In class we briefly mentioned about the teacher that almost lost her job because of things that she blogged about her students. One question came to my mind immediately when I heard that story. Is it really fair that students can text, tweet, blog, post on Facebook, etc. anything about their teachers, but their teachers cannot express general feelings about what went on in their classroom that day?
Now, this is not to say that I personally would ever publicly post anything about my own students. I do not agree that this is necessarily the most professional way to go about expressing your feelings, but is it really fair that teachers are held to a higher moral standard then most other professionals? As a teacher I feel like I am always walking on egg shells when it comes to things like blogging or especially social media sites. I am constantly afraid that someone will write something inappropriate on my Facebook wall or post a picture I would not want to have posted.
We have been encouraged through this class to become part of the blogging world, but where do we draw the line between what is safe and appropriate to blog and what could be misinterpreted or inappropriate?
I completely agree with your thought process here and if you want to discuss the facts it's very unfair that one side can voice their opinion, but the other side must hold their tongue. However, I feel that as an educational professional you take on this unwritten oath that mandates playing and maintaining a mature, role modelish lifestyle. Many other professionals are not held to the high standard, but many other professionals do not have the daily opportunity to work with and positively affect such vulnerable minds. I think "who" we work with determines this factor.
ReplyDelete-Chera
It is true that our job requires us to act as role models for young children, and that is why we need to be held to a higher moral standard then most professionals. However, I think it would make sense if those young children where then held to the same standards that their teachers are being held to. Our modeling of appropriate behavior should then become an expectation for our students both in and outside of the classroom.
ReplyDelete@Heather
ReplyDeleteI agree that it seems unfair that teachers are held to a higher standard when it comes to posting on their social networking pages. But we are supposed to be a positive influence on the children we teach. How would it look to others if we were posting anything negative about our day or students? If a student or parent saw the post, how would they feel the next class? Would their opinion of that positive role model change?
I too do not post anything about my students or my job on my Facebook page. You never know who is looking at your page, even if you think it is set to private. I see many people, who are not teachers, posting all kind of things about their day at work… good, bad or funny. I always wonder if they even think twice about what they are posting like I do.
Susan
I'm really bummed because I crafted a response to this post the day it went live, and of course, I did not click - click - click enough and 'poof', my comment never made it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'll try to capture some of my initial points.
1. Everything one publishes is subject to scrutiny. In fact, it's probably best to proffer all the negative reactions before hitting 'publish' or 'submit'.
In 'Made to Stick', authors Chip and Dan Heath interview a retired military leader. The Army has a phrase, 'No plan survives contact with the enemy'. How true. And you can drop out the word 'enemy' and put in its place 'student', 'reader', etc...
2. There is no anonymity, and to think so is mis-guided in today's world of pandemic publishing. We are, at best, pseudo-nonymous, and even then, with a fake/contrived online identity, we are still 'findable'. Ms. Munroe should have known this.
3. But we should blog, publish, compose, create, and share. This is an amazing time to learn and reflect, and the myriad of tools readily available not only invite, but demand participation.