Art Teacher Tops Technorati After Flickr Photo Incident

Posted on June 21, 2006

Tamara Hoover, an art teacher at a high school in Austin, Texas, has quickly become the #1 search term on Technorati. CBS News reports that Hoover was escorted from school last week after partially nude photographs of her were discovered on Flickr. The school claims the photographs are inappropriate.

The photos, which were posted on Flickr.com by her partner, depict Hoover in the shower, lifting weights, getting dressed, in bed and doing other routine activities.
Her abrupt dismissal highlights a new concern for employees: Your boss has Internet access, too.
"People don't realize when they put their entire diary out there, they're giving very private information to the public," said Kate Brooks, director of career services for liberal arts students at the University of Texas at Austin. "You never know what's going to appeal to someone or disturb someone."
The school district said the photos were inappropriate and violate the "higher moral standard" expected of public school teachers. As a result, she's become an ineffective teacher, she was told as she was escorted out of class last month.

The Flickr photos have been blocked or removed but the Austin American-Statesmen has an article that includes one of the Flickr photos. Ms. Hoover disagrees with her employers and says the photographs were artistic in a post on her MySpace profile.

1. The website is artistic photography and very good at that.
2. I never told kids to "go see me" at the website.
3. The website is not mine and I have no control over what the photographer posts, nor do i know what she is going to post
4. The website is not pornographic.
5. I have been recognized by the board year after year (2 weeks before may 19 board recognized me again) for outstanding achievments as an art teacher..YET I am supposedly ineffective.

There is also a roundup on CBS News of several blog posts that agree with Tamara that her photos are artistic in nature. Sploid reports that Hoover is "accepting donations for her legal defense."