Having been involved in many theater productions throughout college and after, I knew that my name would show up quite a bit online. Most of the articles that include my name are theater related, and wanting to be a theater teacher, this might actually help me. If my Drama students look me up, they will have proof that I practice what I teach. So, that is actually pretty exciting.
The only think that took me by surprise, was when I searched for my name under www.piple.com and discovered that my name showed up in other people's blogs. There is one that is theater related (and flattering!) and there is another that describes a day in London. (http://elgranderudeboy.livejournal.com/170700.html)Again, it doesn't say anything that could hurt my reputation as a teacher, but it surprised me that students could so easily read a blog that someone I know has written. It makes me think about how the bloggers reputation is also representing my own. If he mentions my name in a blog, and in that blog he also writes anything at all inappropriate, it could reflect poorly on me. I would like to change that. I hate that anyone can write anything and if my name is included in the text, I could be misrepresented. That gives me a feeling of helplessness.
I believe that teachers should be held accountable for material that they personally post online. Since we are public figures and most often, government funded, I believe we have a responsibility to maintain a respectable reputation. I believe our personal lives should be just that, personal. We should feel free to openly express ourselves to our family and friends but not online, because it is public domain.
The story that most surprised me in “Have you Googled Your Teacher Lately?” was regarding a student at Millersville University who was denied an education degree because of a photo of her on facebook calling her a “drunken pirate.” I think that is extreme, mainly because she was gaining a degree in Education not practicing it. I believe the standards should be different for a working professional teacher and a student studying education. It makes me want to cancel my facebook account, though, or possibly create one using an alias. I just really don’t want some photo of me in college that could be deemed ‘inappropriate’ to show up and be the reason for me being reprimanded or not hired.
To protect myself and my job I plan on changing my facebook status, possibly using an alias or deleting it altogether. I also plan on not participating in personal blogging or posting personal comments on any public online domain. Thankfully, I don’t think this will be difficult because I don’t enjoy having an online profile anyway. I suppose I could also tell my friends and family not to include my full name in any blog they write.
Haley,
ReplyDeleteI think I had a similar experience with this assignment to yours as I found information about myself that could potentially be positive if a potential future employer were to discover it. I also strongly agree that posting personal information online should be done with great caution. Especially due to the fact that we not only have no idea of who sees the information we post, but also we have no control or say in how that information is interpreted by the individuals viewing it. I think as future teachers, it is very important for us to be aware of all the personal information floating about in the internet abyss that has our names on it so that we can either promote or erase it.