Principal on carpet after ‘pregnancy’ rant
AN Eastern Cape principal is facing dismissal after a foul-mouthed social media attack against a local politician.
Last Sunday, Hankey Senior Secondary School principal Godfrey Thorne called Edmund van Vuuren, an Eastern Cape member of the provincial legislature and the DA shadow MEC for education, a “c**t” on Facebook.
Van Vuuren said the attack was “unprovoked” and reported Thorne to the Eastern Cape education department.
The incident highlights the consequences teachers and principals face for social media blunders. It comes in the same week that a video of a Mexican teacher twerking went viral and resulted in the 24-year-old — identified as “Miss Clarissa” — being fired. Three weeks ago, 21-year-old teaching assistant and part-time model Gemma Laird was fired from Bloemfontein Primary in Durham, England, after parents complained about pictures she posted on Facebook of herself in lingerie.
Eastern Cape education department spokesman Loyiso Pulumani confirmed that a complaint about Thorne’s comments was filed.
“The allegations are serious, and we are treating it as such. We will do a full investigation and act accordingly,” said Pulumani.
Thorne’s rant came after the education portfolio committee found that 134 girls at his school, in Uitenhage, got pregnant last year. Thorne denied the claims in a newspaper article, which also quoted Van Vuuren defending the findings.
“What he has done is immoral. I’m going to open a civil case against him for defamation,” said Van Vuuren.
Attempts to contact Thorne were unsuccessful. His post was still up on his Facebook page on Friday.
Teachers have been receiving social media training to avoid similar incidents. Among the tips given by the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa is that teachers should not “flame others” — insult or abuse someone online. They should also not “overshare”, make friends with strangers on Facebook or slate their jobs online.
Haylea Hounsom-Heyns said she was cautious about what she posted because, apart from being a music teacher, she was also a singer and actress.
“I have two Facebook accounts. One is private . . . the other a fan page anybody can follow. I do not accept any friend requests from students. My Instagram and Twitter accounts are public, and I’m sure plenty of my students follow me, but I wouldn’t post anything weird or dodgy anyway.”
Taryn de Winnaar, head of sport at Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High, said teachers had to be responsible and ethical online. “There is very little that is private in the lives of teachers. We are objects of interest to our learners and their parents. This is the nature of our job, and it can be positive and negative. I post things that do not question my integrity.”
Social media expert and lawyer Emma Sadleir said teachers could be fired if their posts brought their schools into disrepute, or if they were found not to be acting in the best interests of their employers. Everybody needed to be careful, but teachers even more so.
❛ There is little that is private in the lives of teachers. We are objects of interest to our learners