Teachers and Social Networking

I have actually googled myself before to see what I could find. I’m not really surprised by what I found. Most of the matches with my name are from college water polo articles or from volunteering at the children’s hospital. As google runs out of matches for my first name it matches my last name to my cousin’s last name and sports articles about them.
As I went through the google search I double checked the settings on my facebook and made sure everything was set to private. I understand that it’s important how I present myself to my students. I have already been exposed to this as a coach. I don’t allow my athletes to be ‘friends’ with me on facebook. While some of my friends might be joking with posts or pictures I’m aware that it isn’t always appropriate for my kids.

I think that teachers should be held to higher standards. They are supposed to be setting an example for their students. I’m not saying it’s fair, I just think that if expect kids make good choices then so should we. However, I think that there should be some sort of privacy. Teachers do deserve some space and people must remember that teachers are human and everyone makes mistakes.

In order to protect myself and my job I’m going to remember teachers live under a magnifying glass and I will try to make wise choices.