# School employee fired for correcting student's spelling on Twitter. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 16, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310 "2017-01-16T13:14:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/1 "2017-01-16T13:14:13Z")
I’m absolutely baffled why this could possibly be a reason for firing someone. What is wrong with gently chiding someone about spelling? Half the people on this board could get fired. 😃 OK, let’s assume it wasn’t this employee’s job. Then wouldn’t a quick word from from her supervisor be enough? She’s a new employee learning her job. Make it clear what’s expected of her. I don’t see this being serious enough to even warrant a note in her personnel file. It’s too trivial. Sometimes I just don’t get this world. Are we really this over sensitive? > **[Nash loses FCPS social media job a week after being in Twitter spotlight](https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/education/nash-loses-fcps-social-media-job-a-week-after-being/article_8f990db8-714a-5d3a-a979-2c5200b1c601.html)** > > Frederick County Public Schools has fired Katie Nash, an employee who stirred up attention for how she ran the district’s Twitter feed last week, she said. > [@](#): > > Nash started working as the web experience coordinator in November. Among her responsibilities was to run the district’s social media accounts. Her salary was $44,066. > > On Jan. 5, a student tweeted to the Twitter account, @FCPSMaryland, asking schools to close “tammarow.” > > Nash wrote in response from the school Twitter feed: “But then how would you learn how to spell ‘tomorrow?’ :)” > > The response from Nash’s FCPS tweet garnered more than 1,000 retweets and 1,000 likes and she became the subject of a hashtag, #KatiefromFCPS. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/2 "2017-01-16T13:19:37Z")
Missed the edit time out. Here’s another link [https://www.google.com/amp/baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/01/14/frederick-county-public-schools-employee-fired-for-tweet/amp/?client=ms-android-motorola](https://www.google.com/amp/baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/01/14/frederick-county-public-schools-employee-fired-for-tweet/amp/?client=ms-android-motorola) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/3 "2017-01-16T14:12:41Z")
There’s nothing wrong, necessarily, with chiding somebody about spelling. When a school employee is using the school’s twitter feed to communicate with individual students regarding the student’s actions or statements outside of school hours, that’s a little troubling, though, because it seems unprofessional and overly intrusive to the student, who, I assume, wants to be free to communicate with his or her own friends on his or her own time without the school looking over his or her shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/4 "2017-01-16T14:25:37Z")
That brings to mind a new issue–should we now start calling them “grammar alt-right”? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/5 "2017-01-16T14:34:44Z")
Based on the statement “After the “tamarrow/tomorrow” thread, Nash and the student exchanged other tweets. The student later wrote that he didn’t mind Nash’s original reply and didn’t take it personally.” and the fact that she had only been working there less than 2 months, I’m guessing it has little to do with this (specific incident) and there’s another part of the story we’re being not getting. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/6 "2017-01-16T14:47:44Z")
Nash wasn’t just “a school employee”. She was the school’s “web experience coordinator”, and had no other function than to represent and reflect the school board’s interests with respect to it’s “web experience”. Apparently, it was felt that they were not getting their money’s worth ($44,000 a year). I guess the real question here is, exactly what does a school board expect to get out of a $44,000 web experience coordinator? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/7 "2017-01-16T14:52:40Z")
You have a decent point, but then you ruin it by jumping to the “oversensitive” crap that has nothing to do with it. The point is that we are just quick to fire people now. Sure, this is almost certainly a low skill, low pay job that pretty much anyone can do. And apparently this became a minor issue in the area, getting 1000 likes and retweets. But I agree that the correct way to handle this is to pull her aside and ask her not to make said jokes, and then make an announcement that they have done so. Something like “We apologize for the unprofessional nature of the comment. Our web coordinator was trying to create a jovial atmosphere with the students, like many other Twitter campaigns. We have asked her not to do so in the future. We apologize to anyone who may have been offended.” Schools have government employees. They’re supposed to be not nearly as shitty as other “right to work” places. That said, if it turns out this was a last straw with an employee with whom they had had other problems, then I would not object as much. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/8 "2017-01-16T15:02:44Z")
I’m puzzled by what her job was. Was she building web sites for the various schools in that district? Babysitting the Twitter and other social media accounts doesn’t seem like a real job. We have a couple employees that build web sites. They also make sure every Dept’s web site follows the same design standards and complies with required disability standards. I agree there may be others factors that led to her dismissal. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/9 "2017-01-16T16:15:22Z")
This county should check out my county’s school twitter feed (@wcpss)…it’s hilarious! There’s tons of gentle chiding of students who make spelling errors (including a whole thread the other day on whether it should be bussing or busing). The students love it, the parents love it. On snow days, especially. Most importantly, it generates tons of followers, which makes it an effective communication tool for the county. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/10 "2017-01-16T16:52:02Z")
Why is her salary in the article? What an odd thing to relate. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/11 "2017-01-16T16:58:56Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > There’s nothing wrong, necessarily, with chiding somebody about spelling. When a school employee is using the school’s twitter feed to communicate with individual students regarding the student’s actions or statements outside of school hours, that’s a little troubling, though, because it seems unprofessional and overly intrusive to the student, who, I assume, wants to be free to communicate with his or her own friends on his or her own time without the school looking over his or her shoulder. The student was tweeting directly to the school twitter. And it was her job to reply. More and more such jobs will be needed as traditional manufacturing dies. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/12 "2017-01-16T17:07:46Z")
There may well be more to this than meets the eye: if, for example, the person concerned was spending more time noodling around on the social media accounts than actually doing whatever they expected her to do (redesign interfaces and systems?). Plus, if that was the _only_ response to the original message, it’s a bit personally dismissive rather than engaging (not that we know what sort of thing they were asking her to do or how to do it - this might be a case of a poorly-defined job in the first place). (Why were the pupils asking for the school to be closed anyway?) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/13 "2017-01-16T17:16:25Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Why is her salary in the article? What an odd thing to relate. In my state it is public record. There is a website where you can plug in a name and get the salary of any state, county or municipal employee. Whenever there is an article about a cop, teacher or garbage man they always publishe the salary. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/14 "2017-01-16T18:35:40Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > There may well be more to this than meets the eye I have to assume this is the case. This just smells too much of recreational outrage type journalism that is missing or overly simplifying some part of the story. It’s there to provoke angry comments about how dumb and lazy the younger generation is and how coddling we are and all the usual crap. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/15 "2017-01-16T21:25:47Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > (Why were the pupils asking for the school to be closed anyway?) It being January, I would assume that bad weather was in the forecast and that kids were hoping it would be deemed bad enough to close school. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/16 "2017-01-17T04:00:37Z")
New employee screws up / doesn’t fit in and fired. And tomorrow’s headline: "Sun expected to rise in the East. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/17 "2017-01-17T05:19:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I have to assume this is the case. This just smells too much of recreational outrage type journalism that is missing or overly simplifying some part of the story. It’s there to provoke angry comments about how dumb and lazy the younger generation is and how coddling we are and all the usual crap. It doesn’t smell of that–it stinks of it. A very minimal critical reading of the article will tell you that the spelling correction is not the issue here. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/18 "2017-01-17T05:34:37Z")
What was the issue then? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/19 "2017-01-17T05:36:55Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > That brings to mind a new issue–should we now start calling them “grammar alt-right”? No, now we’re “alt-write,” of course. 😉 Add me to the chorus of, “there was something else going on that they’re not telling the media.” Either that or they have one of those stupid zero-tolerance policies, where any action that might get you a slap on the wrist as a full employee is a terminal offense during your 90 day probationary period. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310/20 "2017-01-17T13:31:29Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > What was the issue then? A whole week of tweeting intervened between the spelling comment and the dismissal. Most likely it was just too much direct interaction with the students, and for whatever reason they didn’t want that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-employee-fired-for-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter/777310.md?page=2)