Just received my first Holiday Card of the Season, well almost! It was actually a text message. I had been working late last evening and upon returning to my classroom--did I mention that in my other incarnation I’m a teacher--I noticed a missed call on my cell phone. Now, since I was working late, I figured it was my family looking for me. So I clicked on the message and opened the text. It was a picture of Santa with a tally whacker that looked 2 feet long protruding from beneath his black Santa’s belt!
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a prude! We all receive and re-send those naughty little fwd, fwd, fwds once in a while. But remember, I said I’m a teacher? Well I checked to see who had gifted me with my first Holiday Card of the season and it was a parent of one of my students! OH NO!
Beginning to realize my dilemma? Yes, you’ve got it! Had my student sent me an inappropriate email? Immediately I went into CYOA mode and headed to the front office! No way was I going to allow anyone to accuse me of inappropriate contact with a student.
I showed my administrator the inappropriate email, which by the way, would have been just a funny little ditty to be laughed at and deleted under usually circumstances. However, it posed a real problem coming to me from what could have been a student.
We agreed I’d have to call the parent and tell them about the text message, which turned out to be one of those chain-letter online/text snowball fights, except this one was called Holiday Boner War and I’d been bonered!
Putting the phone on speaker, in the administrator’s office, I called the parent and told them of the text. The response went something like this: OMG! He had my phone last night! I’m so sorry, I will take care of this when I get home! I’m gonna kill him!
Now the moral to my story: Technology in the wrong hands is dangerous! When you receive that cute little fwd, fwd, fwd, before you hit send to all, be sure your child's teacher's phone number isn't in your phone address book! The text message had been forwarded to my phone during the hour when this student was sitting in my class working! No way, did he send it! It was one of those little high tech glitches--someone forgot forward all really does mean ALL!
Now, have you had any such encounters of the e-mail kind that could be embarrassing or even damaging to your career? Share with us points to avoid such mistakes, please.
