Teacher’s Day: ‘We have to think twice before posting on social media’

Every year India celebrates Teacherrsquos Day on September 5 to mark the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan who was born on this day in 1888 The philosopher and politician also served as the second president of India from 1962 to 1967 after being the first vicepresident in the preceding yearsFor the longest time teachers have been celebrated as they shape young minds While teachers have navigated the last two years of learning as it was approached by the inperson and online medium a more recent issue sheds light on the many challenges they faceA Kolkata teacher was reportedly forced to resign by the St Xavierrsquos University administration after she was accused of corrupting young minds with lsquoobjectionablersquo pictures on a public platform The reaction came after the authorities received a complaint from a father who had seen his son a student of the university look at the bikiniclad pictures of the teacher on social mediaThe teacher in several interviews to the media had stated that the picture was clicked in 2020 before she had joined the university in August 2021 She also stated that since it was only on her Instagram stories it was visible for 24 hours and none of the concerned authorities even had access to it The whole issue has caused a huge furore online since then and many people came out in support of the teacherMidday Online spoke to Mumbai teachers to understand how they face the challenge of navigating their personal and their professional lives without being judged They also talk about how parents and students need to understand that they have personal lives and how educational institutions need to educate parents and support teachers in such casesNeha Jain 38 MulundTeachers do face challenges by being on social media They cant show their real self to everyone You always have to be a role model which is practically not possible We do have our personal lives We have to think twice before keeping a status or a profile picture It is always good to keep your account private and not add your students or their parents Never mix work with personal life My social media account is my personal space I want to speak my mind and post the things which I want to without the fear of being judged Educational institutions should support their teachers Maintaining my dignity is their responsibility too If they do not understand and respect their own teachers then how would others do itAmrita Saha 39 Kolkata formerly in MumbaiI personally have never faced such a challenge because of my presence in social media However I do feel that somehow the students always feel that teachers belong to a different species and they do not do the normal things that a person does in their personal time like hanging out with friends pubbing socially partying or wearing any kind of clothes they want There are students who know that I am there on Instagram and I have been very frank with them I have a life and I am very normal person and I have my personal space ndash what I am as a teacher cannot be mixed with what I do in my personal time It is a very narrowminded way of approaching that because I am a teacher I cannot wear a bikini or cannot show my cleavage and wear clothes that I want to It is absolutely my personal choice and doesnrsquot have to do with how I deliver my lessons or how I am with the kids or teaching them when I was living in Mumbai students who lived in my building did see me taking a walk with my son or husband wearing shorts and loungewear and its not like as if they havenrsquot seen meParents definitely have a big role in developing this mind set of the students because the teachers are portrayed as socalled ideal who can never make mistakes I do feel educational institutions should be supporting the teachers and educating the parent body about the different hats a person wears all throughout ones life Occupation cannot be a yardstick to judge a persons character Its just another hat that a person wearsNeha Britto 26 VasaiI definitely do feel that being a teacher makes it quite tricky to be on social media considering how Indian society is I have had a social media presence since college but I do think I have been a lot more mindful of my posts after starting a job as a teacher because of the fact that I have students following me I also do have students who mention that they love my content Considering they are my lsquostudentsrsquo I have been a little more careful Though I have not ever really posted content that would be considered inappropriate because I mainly post baking and bookish content or vlogs I also have to be mindful of not revealing too much of my personal life due to all of thisIndian society is the biggest issue here though as I do follow a lot of teachers in other countries and they do post bikini pictures and no one bats an eye because in the end everyone has a personal life and can do what they wish to I donrsquot think even the students parents should be able to dictate what another adult does We are teachers only in school and we play different roles outside of it I believe strong boundaries need to be drawn when it comes to their teachersrsquo personal lives and work lives And there should be clear communication to the parents of the same from the school in case they have any issues with itAlso Read National Nutrition Week 2022 Why parents need to pay attention to their childrsquos health