Recently, a teacher was threatened with losing her job because she was posting videos on TikTok. In them, her class was shown, but not her students. In the United States and France, teachers are filming their students and posting their faces, voices, and even their schoolwork on the social network. What if this happened in your classroom? I asked Sylvain Duclos, a math teacher and TikToker, to give us his point of view. Here are the pros and cons of this topic that is causing a lot of talk!
Here are the rules that Sylvain Duclos imposes on himself when he publishes on TikTok:
- never film your students or their work;
- never make videos when he works;
- never name your school or school service center;
- always adopt a professional attitude in your videos.
The arguments for:
Freedom of speech !
In Canada, we have the right to express our ideas, even if they don’t please everyone. Even on TikTok! However, teachers must set an example in public. Their behavior must not be embarrassing to their employer (the school). For example, they cannot swear in their videos.
An opportunity to show the reality of teachers
According to Sylvain Duclos, publishing videos allows you to show the real life of a teacher (not the one you see in the movies!) and to interact with lots of students and parents. “Young people can discover our profession, see how we manage our classes and correct exams. It shows the behind the scenes!” Teachers can also inspire each other to find great ideas for activities, or learn how to manage complicated situations.
The arguments against:
The right to privacy
In general, Quebec teachers don’t show their students’ faces on TikTok. They don’t even have the right to share information that could identify you. But in France and the United States, teachers do it very often. Sometimes, they show schoolwork, talk about the difficulties students are experiencing, and reveal where they work. This information is private. And, sometimes, embarrassing. Often, teachers don’t have permission from students (or parents) to publish all of this.
When the teacher films… he doesn’t teach!
A teacher’s priority should be… to teach! When a TikToker films himself talking to a student or intervening in his class, he thinks… about the camera, the reaction of his subscribers, his editing… And teachers already have a lot of work without having to be Internet stars! “We must always be there 120% for our students,” assures Sylvain Duclos.
Camille Lopez
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