Your Thoughts: Teachers Blogging

I'm a teacher, a mom, and a blogger. I'm sure some of my students read my blog, and I'm fine with that. I think teachers, like anyone, should use their own discretion when online. I assume all my writing is public, and I have no control over my readers. I always wonder why someone would bother to write in a whiny, complaining manner that would upset a child-it doesn't seem very interesting or productive. If anything, I think my students are inspired knowing that I practice what I preach.

I think as a general rule, blogging about work is a difficult, precarious position to take. You must assume that everyone you know, everyone you don't know, people who like you, people who don't like you are reading your blog. Blogs are great places to vent, and if the writer is clever, a message can be embedded that makes YOU feel better. But my experience as a manager tells me subtle messages never hit their intended target. Self-serving messages tick everybody off.

I think it's entirely appropriate for teachers to have classroom blogs. It's like how there were class newsletters back in the day. But blogging negatively about students seems incredibly stupid and short-sighted. I'm not advocating a PC, every kid is wonderful and always deserving of praise stance, but singling kids out for bad behavior is only going to invite more bad behavior. So yeah, blog about your class, but don't talk about how lazy/dense/angry some kids are.

I think that everyone is entitled to a blog , it keeps us all sane. However I do think that teachers should not blog about students. For the simple fact that they may not be speaking about your child but any child could find it and become insecure about their own teacher.

I teach high school, but I blog about diabetes, so it is rare for me to refer to students, unless it has something to do with diabetes. (AKA: too boring for kids to care about, research, etc.) But even so, I make sure that everything I write is something I wouldn't mind the parents, the students, or my boss reading.

EVERYONE should be able to blog, but they need to be aware that everything on line is public information, and they need to use discretion and sensitivity. Especially if you are working with children. Sensitivity to the needs of children is a key component of teaching!

Let's face it: some professions are held to higher standards. If a clerk at the 7-11 blogs about customers, it would incite a lot less outrage than if she were a teacher, doctor, police officer, nurse, or minister. We expect more from these people. And I think we know it when we sign on for these professions.

I suspect that Natalie Munroe might find things a bit uncomfortable. If she doesn't, or chooses not to yield to the needs and desires of the student and parent body, she may need to reconsider her profession.

I see no problem with teachers blogging, but I do think if they have negative things to say about their students, keep it off the blog. If the student or parent finds the blog and realizes it's about their child, that's going to be a big mess that is going to leave the child in the middle of. If what the child did was that bad, that they deserved their own blog post, why not talk with the parents and resolve the matter instead of telling the internet and save the child the embarrassment and the hard feelings.

Teacher's should act professionally at all times, and should not blog negative remarks about their students or anything having to do with their classroom, unless it's positive, even though blogging is a public forum, there's still alot of responsibility that a teacher needs to present in his or her writing.

I am a teacher. A mother. A blogger. My personal blog is for myself and my family. I share it publicly. I see no issue there. If there is something bothering me at work, I use my discretion before writing about it in such a public forum, but I don't avoid it purposely. In the same way that bloggers discuss public issues, encounters, etc that affect them or effect life, writing about education - that which I give and that which my children receive - is important. I encourage my own students to write and write often. While not every blog I post sings praises to students or the workplace, there is always that hope that things will improve - for the benefit of my students and for the comfort of all of us working together throughout the year. I always try to convey that aspect of "the story." And though I don't use social networking to correspond to current students, I know many who do...

As a teacher, I think it's absolutely one's right to blog. I read teachers' blogs to discuss policies, practices, etc. and find a lot of them helpful. I also read parents blogs and am surprised by how open they are about their families and children. I often wonder if when their kids get older, will they resent this? I think as with any blog it's important to maintain a sense of anonymity if it has potential to affect your home/work life. Writing with a pseudonym and using made-up names (as I know doctors often do to maintain patient confidentiality) is a good strategy.

At the same time, I try keep my personal life exactly that: personal. My first year teaching, my students were able to find out how old I was because they unearthed a travel blog I had written with my sister before I started teaching. The blog was perfectly appropriate - in fact I like that they were able to glean a bit about me and my love for travel - but they were still able to unearth personal facts (since then, I don't include any).

It's important for teachers, parents, everyone to be extremely aware of the fact that whatever goes online is public and its important to censor information you don't want others to know.

And common practice - if you wouldn't say something to someone's face, you probably shouldn't say it behind their back (i.e. online).