The Vancouver School Board has begun the tricky task of telling teachers what they can and can't do on social media. In a draft social media policy teachers can't 'friend' underage students, or post inappropriate content and pictures.
Trustee Mike Lombardi says this is just version one, with lots of wrinkles to iron out, "We are going to balance common sense, good judgement, caution, and rights and responsibilities. We have a month that we have set ourselves to do this. If we don't get it done in a month, then we will take two months. But if you don't get this kind of policy right, it is counter-productive. We want social media to be used for educational purposes but we want there to be clear boundaries so that no violations are made."
Lombardi would also like to see the Ministry of Education mandate classes in social media conduct for young students
Teachers have some concerns over the draft rules governing their social media conduct.
Elementary school teacher Jody Polukoshko says one guideline prohibits teachers from saying anything negative about the district, "The subjective nature of them makes it really hard for employees to understand and interact with and it also leaves a lot of things open to interpretation. One of the things that is really precious to us is the fact that we have had a few arbitrations and court rulings that you know encourage teachers and say that it is a teachers right to speak out about educational issues in the broader community."
Polukoshko says there needs to be clear rules how to communicate with students and their families. She says there is also an issue of employee rights and the district trying to control what teachers do online.