Teachers warned on texting

BY JOHN HARTEVELT

Teachers with "little understanding of professional boundaries" are starting inappropriate relationships with pupils via text messages.

Despite the indiscretions, teachers are being encouraged to send text messages to their pupils.

In a warning to secondary school principals, a member of the Teachers Council disciplinary tribunal has said:

A number of teachers who have had inappropriate relationships with pupils have little understanding of professional boundaries. Many of them began their relationship as a result of text messaging.

Teachers should be made aware that a conviction for domestic violence may impact on their fitness to teach and ability to be a role model.

There are a significant number of teachers who download inappropriate material on to laptops.

The notice, sent to most principals by Acting Secondary Principals' Association president Patrick Walsh, has been backed by Teachers Council director Peter Lind.

Speaking from London, Lind last night told The Press that Walsh's comments represented a reasonable reflection on cases heard by the council this year.

He said that despite the pitfalls, teachers had no choice but to embrace text messaging.

"Increasingly, we're going to be required to use these types of technology that's just the nature of the job," Lind said.

Teachers would "absolutely" have to text message students.

"We use text messages in our daily lives in a whole range of different ways, which means communication is much more effective and quick," he said.

"It's one that is used particularly by students in an increasing way and there are lots of positive ways of using text messaging."

Principals' Federation president Ernie Buutveld said he would advise against sending texts to pupils.

Teachers would text-message pupils reminders about a meeting or homework.

"Let's say it's me texting a year 8 girl for exactly those reasons and somebody asks me, `are you texting female students in your school' and I have to say `yes, I am,' and that immediately puts a cloud above my name," Buutveld said.

"It would be a practice that I would be avoiding. If I wanted to get that message to them, it would be either a phone call via their parent or whatever."

Buutveld said Walsh's notice to principals was "good advice".

No teacher should be downloading inappropriate material on to work or personal laptops, he said.

"While there is a bit of a grey area between the personal and the professional life of a teacher, we would always try and claim the high moral ground," Buutveld said.

"The fact that it's happening [downloading inappropriate material] in the first place is wrong, regardless of whose machine it is on."

A small number of schools are trialling new software that keeps tabs on everything that appears on a teacher's computer screen.

"There is a bit of an experiment going on at this stage to see what's happening in schools ... Just to see whether what we think is going on in those schools is the reality or whether they are poles apart," Buutveld said.

However, Lind said the Teachers Council would not investigate a teacher's personal computer unless illegal activity was suspected.

"The profession itself would say that it is totally inappropriate to be downloading this sort of material on government property. Work computers don't belong to the individual," Lind said.

The Teachers Council disciplinary committee has met three times this year and is yet to release a decision.

It ruled on 18 serious cases last year and deregistered 13 teachers as a result of hearings.

- © Fairfax NZ News