Today, I read yet another in a growing list of articles involving a teacher who wrote a Blog Post with totally inappropriate comments about her job, students, parents and administrators. In the past month or so, I have read several articles about teachers using social media for contacting students in an inappropriate way. More and more teachers are coming under attack and when the opportunity arises technology, as well as Social Media are being piled on as the reason for the ills of society and the deterioration of our education system, if not actually being the root of all evil.
The unfortunate consequence of these mindless acts of stupidity in the actions of a few is a knee jerk reaction on the part of some administrators, and politicians, who pander to the fears of a public, that is sorely in need of an education and understanding of Social Media (including:Facebook,Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, et al). These solutions sometimes result in the banning of the internet in school districts, or attempting to alter labor contracts restricting the use of the internet by teachers even in their private lives.
When we examine the offenses of these individuals however, it is not the social media that is the offense; it is the inappropriate behavior of a few individuals. It should be that behavior that is banned. It is that behavior for which we should hold individuals accountable. It is that behavior that is the punishable offense. It is not the Technology or the Social Media. The vast majority of educators use it responsibly, yet they and their students will suffer by being disconnected from the free-flowing content and collaboration of the learning-rich environment of the Internet.
Please do not comment to me about the dangers of the Internet. I am the first to insist that we educate our society about internet safety, as well as, what it means to be a responsible digital citizen. It is obvious to me that our entire society is in need of such lessons, because the internet and social media is new to a vast majority of our citizenry. It hasn’t existed for all that long and it needs to be taught and learned. It is not a fad that will pass in time. It will grow and move forward. We need to deal with it rationally. It needs to be introduced and taught early to kids as a tool for learning with more access and freedoms as they mature. Yes, there are predators that will use the internet to get to kids. This is why we must teach our children about this as early as we teach them not to go with strangers in a playground or amusement park, or shopping mall.
The prevailing myth governing some parents’ views of the Internet however is skewed by the repeated battering as a topic by shows like To Catch a Predator. The show with the hard-nosed investigative reporter luring predators to the homes of, theoretically, internet-duped adolescents, expecting something more than the awaiting cops hiding behind the bushes on the driveway. These are real incidents; it is undeniable, and sickening. However the dangers of predators on the internet is a fact that is sensationalized and dramatized and repeated over and over on TV and Radio distorting the frequency of occurrences. The real fact of the matter is that over 90% of the victims of child molestation are molested by family members, or close family friends (including some clergy). This is rarely captured by the cameras. Yet, do we ban family picnics, block parties, or church functions as a defense? No child should be molested as a result of the internet use, or face to face contact. Our best defense for our children is education, and, not banning. We should not ban picnics, block parties, church functions, or the Internet from our children.
One post that offered some great quotes was BLOG PUTS TEACHER IN HOT WATER by: Christina Kristofic from The Intelligencer. Beyond every educator, all adults should heed this advice. these ideas should also be taught to students from an early age.
“Each time you post a photograph or information on the web, make sure you would gladly show it to the following people: Your mother. Your students. Your superintendent. The editor of The New York Times,” The Pennsylvania State Education Association tells teachers on its website. “Even though the First Amendment protects your speech as a private citizen on matters of public concern, that speech may fall outside of First Amendment protection if it ‘impedes your employer’s effectiveness or efficiency, or otherwise disrupts the workplace.’ Avoid posting anything on your profile page about your colleagues, administrators, or students, as well as using inappropriate or profane messages or graphics, or anything that would reflect negatively on your workplace.”
I never liked the argument used against gun legislation, “Guns don’t kill people; People kill people!” It was a statement however, that could not be disputed. It actually is an effective defense to banning guns. The right to bear arms is guaranteed under the constitution. Responsible gun owners educate themselves and their families in the proper safety and maintenance of weapons. There is a good reason for this. Without understanding and respect, a gun in the wrong hands can be a tragedy. There are many parallels that may be drawn with the internet and Social Media. Our society has no choice. All of these are part of our culture and we must be smart and deal with them responsibly, or live with the consequences of not dealing with them at all. I would hope that commentary to this post is limited to technology and the internet in education, and not Gun Control.
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Agreed, Tom. I was talking to someone about this subject the other day–it’s true that social media isn’t going away, and that’s why it’s so important for parents and educators to demonstrate and outline its effective and positive use. Otherwise, social media will default to the seedier uses we hear about, and that’s exactly what causes administrators to hit the brakes when teachers talk about Twitter, blogs, and the like.
Unfortunately, many in our society, (including some teachers), have never learn to disagree without being disagreeable, (isn’t that a quote from someone?).
Tech prep for teachers is woefully inadequate as it is for most of our students – part of that tech prep should include a list of positive ways to use social media and results of not being positive.
My students are currently working on learning about programming using Scratch, the website, http://scratch.mit.edu, is not only about programming, its about collaborating, sharing, and creating on a global scale.
Student interest is running high as they see some really great programming and, for the most part, positive comments from the members of the Scratch community.
I don’t think that learning to program would be half as fun without the interaction.
I can almost understand this blogging mistake because when a new blogger starts to use their blog initially, they may still think their audience is limited to only close friends. It is safer to think that way when you are new at it. That would be blogging – newbie.
After writing a while and after getting a few comments, they can take more risks. For some folks that can be a big risk and they may then find out their audience is bigger than they realize. That would be the adolescence in blogging. It might be enough simply to hear that your principal wasn’t happy and spoke with you about something your wrote or how others received it.
Finally we reach a more mature approach. We now know that our audience is diverse, that our experience has taught us how to have a polite conversation while not only pointing out a couple of weaknesses but some suggestions for possible improvement.
A rant is rarely received well and unbridled criticism will always bring a critical eye on the blogger.
Teaching places teachers in a privileged position with students. From time to time we hear about teachers who engage in inappropriate and/or illegal physical behavior with students. Those most likely to fall in to this sort of trap tend to be those with contact beyond the school day such as coaches and directors of musical groups. With the advent of social media, there is one more vehicle for bad behavior. Teachers that wouldn’t have regular authorized physical access to students now have virtual access after hours. It should be no surprise that a few (let’s hope) succumb to this new temptation.
The Internet is the digital street. We need to teach our children digital street smarts. Unfortunately, most of the current teacher corps finished school before they could learn these lessons. District leaders should take this into consideration and include a strand of digital street smarts in their professional development program.
Social Media is not to be blamed it’s the way in which the media was used. Each one of us needs to be responsible in our use and teach responsibility to our students. I would hate to see parents and administrators not see the positives while focusing on the negatives. Admittedly, this usually happens within a group who are not thoroughly convinced and looking for any reason to bail because they are uncomfortable. So we need to teach and continually model and demonstrate the importance of Social Media.