Ethics

This weekend I participated in a webinar about the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and the Code of Ethics for teachers. I did not know what to expect from a webinar and I was pleased to find it extremely well done and informative...and all from my bedroom "office." Most of the discussion was about matters that do not concern me because I am a very boring person. I do not cuss, drink, smoke, or do anything else that might raise eyebrows. At one point the speaker said that it is best to drink coffee before coming to school and I thought that I might actually be a rebel because I do drink caffeinated beverages, but he elaborated on his statement by telling us about a teacher who went ballistic and claimed it was because she did not drink coffee that morning. Alas, I will never be a rebel. I was very interested in learning about professional behavior around students because it is something every educator must think about. Following the set guidelines when using a school computer was also a subject of interest since I will be spending a lot of my time on a computer. I did not realize that the school system can access every site that I visit which means my personal email account may be viewed. Even though I am not a rebel, I still need to be careful with my email. I have read about professionals emailing jokes to friends and later getting fired. Though I don't normally forward jokes to others, I have had friends email them to me and I certainly don't want to be accountable for every email someone sends me! I used to joke with a friend of mine about spam emails that I would get with the subject: "Wanna See My Pics?" I haven't gotten one of those in a while so I should be OK. I am just glad that I was able to participate in the webinar before getting employed so I that am prepared for the open book that my life will become!