The Role of a Blog in a Teacher's Life

Subtitle: What freedom of speech?

I saw a story on the news this morning about a teacher recently fired who was filing suit against her district for wrongful termination. Her claim? She was being fired for voicing her opinion on her personal blog, what she calls her "diary." She voiced unflattering opinions about her students, and claims that those opinions led to her termination, which in turn violates her freedom of speech.

What freedom of speech?

This teacher (I am so tempted to use quotation marks around the word) criticized her students on an internet forum. She referred to them as "disengaged, lazy whiners" and "frightfully dim." Another post, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle stated, "They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, and are just generally annoying."  While she did not identify herself using her surname, nor did she use the names of the school, the district, or even the students, "Natalie M." identified herself with a picture on her blog.  Yet she expects privacy.  Can I say again, she identified herself with a picture on her blog.

So the question is this: What rights do teachers have?

First of all, I firmly believe that this teacher crossed the line.  If your students are disengaged, I believe it is time for you to examine your own pedagogy.  If they are "frightfully dim," then what are you doing to close the gap between where you want them to be and where they are when they enter your room in August?  Obviously if students are talking back, cursing, and discussing inappropriate topics in your classroom, then YOU THE TEACHER NEED TO EXAMINE YOUR OWN CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.  

What rights do teachers have to vent?  We do have the right to vent.  We vent to spouses, to a journal (of the paper and pencil kind), even to other colleagues and supervisors behind the sanctity of closed doors.  We pound it out on the treadmill.  We take yoga classes.  We frequent happy hours.  We do have these rights.  

And while we may have the right to blog out our frustrations, it is inappropriate to take to the internet to criticize the children we teach.  It is inappropriate to publicly vilify the parents raising these children, whether we feel they are doing a good job or not.  If I called a parent and said some of these things about his/her child, I would fully expect to be reprimanded, transferred, or all out let go.  If it isn't appropriate to say it to the parent's face, then it is inappropriate to broadcast over the internet.  Because, you see, Natalie M., the internet never goes away.  It is there forever.  In my heart of hearts, I know that what goes on my blog needs to pass the same test I give my students: I need to be able to say it to my MeMaw.  I would not call my students "rat-like" to MeMaw.  She would be disappointed in me.

You are what you type.

We all grew up knowing that you are what you eat. Everything that you put in your body makes up the magnificent, or otherwise, temple that it is. Likewise, if you are a teacher, you are what you type.

There are a group of North Carolina teachers who are in hot water right now over their Facebook status postings, pictures, and other comments. Basically, they are learning a very hard lesson--what you put out into the world will come back to you ten-fold. Did no one sit these children down and explain to them that you don't even talk about students in the check out line at the Publix, because there may be ears listening to you? Did no one sit them down and tell them to keep their mouths shut?

The answer is, apparently not. In this world of media, our personal thoughts are out there for everyone to see and read. Right now, anyone visiting my Facebook page knows that I'm contemplating the lit review that's hanging over my head. What they won't read is about the more adult activities I might wander into later on this weekend (all of which are perfectly legal, FYI--so stop imagining the worst!). Do I edit myself when I visit my page or even my friends' pages? Of course I do! I'm a public educator. The key word is public. We are public servants and we must set an example for children that is above reproach, for the most part. We do have private lives, but when you post those pictures on the Internet for everyone to see, those lives aren't private anymore.

These young people made some unfortunate decisions. They made their private lives public. They invited people to search for them and read their personal thoughts about their jobs and their lives. But the fact remains, they chose to put those things out there for all to see. I leave school frustrated every now and then (and sometimes more now than then), but I don't vent about my children on my networking sites. I don't call my school "ghetto" or the children I work with "chitlins" (as they chose to, in very poor taste). Nor do I think that these thoughts are anywhere near appropriate for public posting.

It is a hard lesson for young educators to learn. They have to leave the wide open world of college, where just about anything is okay, and come to a society that expects you to be perfect and chaste---or at the very least to not have a life outside of school at all. It is the sacrifice that we make. It isn't easy. It's why I choose to live in another town from where I teach. But it is what we must do.