which is about “A high school English teacher in suburban Philadelphia who was suspended for a profanity-laced blog in which she called her young charges “disengaged, lazy whiners” and some.”
I feel that this teacher made a big mistake even if it was legally an okay thing to do. I think as teachers we take on an unspoken oath somewhat like a Doctor or Lawyer may take. You just don’t talk (blog) about the kids in your classes even if you do not use their names. As a teacher we must keep grades confidential and we really aren’t suppose to discuss students with others. Although I have seen discussions happen in teacher lounges that really should not happen and I may be guilty of “venting” too… but blogging about it for the world to read is just ignorant because you know that anyone can read what you put out there.
As teachers don’t we have a moral obligation to be role models to our students? The teacher in this article uses some profane language and is downright a “bucket dipper”!!! She sure is not modeling the behavior she wants to see out of her students.
What about Teacher Expectations??? I am a big believer that if our expectations are low our results will be low too. Overall it appears that the majority of research supports the notion that teacher expectancies, whether they are high or low, have a significant impact on overall student achievement. So the students who were reading this blog, do you think they thought their teachers expectations were high or low??? hmmmm…
So many teachers have websites and blogs today. Most that I read do not blog about their kids in their classroom. They blog about things they are doing to help their students learn. I think that is as far as it should go… As a teacher if you have a problem with a student; talk to their parents. Deal with it offline. Use the internet as a resource and not for selfish reasons.
I am not saying that I do not agree with some of the points she made that were not downright hurtful to her students. In fact, some of her statements I agree with. I just feel as a teacher you need to be more careful about your comments and if you have a blog, it should be written more to help your students.
I am pretty sure that this teacher is legally okay and is enjoying some paid vacation while she is suspended. Hopefully, when she returns she will raise her expectations of her students and start thinking of ways she can help her students rather than blog about their faults. Maybe she will use her online time to search for solutions to her problems and ways to create fun lessons versus spending her time moaning and groaning for the blogging world to read. Two words for this teacher…. THINK POSITIVE!!!
How do you feel about this?
