Teacher Takes Potty Break On Zoom; Authorities Want To Know Why

WALLED LAKE, MI — There’s rude, and then there’s Zoom rude.

Rude is sharing too much information about your business in the bathroom. Zoom rude — even if it’s accidental, as seems to be the case with a Walled Lake teacher — is webcasting your business.

Chuck Froning, the Walled Lake Central High School interim principal, said in a letter to parents Thursday that a thorough investigation is under way into the Wednesday incident in which “both staff and students made choices that compromised social integrity.”

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is assisting with the investigation.

The Detroit Free Press reported that authorities are investigating whether a student recorded the bathroom break. The newspaper cited a source familiar with the incident, but not authorized to speak with reporters, who said the teacher was unaware her camera was still recording when the class ended.

“The district does not tolerate students’ inappropriate use of technology and any violations of either the Code of Conduct or our technology Acceptable Use Policy,” the letter sent to parents Thursday reads. “We know these are very different times in the midst of a global pandemic; however, District expectations must always include respect for all students and staff. "

Until Michigan and the rest of the country went on lockdown to control the coronavirus outbreak a year ago, many people had never even heard of Zoom, much less used the videoconferencing platform that has replaced classrooms, offices, courtrooms and even the family dinner table during the yearlong pandemic.

• ‘I’m Not A Cat’: Lawyer Has Purr-fect Response In Zoom Hearing

Some of the mishaps have been humorous.

In Texas, an attorney appeared as a kitten in a court hearing because he couldn’t figure out how to disable a Snapchat filter. The judge gave him props for handling the situation with aplomb.

Others have raised awareness of problems that move from the classroom or office to the videoconferencing platform, for example, bullying.

• ‘Zoom Bombing’ Is A Pandemic Thing; It’s Also A Bullying Thing

“Zoom bombing” — to be clear, it happens on Google Meet and other videoconferencing platforms, too — is a relatively new form of cyberbullying that's exposing everyone from kindergartners to senior court judges and a lot of people in between to behaviors that range from benign high jinks to racist screeds to criminal conduct.

And, some kids are still bullying other kids, finding new ways in virtual classrooms to torment their classmates.

Neither the teacher nor the student involved in the recording is in school while the Walled Lake incident is under investigation, the Free Press reported