This story just baffles me. There is a time and a place for everything and the classroom is not it. What is so sad about this case is the setting. This story has to do with a Wisconsin high school science teacher who while on school grounds, on a Sunday, with no students present, briefly viewed porn for what was said to be only a minute. As a result he was fired. His union fought the decision to fire him arguing that the dismissal was too harsh. The district was forced through arbitration to reinstate him, but later the decision to fire him was upheld by an appeals court.
Some may say that the decision was too harsh, but I think it was appropriate. Hey!...can't this guy surf porn at home? Most districts have strict policies regarding immoral conduct in schools, which includes viewing inappropriate web-sites using school property, in this case a school computer. Even if students were not present, the fact that he used property owned by the school district to view porn is a little disturbing. According to an article I found at Teacher Magazine one of the reasons The District 2 Court of Appeals upheld the decision was because the arbitrator either ignored or overlooked the fact that the State of Wisconsin could revoke a teaching license for "behavior that is contrary to commonly accepted moral or ethical standards" (Foley, 2008).
I take issue with it because teachers have a great responsibility to care for the safety of our children. Most teachers know that their jobs can be called into question if their conduct is not befitting a public servant. I have had teachers tell me that they prefer to teach in communities that they do not live in because they don’t want to be caught in the grocery store buying booze and a student and parent approach them in the checkout counter. Yes I too value my privacy and can understand that line of thinking, although I don’t mind if someone sees me in the grocery store.
My final thought on this….You wanna look at porn, do it on your own time at your own computer. When at work, concentrate on work, not play. Mixing the two isn’t really considered a sound idea. Sounds like there could be some sort of addiction there?...I mean dude please?...
Reference
Court backs firing of teacher for one-minute peek at porn
By Ryan J. Foley
Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 07/23/2008 12:26:45 PM CDT taken from http://www.twincities.com/ci_9969572?source=most_viewed
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