Big brother is watching, but we are opening the drapes

I was done posting for the day but have spent my daily five minutes perusing Edbloggernews and came across this article: Pentagon sets its sights on Social Networking sites.

As the Pentagon funds harvesting information from social networking sites, we have more important work to do than ever. Our children are oblivious! We are planning a parent and teacher meeting about myspace and the information students post online and this will be an article that I share.

We have GOT to educate NOT insulate our students on this important issue. Students often post things tongue in cheek that they don't mean. Now, a joke with a friend may turn into an inquisition. This makes me nervous as profiles of how each of us think could possibly be built off of our online material. I am not ashamed of how I think, but who determines whether what I think is “acceptable” and how will it be used.

Big brother is watching, but we are opening the drapes. (Who is going to teach children about this if we make blogging as unmentionable as religion in public schools?)

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Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis is a full-time classroom teacher and IT Director in Georgia, USA. She is Mom of three, wife of one, and loves talking about the wise, transformational use of technology for teaching and doing good in the world. She hosts the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast which interviews teachers around the world about remarkable classroom practices to inspire and help teachers. Vicki focuses on what unites us -- a quest for truly remarkable life-changing teaching and learning. The goal of her work is to provide actionable, encouraging, relevant ideas for teachers that are grounded in the truth and shared with love. Vicki has been teaching since 2002 and blogging since 2005. Vicki has spoken around the world to inspire and help teachers reach their students. She is passionate about helping every child find purpose, passion, and meaning in life with a lifelong commitment to the joy and responsibility of learning. If you talk to Vicki for very long, she will encourage you to "Relate to Educate" or "innovate like a turtle" or to be "a remarkable teacher." She loves to talk to teachers who love their students and are trying to do their best. Twitter is her favorite place to share and she loves to make homemade sourdough bread and cinnamon rolls and enjoys running half marathons with her sisters. You can usually find her laughing with her students or digging into a book.

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2 comments

Karyn Romeis June 23, 2006 - 3:04 pm

Good grief! This is totally out of line. I thought that sort of thing belonged to an entirely different type of government. Having seen it up close in South Africa’s scandalous past, I can state with confidence that it is to be avoided if at all possible. What happened to freedom of speech/expression?

J. Grizzle, a.k.a. Owlteacher June 25, 2006 - 5:18 pm

Regarding your parent/teacher meeting: I would love links to any materials or resources you plan to use. As an instructional technology specialist, I find that parents have been thoroughly scared from the recent news stories. Your proactive approach is a great model, and I would appreciate any help as I endeavor to create a similar program.

Also, thanks for the valuable and relevant information from CoolCatTeacher. Your blog is one of my “first reads” whenever I log in to my bloglines!

Comments are closed.

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