Re: Give me an F, give me an I, give me a R, give me an E, give me a D
Would you support a school's decision if they decided that a well-known and respected actor couldn't visit the school because s/he had appeared in a tasteful nude scene in a movie?
I think that from a child's perspective, there's a big difference between a one-time guest and someone they see and interact with every day.
Yeah, I agree. But for the same reason that the school would be worried about the impact of this teacher's public conduct, it's actually quite likely that they would not choose to have a certain guest speakers based on something that had done only once that really wasn't that problematic. You see things like that happen all the time, whether it be because of political statements or social activity, and it often doesn't matter if the source of the controversy has nothing to do with the would-be speakers' visit.
It's not on the same scale, and this principal might have decided he had no problem with it. The guest speaker wouldn't be as closely and directly tied to the school, nor would it have as close interactions with students and parents, so the same problems don't necessarily exist, but at the same time, guest speakers are often the source of seemingly pointless controversy, so it's no wonder that similar behavior from employees is prohibited.
Schools, businesses, charities, churches and other organizations all have a vested interest in the public conduct of individuals that are closely and directly linked to them. It's often legitimate and understandable -- I work with a couple of advocacy groups that have gotten into trouble because of the public conduct of their staff at protests. Sometimes, though, it isn't as clear cut as a public disturbance. In this case, the school's concern for its reputation motivates it to fire this teacher, not because of any particular problem of its own, but because enough people -- parents, politicians --
would or even
could have a problem with a teacher posing in Playboy.
I don't personally have a problem with what she did, but I'm not a parent. This debate is really about whether concerns about the public appearance of prurient images is really worth all this fuss, and I don't think it is. But as long enough people disagree with me, schools and other organizations are going to make the same choice this principal did, and as far as they're concerned, that's the right choice to make.