Monday, February 21, 2011
Mad Blogger
The Internet has of course grown rapidly over the past decade. It's gotten to the point where, as Americans, we depend on it. Blogging has become a new trend, it's a place where people speak freely and are able to post what they wish, whether it's to rant, educate, or just post for the fun of it. With a blog, comes a much larger audience than just your peers, the entire world is able to access your blog. Sometimes your audience can surprise you. High school teacher, Ms. Munroe, from Pennsylvania, felt the need to publish her emotional, angry, feelings on a public blogging site for the world to see. Time magazine posted an article about it, it can be found here.
On her blog, she would post harsh comments about her job, her family, anything personal. As a student came across her blog, it became entertainment and eventually, the school administration viewed the blog and wound up suspending the teacher for her misbehavior. She spoke confidently without thinking of the consequences that would follow if school personnel were to see it. At first, I felt that this teacher did nothing wrong, she expressed her opinion on a website unrelated to her school. After talking to a few people I realized that I wasn't truly understand the school's actions. This teacher represents her school, her students, her staff and her community. Just like me being a student, I represent New Trier, or I'm an Artinian, I represent my family. It's about image, this teacher acted in an unprofessional way about her school. This clouds the image of the school, and could make outsiders question the school's morals. I now feel that the school took proper precaution with this case because the teacher fully attached her name and picture to her site, allowing anyone and everyone to see it. This does not bring great "publicity" to the school. This teachers students left parents uncomfortable with the situation. They were sending their kids to a classroom on a daily basis, where a teacher was so unhappy and angry with her job. Being a school administrator, how would you react to an employee bad mouthing your work place, a place where you should take pride in? What separates work from personal life?
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Emily- Great post! I read Ms. Munroe's blog (it was linked on the TIME article) and she does seem a tad extreme. Technically, she is not breaking the law by posting a blog. I see no problem in expressing one's oppinion, but bad-mouthing minors seems like a harsh action. A mean teacher should be fired; there must be respect in a classroom for it to function. If students do not show the same respect, appropriate action should be taken, as well. Even though her blog was not illegal, the school properly dealt with the disrespectful teacher. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, it is very interesting!
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