A teacher is out of work after the school district reportedly fired him over one of his stand-up videos on his TikTok page. Some jokes discussed his salary and teaching his students the wrong information in certain subjects.
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Stephen Taylor’s six-year teaching career stopped when administrators discovered the stand-up comedy video on his TikTok page. Before posting his side gig on social media, Taylor taught at Mill Creek Campus, an alternative school in Olathe, but he says he started stand-up comedy eight years ago in an interview with WDAF. “The reason I’m doing comedy on TikTok is to make money because [the school] only [pays] me $45,000 a year, and I work all the time,” he explained to the outlet.
Administrators saw the videos at the beginning of the school year and questioned him on how often he passed gas near students in reference to one of his jokes. Taylor was told to take the videos down but asked to see the school district’s social media policy. After reviewing it, he states that the policy reflects rules involving the use of Myspace and noted that it asks staff not to post anything online you wouldn’t discuss in public.
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Taylor met with school district officials, and he initially refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement and resign before there was a vote by the school board to have him terminated. He explained to board members that the jokes were not severe and his students were aware of the videos he made. After the termination, Taylor recorded a video explaining to his students that he would no longer be their teacher.
“It’s the thing I feel the worst about, is the students are the ones suffering, and I know deep down there’s nothing I could have done besides sacrifice all my values and delete the videos and never make another TikTok,”
However, Taylor has booked 30 gigs and has no sudden plans of returning to teaching after signing with an agent.
While there are many benefits to teachers posting about their job on social media, it is important for them to be mindful of what they share. Teachers should never post anything that is confidential, such as student information or lesson plans. They should also avoid posting anything that could be considered unprofessional or offensive.
Here are some tips for teachers who are posting about their job on social media:
Be mindful of your privacy settings. Make sure that your social media accounts are set to private so that only people you know can see your posts.
Never post anything that is confidential, such as student information or lesson plans.
Avoid posting anything that could be considered unprofessional or offensive.
Use social media to share positive stories about your students and the teaching profession.
Connect with other educators and share classroom ideas and resources.
