs in their purse. Someone on medications may carry them with them. Both may be needed during the workday. It would be reasonable to expect a teacher to use some ordinary care in keeping these products safe from students.
I'm not sure why someone needs their nude photos available to them in the workplace.

I wouldn't let the kid off the hook at all in either the hypothetical or real situation.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Exactly. If she's that careless with her electronics, leaving students alone, etc., I wouldn't expect her classroom to be the kind of calm, organized environment my particular kid flourishes in.
.

Or, her classroom is normally so calm and organized that she had no reason to think her personal items were at any risk.

Or on one day she was really focused on something with a student right up to the bell and had to rush out to hall duty and forgot.

This would be one of those tiny glimpses of a person that I think does not give an outsider nearly enough information to evaluate if they are any good at their job or not.

 

[Poohforyou]

So, if a teacher (one who works with teens, not little kids) who smokes had cigarettes in her purse, was out on hall duty, and a student went through her things nad took and smoked cigarettes would those of you who blame the this teacher also blame that one for bringing cigarettes to school?

What if the student had stolen the teacher'S prescription medication and taken it?

The blame for your examples and this phone issue doesn't solely rest on the teacher. Students who take things that don't belong to them need to be held accountable. If a teacher didn't lock up cigarettes, medication, illicit pictures etc. he/she needs to be dealt with as well. They're all very irresponsible actions.

 

[Dentam]

That is quite the leap by both of you.

Agree to disagree on this.

 

[Magpie]

It's a hard lesson for the teacher, but the fact is that she did something mind-bogglingly dumb. She put nude photos of herself on an unlocked phone. Unless she was secretly hoping to see herself all over the internet someday, this was not a good plan. Phones get lost. ALL the time.

And now her ability to do her job has been compromised. She cannot maintain authority in a classroom of adolescents who've all seen her nudie pics.

I have nothing against her as an individual. She has a right to take sexy photos of herself, and I wouldn't care one bit if she was teaching my kids in the future. But she's pooched herself for THIS particular job. Best to resign, and move on, hopefully wiser for the experience.

As for the pervy little sneak thief who precipitated all this - if his parents and the school aren't going to step up and levy some consequences on him, and if he can't be charged legally, then perhaps she can sue him civilly.

 

[BigAlsGal]

Omg! Is anyone else thinking about some of their past teachers and seeing them naked!?! (shudder)

I feel bad for her. I really do. I know in today's world people snap nudes of themselves all the time. Heck DH is constantly hounding me to send him one! Lol. This is EXACTLY why I don't. I would be mortified if it ever ended up in the wrong hands and I'm not even close to a career that is required to be prudent. The kid should be in big trouble. The teacher didn't cover all her bases to prevent this. It's a mess all around.

 

[BrianL]

The kid should be punished for stealing the phone. There should be no question about that.

The teacher may have violated a policy by bringing illicit material into the school, no matter the medium. Suppose they had been Poloroids? It's the same thing to me, and it is inappropriate for a teacher to bring them to school. Certainly it is okay for her to take these personal photos and possess them, but she should leave them at home. Your phone is not the only method of taking pictures (or storing them).

 

[Mokat76]

Punk kid needs to be punished harshly but I'm betting he won't be. The teacher, while somewhat doltish, had a reasonable expectation that her personal possessions would remain just that and that her privacy was protected. District is blaming the victim.