September 28, 2003
The Teacher's Predicament
Thanks to Will R. on Weblogg-ed, I've found this thoughtful essay in Teacher Magazine (requires sign-up, but free) on the pros and cons of teachers blogging about their classes, called "This Time, It's Personal" by Mark Toner. The article surveys the ways in which blogs can help teachers grow by working together in communities that span the globe online, while at the same time risking unwanted reactions from students, parents, and administrators if the blog gets too personal. Whether teachers or not, bloggers face the same issues and experience the same joys that people who write memoirs do. Something to keep in mind!
Trackback Pings
You can ping this entry by using .
Comments
I've actually blogged about experiences I've had in the classroom. Of course, I wipe out all names and places. I try to keep it anonymous as possible. Why do I bother keeping a blog? Purely for stress release purposes.
The personal content of blogs can be a thorny issue. On the one hand, it's nice to think that you would never do anything that you wouldn't want to blog about (or that you wouldn't want your students to blog about). On the other hand...
In one of my classes, one student posted a rather abrupt critique of another student's blog entry, and if I read the comments right, the two seem to have become mortal enemies over the incident. It's too early to tell where this is all going...