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Recently I discovered my daughter was connected to one of her teachers on Facebook.  Mr. Knight is a very nice young man.  In fact, we all attend the same church.  When I inquired about the connection, my college daughter told me they connected after she graduated from high school because Mr. Knight said he didn't think it was appropriate to be involved in social networking with current students. 

That's commendable, however, as a baby boomer parent, I am disturbed to read more and more stories about teachers and students connecting on social networking sites for purposes other than school work. But what is equally as troubling is the fact that some teachers are using their web pages to say derogatory things about the kids they teach. Recently, a North Carolina high-school special-education teacher was suspended for using a Facebook “mood box” to post “I'm feeling p----- because I hate my students!”

In another NC case, the Superintendent has recommended firing a Thomasboro Elementary teacher whose page said she was “teaching in the most ghetto school in Charlotte” and described her students as “chitlins.” Her lawyer said his client intended no offense to her students and was simply telling the truth about resegregated schools.

Some teachers say what they do on their own time is their business and as long as it doesn’t affect the way they teach, it shouldn’t matter. Is this a generational thing?

What do you say?