It's Not Personal

Okay, it’s soapbox time again!

A local art teacher was recently fired from his high school teaching position because of a YouTube video that depicted the art teacher doing what he does (and has done) in his spare time – make and sell original paintings.

The school board has known about the teacher’s “extra-curricular” activities for over two years and didn’t have an issue with it. Not until the YouTube video began circling throughout the school. Suddenly, the teacher found himself on paid administrative leave until the school board could come to a decision about what to do with him. The reason the school board gave for his eventual dismissal was not that they found the teacher’s exotic paintings to be of questionable moral substance, but because now that the students knew about this private detail of their teacher’s life, it was likely to cause disruptions in the class. Yet in another breath, the school board has been quoted as saying the teacher was dismissed because of “conduct unbecoming of a teacher.”

What kind of paintings could cause such a ruckus? The art teacher lathers his rear end and other parts with paint and then smears them upon a canvas. He wears a disguise, so as not to be recognized by his students on his website (should any of them stumble across it) and he uses a thinly disguised pseudonym under which he sells his art.

Now, I find it funny that all of a sudden, due to this YouTube video, this teacher gets the boot. I would assume that in this day and age of highspeed technology and all the “mature” news that teenagers seem to be subject matter experts on, that the paintings wouldn’t cause any more stir than a passing tabloid headline. Of course, upon first knowing this information, it’s going to cause a stir. But I believe that over a short period of time, students would most likely forget what the teacher does outside his classroom during his own time. It’s not like he has ever brought up the subject with his previous students; nor would he begin to do so now.

This is becoming a rather frightening trend: the dismissal of workers because of information found out about what they do during their personal time. I wonder how many folks on the school board have a drinking problem, or engage in some other kind of personal behavior that may be deemed morally questionable or R-rated or maybe even X-rated if the student body knew of it? Basically, what we are telling our children is that you can do whatever you like during your free time, but just be aware it may cost you your job should your co-workers find out!

What the school board decides is “conduct unbecoming of a teacher” can change on a daily basis as this new technology makes our personal lives more and more transparent. We’ve all done or said something that could be skewed as “unbecoming.” It’s called being human. But now there’s this open door that we need to watch out for. Our private acts may not be as private as we think. But if they don’t interfere with our work life, who cares? Unfortunately, the Internet is creating new windows into our private lives, and we are being judged for our choices, for what we choose to do when we are not on the clock. If we continue to fire people based on what they choose to do during their free time, virtually everyone will become unemployable.

I think this is yet again another example of how we are still experiencing the growing pains of this break-neck speed technology. I am hoping that this will turn into an opportunity to see all the colors of the rainbow and see that they are all good, instead of a moral war where we are afraid to be who we are meant to be.