It's called "Cyberbaiting", and it is when a student baits a teacher into a heated argument and capturing it with a mobile device for upload onto YouTube and social networking sites. Anytime a student is acting out there is a slight possibility that he or she is baiting you so another student can record it. It's a very, very slight chance but its real. More likely is the possibility that your reaction--especially if it's a habitual explosion or rant--can be recorded by another observant student. Almost all phones, tablets and devices have the capacity to record video, including HD and then immediately uploading it. A vid could be posted within moments of the event. Unfortunately video is also easy to edit and carries no sense of context with it, you only get to see one short event or part of an event. There is no second voice explaining your side of things. No one tells the audience that the person being recorded is an 18 in a class of 16 year olds who knows that next year he will be the nineteen year old surrounded by year old junior and then the twenty year old senior. That could mess with the character's head and completely change our understanding of the story. Images rarely carry context with them. Images are readily gathered. Be aware of the image you present.
Scary. Especially since we're being encouraged to incorporate use of those items in our classrooms...
I've only seen a few instances of teachers being recorded, but I didn't know it was becoming a trend.
It has been a trend for the past few years, ever since phones with recording capabilities starting showing up in every student's pocket. We've had a few instances of this at my own school. All the teachers that it's happened to are no longer working at my school. To my knowledge none of them were fired outright, but they were all encouraged to leave the school or the district. I can see how it would be difficult, maybe even impossible, to come back from something like this. I mean, that video is online forever. It's next to impossible to eliminate it from the internet, given all the people who would have downloaded and saved it, posted it on different sites, etc. It will follow you wherever you go. I can't even imagine how awful that would feel. It's so important that we as teachers really find a way to remove our own emotions from the equation as much as possible when it comes to classroom management and discipline. Everyone has a breaking point, even teachers. If we don't ever approach our breaking points, then something like this probably won't ever happen to us. I have always been an advocate of the broken record technique. Using it helps me keep my own emotions in check, at least in the moment. I can go home and vent to my hoosband or on here, but I certainly do my best not to lose it at school in front of students.
Good. We all should be riding that same train. Now, imagine it happens one time...and is recorded. Out of context and on the web or in the hands of an angry parent it could be detrimental to your career.
There's a picture of me floating around on instagram. I was dealing with a student who had stolen something. There's nothing wrong with it, except I had my back turned to deal with said student. It happens. We have to be aware it could happen at any time. We had a student who threatened to video tape a teacher every day because she wants to get him fired.
Caesar why do you spell husband "hoosband" I noticed it in a few threads and at first I thought it was a typo but you do it every time you mention him. Not important, just curious. --------------------------------- The fact that students have cameras does worry me a little. Especially after reading this thread on the forum: http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/showthread.php?t=172394&highlight=fired I don't worry so much that I will be caught fussing, cussing, ect. I generally just worry about the students using it to bully each other. I graduated in 2007 and this internet stalking thing hadn't gotten started yet. Now its out of control and causing students a lot of issues. It does make me wonder about the school who have given up the fight about cell phones. When I was in school they were confiscated on sight. When I was student teaching we werent allowed to take them unless the student refused to put it up.
Unfortunately, we need only look at the "Hero" Student to see that even if a teacher keeps their emotions in check, does not argue with the student, remains calm, follows the broken record and refuses to be baited, there will still be those in public, education field and even these forums that will criticize the teacher and insist they must have done something wrong to create such a disturbance in the first place.
The fact is that some students will pull out their cell phone cameras at any opportunity. If I'm going to be on camera anyway, I would certainly rather appear on camera being calm, cool, and collected than a raving lunatic. If people want to be critical of that, fine. It's up to admin, however, NOT the general public, to determine what, if any, disciplinary action will be taken, just like in the "hero" situation.
I'm just pointing out the teacher in the "Hero" video followed ALL the steps and advice given so far and we still had people on these forums siding with the student. Oh, and her admin also placed her on administrative leave. Sometimes you can do everything the right way and still have people insist you must be the problem.
Nothing personal but I am also a motorcycle safety instructor...and if I had a nickel for every time I've heard a rider say, "Well, I've been riding for years--so that won't happen to me..." I could afford to drop a couple of the extra jobs I have...
The problem with this is perception. People need to realize that if they see just a small snap shot of what happens it doesn't explain the whole thing. I would change my actions out of fear of that. Sometimes a kid needs to be yelled at. That is just the cold hard truth.
She may actually be the problem. Her admin is evidently investigating whether that may be true, as they should. I don't agree that she did "everything" the right way--we have no way of knowing. What I do know, based on my own experience with students, is that they don't usually clamor to be taught unless they aren't being taught. My point is that students may videotape you whether you are doing the right thing OR the wrong thing. At least let what appears on video be above reproach. If it turns out that what you were doing BEFORE you were recorded was the wrong thing, then that will come out in an investigation. But certainly do not ever do the wrong thing on tape.
Well, going strictly by what's on the tape, the teacher WAS doing the right thing. She remained calm, did not argue with the student and did nothing to incite his anger further or "show him up" in front of his classmates. She let him have his rant and calmly kept asking him to leave the room. As for clamoring for an education, I've had kids say similar things when the fact is they aren't making progress because they aren't giving any effort. The student claims he didn't know a classmate was recording him, but as you say, we don't know that for sure. What we DO know is the other student began recording as the "hero" was walking up the aisle, so it's reasonable to assume the "hero" may have seen the phone/camera and decided to adjust his rant to make the teacher the "bad guy". High schoolers are very smart and very devious. The whole point of the OP is that they WILL sometimes devise schemes to set the teacher up and this could be one of those times. What disappoints me is when we see a video of a teacher keeping her calm and remaining objective like everyone says she should, and people still say "There's a good chance she deserved the rant and the whole thing was her fault". Really? As for me, my benefit of the doubt goes to the teacher until the investigation DOES prove otherwise.
The thought of being video or audio recorded will always remind me to never keep my cool woth students. And to always think about wor choice. I don't talk to them inapprpriately, but this makes me think to be even more careful of what I say.
