Ed.Tech@Lake Blog

There’s an article in USA Today about teachers blogging (claims that Technorati, the blog tracking site, lists 848 of them) and the inherent “dangers” involved. There’s the account of First Year Teacher who quit her job and then blogged about her bad experiences in the school district and reasons for quitting.  But there are lots of other teachers who are still working in their jobs, not happy in those positions or with the administration, and are blogging about it.  These comments certainly fall within the realm of “free speech” but do they set a good example for our students?

If we educators want to blog, shouldn’t we be setting good examples for our students who are too often blogging inappropriately and posting inappropriate photos and comments on their myspace pages?  Perhaps the teachers who are blogging and being overly critical publically of their districts, their students, their administrators feel protected because of their strong teacher union.  But haven’t we  heard stories about potential employees not being hired because the employer checked the blog or myspace account and didn’t like what they saw?  So shouldn’t we be modeling for our students what is and isn’t appropriate to publish in the “blogosphere?”

I am a strong proponent of blogging and have advocated for it in the district. It’s a way to get kids to write, to reflect, and to have a wider audience for their writing. It encourages reading, writing and reflection.  It can be a very constructive process.  It can also be destructive when it’s used to discredit others.  There’s been a lot of attention lately about how middle school girls use their myspace accounts to form cliques, turn girls against each other, and generally, be devisive.

No, our schools are not perfect and teachers have the right to voice their concerns.  But when the concerns are broadcast all over the world, without the history and the perspective that one needs to understand a situation fully, perhaps tempering those comments is a good idea.

 Am I just a Pollyanna or a scaredy cat?