Poll: Teachers sharing their personal lives

[Pyromaniacal]

So, a couple days ago my history teacher got engaged. I like her as a teacher and I'm happy for her, but this raises a question, and it's been niggling at my mind all day. My friend on Facebook brought this up, is it appropriate for a teacher to share a video of her getting engaged. Why couldn't she just have told us instead of having us watch a video. Once again, I'm happy for her and all, but was it in her place to go in depth. This brings us to the big question. Is it in a teacher's place to share their personal lives?

 

[Dangit2019]

Moderation is key here.

My favorite teacher (Audio/video) actually told us about how he used to have a Lamb of God-style metal band. 5 minutes on google, and bam: we all got to see his gross college beard while he was hammering out breakdowns. We all had our laugh, and moved on because dwelling on their private lives is a bit weird, and we shouldn't waste class time on it.

If some teacher is constantly informing you of their life events, than they should probably just keep it to their Facebook page instead of letting it spill over into class.

 

[lechat]

i'd say only if it serves to motivate or educate the students
in the case of getting engaged it's just a case of her haveing a wank to show how awesome she is and she should be fired and possibly beheaded

 

[thesilentman]

I don't mind if it's in moderation, but not excessively. I don't want to hear about events that I should have no part in. Too much of personal information, and I end up not appreciating the course. There's a reason that Facebook is there, and people should use it.

 

[DoPo]

So, a couple days ago my history teacher got engaged.

Okay...

My friend on Facebook brought this up, is it appropriate for a teacher to share a video of her getting engaged. Why couldn't she just have told us instead of having us watch a video. Once again, I'm happy for her and all, but was it in her place to go in depth.

I think we're missing some information here - like what are you talking about. Did she share a video? Did she make you watch it in class? Was it like a documentary or something or a 30 second thing of her saying "yes" and pugging on a ring or whatever?

We don't know what happened exactly, we don't know if your friend was being correct or a douche.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Meh. I had a few teachers in high school who loved talking about themselves. There was one geography teacher in paticular who would spend most of each lesson bragging about how cool his cars are and complaining that his wife didn't want to have kids with him. It was unprofessional but it beat doing work. It's not a very good teaching strategy but I wouldn't go as far as saying it's "not their place". If they feel comfortable sharing personal information with students they're entitled to do so.

 

[Pyromaniacal]

So, a couple days ago my history teacher got engaged.

Okay...

My friend on Facebook brought this up, is it appropriate for a teacher to share a video of her getting engaged. Why couldn't she just have told us instead of having us watch a video. Once again, I'm happy for her and all, but was it in her place to go in depth.

I think we're missing some information here - like what are you talking about. Did she share a video? Did she make you watch it in class? Was it like a documentary or something or a 30 second thing of her saying "yes" and pugging on a ring or whatever?

We don't know what happened exactly, we don't know if your friend was being correct or a douche.

Sorry for not being clearer. It was a minute long video ( I believe ) and it just showed her getting proposed to and her putting the ring on

 

[redknightalex]

No. Personal and professional aspects of one's life should not mix.

I've been thinking on this exact topic for a while now and have come to pretty much the same conclusion: personal and professional lives just shouldn't mix. The problem is, the personal is no longer personal on the Internet. Facebook is a place where narcissism excels and we seem to forget that there are "privacy" features set in place, or that there really is no privacy at all. Although I don't believe that what the teacher did was wrong or in any way morally abhorrent, it probably should have been placed under a filter so that their student's couldn't see (or maybe she wanted her students to know). The other is that real names are used constantly on websites, along with the overall Anonymous exempt login, and tracking someone down online, with the right skills, is pretty damn simple.

IP/MAC addresses, ISPs, internet traffic...nothing online is personal. You can only fake an IP address for so long. And, as we are increasingly becoming a more interconnected society and global culture based solely around the Internet, the personal is no longer personal when we share our dinner on Twitter and the professional is no longer formal when anyone can Google your name and have a good look at who you are.

I think that, as the future goes on, we'll stop seeing professional and personal as separate entities. Instead of this dichotomy of the personal and professional Internet, we'll have a system where we are just people with lives, families, joys, heartbreaks, jobs, careers, and no one will think twice about what they see on their teacher's Facebook. Eventually, they may post their own video of their engagement.

To the OP: No, in this situation I do not believe that this was inappropriate. This was a woman, who just so happens to be your teacher, posting a video of perhaps one of the happiest days of her life. I think the better question is to ask is a person allowed to post a video on Facebook about their engagement? She is, before a teacher, now an engaged woman and, hopefully, a happy one at that. Furthermore, there are a lot more personal things a person can post on Facebook than an engagement video.

 

[Screamarie]

Actually I think it's a good thing when a teacher shares personal experiences with their students, as long as they don't go overboard. Telling your students little funny stories about you or your life, little jokes, and interjecting your lectures with interesting or humorous facts on the topic can keep your students interested.

It makes them focus on you cause they like you and like the fact that your not taking yourself too seriously (and trust me I've had teachers that took themselves WAY too seriously, they're not nice people and I did not enjoy being in their class). If you like someone, your more likely to want to listen to what they have to say and you're more willing to listen because you don't want to miss the next joke or hilarious story.

More than that, if a teacher relates themselves to you, your more likely to go to them for help when you need it. It's easier to get help from a person you find friendly and likeable.

It's a tough line to walk, you gotta do it moderately, and maintain your authority over the class, but if you can do that then your more likely to have students who care about the subject...or are at least learning it.

If your teacher had just said "guys I just got engaged!" before class that would be fine...if she made yall sit there and watch the one minute video in class, that's a little much. But if she just posted the video online...that's just her being happy.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

I'm sure most people agree that a teacher shouldn't always be talking about their social life, their hobbies and all that but they should talk about it in moderation. I find that a teacher who says something about their personal life when in the right context or even as a joke is much more relatable and easy to be around than a teacher who simply says what to do and what things are.

I remember having a supply teacher in a class once. Me and a few friends were talking about when we had saw The Room together the day before, and the supply teacher overheard us and said about he found it to be a hilarious film then he did the famous "You're tearing me apart Lisa!" line. It was a little thing but it made me appreciate him much more. I also find that women teachers who announce pregnancies before they go on maternity leave much better than ones who just leave without saying anything, but that's just another example.

 

[Ryotknife]

In moderation.

For example, if a teacher posts on her facebook account a pic of her enjoying herself at a bar with friends, that should be okay (sadly this will get you in trouble). If she posted a picture of her flashing...okay that crosses the line. Now if she disrupts class for something personal, it should be for educational purposes.

 

[jdogtwodolla]

If it's a supplement to the lesson, then all the more power to them. Older teachers I've aided have had a habit going too far with their stories that it detracted from the lessons they were trying to teach.

If it's Bullshit time and they want to spend it by telling stories I guess it's OK if nobody gets uncomfortable.

 

[The Tibballs]

No. Personal and professional aspects of one's life should not mix.

Yeah, cause you wouldn't want to start humanising teachers or anything... :/

The same for students talking to each other, if it's not education related then it has not place in a school. It'll prepare them for the workplace environment, where people who work together shouldn't be friends and/or see each other outside of the workplace, they should just sit in their little cubicles and do their job and only speak to each other if it's work related. :/

 

[Scarim Coral]

Depends as in is this a High school teacher or college/ University teacher? If it's High school teacher then no and even then I find the idea of having a teacher on your friend list on Facebook crossing the line already.
Granted I'm all fine if it's a College/ University since the student are older meaning more mature and the college/ Uni teacher then to treat them less like a children (don't need to tell them off so much well do it in a adult like way).

 

[Plinglebob]

I've always felt it depends both on the class (age etc) and the teacher. When I was in secondary school, everyone in our tutor group knew our teacher worked as a bouncer at a teen friendly club because people had seen him there and he was always happy to chat about it as long as people got their work done. On the other hand, two of the teachers were married (One was geography, the other was either geography or maths) and you wouldn't know it unless someone told you.

Now with Facebook, Tw@er etc, its harder for people to keep professional and personal separate and my only suggestion to people going into teaching would be if you want to be friendly with students on Facebook (and I can see a number of reasons why you would) make a completely separate account to the one you use socially.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

I had a chat with one of my old German teachers, and I mentioned I was going to a festival where Rammstein were headlining. He said he went to festivals all the time in the sixties, which is why he doesn't remember that decade very much... that guy was awesome.

Personally I've been good friends with some teachers at college and high school even. I don't see the problem with that, as long as it doesn't distract from actually learning what you need to.

 

[King of Asgaard]

If it's a supplement to the lesson, then all the more power to them. Older teachers I've aided have had a habit going too far with their stories that it detracted from the lessons they were trying to teach.

If it's Bullshit time and they want to spend it by telling stories I guess it's OK if nobody gets uncomfortable.

Dat avatar...

OT: It depends.
If it serves to further the lesson, or give advice, or even to lighten the mood with a funny anecdote, then I don't really see a problem with it.
The problem arises when a teacher feels it's appropriate to share every aspect of their personal lives, regardless of its relevance. In OP's example, it would have sufficed for her to just tell students she got engaged, but sharing the video is a bit much.

Now I find myself in a similar situation, where one of my teachers recently had a kid and posted a picture of him in the Facebook group for his subject. I feel he did this for two reasons: because the student body kinda asked for one, and because us students tend to get along with him.
I didn't have a problem with it, but no doubt some did, so it was more a question of appropriateness, which differs from person to person.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

During class? No. Perhaps a few tidbits like what they did over summer break, engagement announcements, reasons that they are absent (i.e. sickness or family emergency), or even some personal history so long as it's related to the topic at hand, but no more than that. They could discuss their personal lives with students outside of class or school (within limits mind you, unless you're a college professor in which case you're both adults so what have you), but in class they should be focused on their students and educating them.

 

[the darknees abyss]

I like it when teachers go on about there personal life it got me out having to do work but if I still work and they go about then life then no.