Blog Post 2

1. Is it fair to scrutinize teacher’s private lives? Explain/defend your position.

In some cases, it is fair to scrutinize teacher’s private lives such as when teachers post inappropriate pictures and content on webpages that are accessible to anyone. For example, the teaching assistant Keath Driscoll posted “sexually suggestive” pictures and references to women as whores on Myspace. This content was viewed by many students, teachers and members of the community. I think that his actions should have received a greater punishment than a three day suspension. Mr. Driscoll and other teachers in “The Whole World (Wide Web) is Watching" typically deserve to be scrutinized. They clearly do not think about their actions of putting inappropriate material on the Web, which students and parents see. If my child’s teacher had inappropriate pictures or content on the internet, I would not feel comfortable leaving my child with that teacher all day.

Source: The Whole World (Wide Web) Is Watching

2. Should teachers maintain a presence on social networking sites? Why or why not? As a teacher, what steps can you take to protect yourself from criticism and/or sanctions when using social media sites?

Teachers should be able to maintain a presence on social networking sites under extreme caution and knowledge about privacy. Most teachers are normal people who lead social and extra curricular lives and they should continue to connect with friends over social networking sites like most of America does. Teachers should create a separate Facebook page for their professional lives and one for their personal life. Parents, students and coworkers will be able to see their professional use Facebook page. To protect yourself from criticism, do not become friends with anyone in your professional community on your personal Facebook. Also, if you choose to make a separate professional and personal page, do not post anything inappropriate on your personal page because even if you don't have professional friends on your personal Facebook, anyone can figure out how to access any information once it is posted on the internet.

 Please visit "The Paranoid's Guide to Facebook" on PC World for more information on Facebook.