Pirate picture sinks teacher

Stacy Snyder did not get her teaching certificate. Photo / Supplied

Lyndon Hohaia's sacking is not the only cautionary tale of the dangers of posting comments or pictures on social networking sites.

Stacy Snyder, a trainee teacher in Pennsylvania, had passed all her exams and completed her training with an unblemished academic record until she uploaded an image of herself, wearing a pirate costume and drinking from a cup with the caption: "drunken pirate".

A colleague saw the picture and reported it, saying that it was unprofessional to potentially expose pupils to photographs of a teacher drinking alcohol.

Her offers to take the picture down were ignored and she never got the teaching certificate.

Also in the US, a maths and science teacher in Massachusetts, described students as "germ bags" and school parents as "snobby" and "arrogant" on Facebook when she thought she was talking to 50 of her friends and family.

When the district superintendent and school committee found out, she was asked to resign.