One of the many wonderful things about the internet is that you can be as anonymous as you want to be. I chose to attach my real name and my real picture to this blog, but I didn’t have to. I could just as easily have used a pseudonym and a fake picture.
While I share a lot of very personal things here, I also have lines I won’t cross – things I won’t discuss. I am very much aware of the fact that everything I write on this blog is completely public. My family can see it. My co-workers can see it. My daughter’s teachers can see it. One day, my daughter will be able to see it. And well, some things are just not appropriate for public sharing.
If I really wanted to share those things publicly, I would do so anonymously. It’s just common sense.
I am becoming increasingly disturbed by those who don’t seem to give a second thought to anything they post on the web – particularly those who are teachers.
The other day, I read about a middle school teacher who was Tweeting about her drunken escapades. What’s worse is that she had students who followed her, so it wasn’t just a possibility that her students would see her Tweets, but almost guaranteed. If you really must share such things, how difficult is it to create a private account that your students (and their parents . . . and your boss) can’t see?
When I taught 3rd grade, I lived in the same neighborhood as my students. I wouldn’t even walk down the street smoking a cigarette because I didn’t want one of my kids to see me!
This article was even worse. A teacher posted a Facebook status about his views against marriage equality. That, in and of itself, doesn’t bother me. He’s entitled to his views, as bigoted as they are. What I object to is that fact the he is Facebook friends with some of his students and thought nothing of posting something that could be hurtful to them.
Once again, he could have easily posted the update privately and shared it with select individuals. He chose to share it publicly and with his students and I just can’t understand that.
I don’t think any teacher should friend his students on Facebook to begin with, but if you’re going to do it, be mindful of your posts. I am adamantly against censorship, but this is just common decency.
Before you post something online, ask yourself if you would say the same things out loud to the same audience.
