Teachers in Ohio warned against using MySpace

There’s a high standard in the profession and a risk of job loss, a teachers union said.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Teachers who make inappropriate postings on Web sites risk losing their licenses or facing other punishment, a state official in charge of disciplining educators says.

While it’s unclear how many Ohio teachers have online profiles at social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, the issue poses risks for teachers, said James Miller, director of the Office of Professional Conduct at the Ohio Department of Education.

A search of MySpace finds three profiles of people who say they are teachers — one says she’s an animal in bed, another has taken drugs and likes to party, and a third says his mood is “dirty,” The Columbus Dispatch reported Saturday.

The profiles could be the work of malicious pranksters, but the three examples appear legitimate, with all types of personal and professional information, including full résumés, the Dispatch said.

If those three postings are from teachers, they’re inappropriate, Miller said. Even worse, he said, “It does sound like something that could be conduct unbecoming.”

That’s a broadly defined violation of educator behavior that can result in license revocations, suspensions and written reprimands. Teachers need to review what they’re sharing online, Miller said.

“It’s their right to have it up. But I’d make sure it’s appropriate for my students to look at,” he said.

The Ohio Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, sent teachers a memo last month discouraging them from using MySpace and Facebook.

“While this advice might seem extreme, the dangers of participating in these two sites outweigh the benefits,” the memo said. “Because of the high standards placed on school employees and the risk of job and career loss, the OEA recommends avoiding even the appearance of impropriety.”

The union also worries that students will create “impostor” sites, pose as adults and engage in conversations with teachers, or use online communication to make allegations later against educators.

“[There are a] lot of potential problems of false allegations, false pages, postings that have absolutely nothing to do with the intention of the teachers,” said Rachelle Johnson, the union’s legal services director.

Anything on those sites can be used as evidence in disciplinary hearings by districts and the state Education Department, the union warns.

William Eiseman, a former teacher at Delaware Hayes High School in central Ohio, had a MySpace page, and many of his students communicated with Eiseman on his blog, which contained violent and sexual references, The Dispatch reported.

A month after the school district admonished him for his online activities, he was arrested for — and later convicted of — having sex with a student, the newspaper said. He remains in prison, serving a two-year sentence.