Re: Facebook Q to Math Man

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I am sorry to be blunt here people, but having a Facebook site as a
teacher is stupid. Teaching is a unique profession in that a person's
perception of you goes a long way in defining who you are
professionally. This is not fair, but it is what it is.

The unique thing about our profession is that people are constantly
coming and going from our lives, every year we get a new set of kids
and a new set of parents. They form opinions about you, good and
bad...you putting pictures of yourself and making comments, however
benign you might think they are, is dumb.

For example, a previous poster says "What if I just talk about my day,
stuff like, I got bit by a little kid today...that's o.k if I don't
use names right?" WRONG...I mean seriously how hard is it for a
parent to ask their kid who the little brat was who bit the teacher?
Then once they have that info, the kid is scarred for life, all
because you posted something on your facebook. I know many of you do
not think this is a big deal, but I assure you it is. If you are
looking to screw yourself in ways you never thought possible, by all
means, join Facebook...you can bet there will be many parents looking
to hang on your every word.

On 8/26/09, certifiedteach wrote:
> There is a difference between embracing technology and being a
> teacher who posts too much personal information without thinking
> about the ramifications of doing so. Technology is great when it is
> used correctly. Not so great when pics you post or your comments
> about your social life cause you to lose out on a job. Just like we
> are warning teens about being careful with what they post because
> colleges, and future employers can find that info, the same needs
> to be said to teachers (especially young ones who have never known
> life without sharing it all over the internet)who might not
> otherwise think twice about their professional reputation and what
> they put on their facebook or other social networking page.
> I have a page for my students to access, but not through a social
> networking site, and it is kept strictly school related; I don't
> put personal information on it. Get the difference?
>
>
> On 8/25/09, Math Man wrote:
>> You need to embrace technology and not be afraid of it. Your
>> students are already all over the intenet. Start a teacher page
>> so they can ask you questions online. We do that and it is
>> great. Take the obvious precautions of course but have fun with
>> it and let the parents know ahead of time. Don't listen to the
>> old teachers who are scared of everything and reject technology.
>>
>>
>> On 8/16/09, NJ/4th wrote:
>>> I stay away from social networking sites. For one reason, you
>>> never know who's going to read what you wrote. Maybe not a
>>> student, but it could be a parent. Or an administrator who's
>>> considering you for tenure. I don't know much about these
>>> sites, but could someone read an inappropriate post made by one
>>> of your friends or see a questionable advertisement?
>>>
>>> Another point is that your new colleagues may want to be your
>>> friend on these sites. I try not to mix business with pleasure
>>> and keep my work friends to a short list of people who I know I
>>> can trust. You could be opening a can of worms by friend-ing
>>> your coworkers. You might even find yourself in an awkward
>>> position and feel obligated to add them so things won't get
>>> weird at work.
>>>
>>> On 8/14/09, Ooii wrote:
>>>> I am a young teacher and recently got started on Facebook.
>>>> I'm hoping some of you might be able to help me out when it
>>>> comes to knowing what is and what is not okay to post on my
>>>> Facebook page. Originally, I thought I'd just try to stay
>>>> away from anything work-related all together and just post
>>>> about "my life." But as a teacher, so much of my job
>>>> is "my life."
>>>>
>>>> I've been posting up stuff like "made finger puppets in
>>>> class today," which is fine, but doesn't really cover "me."
>>>>
>>>> Is it okay to post things like "Interesting day. Was bit
>>>> by one of my kiddos," and stuff like that? (Without giving
>>>> away any personal info, ofcourse).
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
 

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