Teacher's Facebook Update May Get Her Fired

After a 12-year-old girl drowned on school field trip to the beach, Brooklyn school teacher Christine Rubino wrote on Facebook, "After today, I’m thinking the beach is a good trip for my class. I hate their guts."

That status update was shown by one of her "friends," a fellow teacher, to the school's assistant principal. The principal was also alerted and last December, six months after the status update, Rubino was confronted with the message. She now faces termination.

"There’s an expectation that this posting is to be shared with friends, not the general public," her lawyer, Marshall Belovin told the New York Post. "Therefore, any severe measure taken against a teacher, in my opinion, would be unfair."

Rubino, 38, taught math at PS 203 for the last 15 years before being barred from the classroom last month.

While New York City's Department of Education has no policy or rules on employee use of social networking sites, it has fired at least three teachers for improper conduct with students on Facebook

Rubino told The Post her class had been "out of control" that week and were spitting, kicking and putting gum in each other's hair. "It was something I said out of anger. I would never take my class to the beach," she said. "I would never hurt them."

As previously reported, Facebook messages are being used more by employers, college admissions officer and even law enforcement. Remember to keep messages private or refrain from controversial or inflammatory postings.

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