Sunday, February 17, 2013
Week 5 - Minding Digital Manners
The topic for this week is digital citizenship, and why it is important to be a good citizen, digitally speaking. I guess the reasons for behaving one's self electronically are fairly similar to the reasons for doing so in day-to-day real-life activities. Being mannerly, both in cyberspace and in person, shows those around us that we respect them and want them to feel comfortable around us. It also shows a restraint and a delicacy that help us demonstrate our credibility and build our trustworthiness to those around us. In addition to just plain good manners, however, we must also accept that, as educators, we have a responsibility to lead out students by example, and in a world where information travels so quickly, we must expect that, whatever bits of ourselves we put out there, whether on Twitter, Facebook, in blogs, or through emails, is going to be accessible to our students and their families. We cannot expect them to learn to communicate with taste and integrity if we do not show that we are able to do so. I have an acquaintance, for example, who teaches at a nearby high school, and she posts the most scandalous personal information on her very public Facebook account. She frequently posts about going out and drinking, often adding pictures of herself in these situations. She is a grown woman, and certainly entitled to do as she wishes, but my opinion of her drops more and more each time I see her make the decision to provide this information to the public, including many students that are listed as "friends" on her account. More disturbing is the fact that several people have tactfully mentioned this behavior as problematic, and she disregards the advice to tone it down. As a teacher, it makes me sad. As a parent, I know I would have serious doubts about the quality of education my children would receive in her classroom. Alright. My backside in getting sore, which means I must have spent too much time in the saddle. Time to climb down from my moral high horse. :-) Have a great week, everyone!
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I am surprised that the admins at her school haven't spoken to her! That is so inappropriate on so many aspects, not the least of which is being fb "friends" with students.
ReplyDeleteI once, during my first year, overheard students in my room talking about a teacher who had posted something along the lines of "I hate my life" (and she was also absent that day). I mentioned it to another teacher who notified our school resource officer, and he and the principal checked out her fb page and found much more that caused them concern (not the least of which that she was mentally unstable and a threat to our school). She ended up losing her job (her first year teaching).
I cannot fathom how an adult can publicly broadcast unprofessional behavior. My fb settings were totally private when I was teaching because I knew students would be searching for anything they could about me, and they would pester me about being fb friends. They love that stuff! I didn't have to worry about anything unsavory but I do not think that they need to know anything about my personal life and friends. Teenagers love drama and are known to embellish things, and I wasn't going to put myself in any vulnerable position for it.
However, I did create a fb page for our French Club after we went to the French West Indies (Guadeloupe) because it was a really nice way to share pictures and comments. We shared the site with our Board of Education, and they could easily see the numerous activities we did and how much fun it was.
Great post.