Hello All,
I do not twitter and I have never
had a facebook account or a blog. I do however strongly believe in free speech.
Becoming a teacher is becoming a mentor. I think to blog about personal topics
is too much for a mentor to do. A teacher should keep their controversial point
of view to people they know. If you ask any teacher, a fear of theirs it is to
say something to a class and have a child go home and mistell their parents and
then you have a nasty phone call or email accusing you of something your didn’t
even say. Written word can be confused on the tone. It is one thing to write
openly not worrying about if you know your audience; but it is another if you
know your audience. If you are teacher, and a student googles you and a blog
comes up that is even slightly offensive, on an inappropriate topic, or has one
line that can be read wrong you will be talked about in a negative way. I think
to blog is to rant about something you feel strongly about and not restrict
your opinion. I think as a teacher and a mentor it is not appropriate. Free speech
is important but don’t put it in writing if you hold a position that kids will be
exposed to. The nature of parent’s complaints makes blogging not worth it.
Become a college professor and teach adults if you want to write your opinion
for all to read.
Alison Disque
I understand that blogging can lead to personal issues with parents, but it should not limit the ability for students to discuss about school related topics. Blogging is great when students want to learn more about one another, share ideas and opinions about what they have learned or talked about in class, etc. Written words can be very confusing due to the limited ability to understand the author’s tone; therefore it is very important to understand your audiences before you write. Most of the time, keeping professionalism of written words will limit the risks of future issues with parents and/or students.
ReplyDeleteDear Alison,
ReplyDeleteI can say with certainty that I agree with you about most people using their blogs to rant with their friends about the trials and tribulations of their lives. However, I do not think that this fact alone is enough cause to write off teacher blogging completely. If done in appropriate ways and with the assent of a pro-innovation school district/principal, I think such blogging could be a major success. Communications between teachers, parents, and children could be improved and possibly even miscommunication could be avoided with regard to assignments, deadlines, and test dates. It is true though that all of these changes must be gradual in order to prevent a large uproar. Teachers that are currently too vocal about their opinions would need to be censored to a certain degree, but those teachers that are still willing to follow a gradual integration technique should not suffer the consequences. These are only my thoughts on the issue. I would like to hear from you about my comments if possible.
Sincerely,
Ariel Diaz-Nanasca
Hi Alison!
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I completely agree with what Alison is saying in the fact that blogging is something too personal for a teacher to do. I do think that blogs can play an important role in a classroom as far as a teacher posting assignments and the classroom agenda for students who missed class or forgot what their assignments were. But as far as having a blog for personal posts and opinions, I think it is inappropriate. I feel like it's almost kind of the equivalent of adding one of your students on Facebook which I think most would agree is inappropriate. I think it is important to keep your personal life separate from those of your students. There is a fine line between being a teacher and a friend and I think that level of professionalism needs to remain intact.
Sincerely,
Vince Riedel
Alison-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. But, I'm amazed that you don't have a Facebook account. Sounds like you dodged a bullet there. What about this scenario though: you're about to get laid off or move to another state and you start a blog in order to complain about all of your coworkers. How funny would that be!?
Sincerely,
Andy