Like Martin Luther King, Jr, I have a dream.
In fact, I have two dreams but unlike Martin Luther King, Jr neither one is likely to change the world.
They might still be helpful though.
The first is for certain internet merchants not to allow you to make any online purchases after 10pm or three glasses of wine, whichever comes sooner.
Secondly, and more importantly, is the introduction of classes in schools that teach pupils the pitfalls of publishing.
Because, make no mistake, thanks to social media we are all publishers now. People should be taught what constitutes defamation, harassment and who exactly might be reading their online deliberations now or in years to come.
Events in Broughty Ferry this week have shown classes might be helpful for teachers too.
After a retirement party for a staff member of Grove Academy, a list of pupils’ names was left in the hotel where the shindig was held.
It was discovered the next morning by a cleaner, an ex-pupil, who posted it online. It was branded a list of the school’s worst ever pupils and quickly went viral.
Needless to say, those named were furious.
The school, however, claimed the list, which was untitled, was actually a roll call of pupils to whom the teacher had given particular help during her years at the school.
This may well be the case but it’s a pretty sorry end for a teaching career that so many of those listed took umbrage at their inclusion rather than recalling the teacher’s help.
More pertinently, is it really acceptable to draw up a list of former pupils who may have required extra help? Where is these vulnerable pupils’ right to privacy?
If, as many supposed, it was a “naughty list”, then it is a joke in very poor taste given that some of those on the list have died, attempted suicide as teenagers or are about to go on trial for murder.
Where, one might ask again, is these vulnerable pupils’ right to privacy?
By creating the document, the teacher was playing with fire.
The poster was not for public consumption but as soon as it fell into someone else’s hands, the teacher in question lost control of it and how it would be perceived.
It doesn’t matter the medium: whether it’s a collage of Post-It Notes, an ill-advised Tweet or post on a Facebook page, if it can be seen by other people it is in the public domain and your control over it is lost.
Camera phones and social media mean everything can be snapped and shared around the world within minutes.
Publish and be damned: it’s a lesson everyone should remember.
