Social Networking

The idea of “Googling” myself is not pleasant. I am a private person, and do not relish the notion of strangers being able to find information about me, especially without my permission. Fortunately, after doing both a Google and a Pipl search, I was able to scroll through over ten pages on each without finding a shred of information about this Anna Ferguson. I even tried to search for a picture of myself with no results. Instead, I found Anna Fergusons from many other walks of life: a yoga instructor, a volleyball player, an advocate for world peace, and even a gothic belly dancer!
To be honest, I only opened my Facebook account last weekend, and that was just to see the pictures of my brother’s new baby. To my knowledge, there is only one picture of me on the internet, and that is on my sister’s Facebook page. It is comforting to me that no one will be able to “look me up” and that there is nothing to discredit me in the eyes of students or the greater teaching community.
I believe that teachers have the same rights as everyone else. They should be able to do whatever they like on their own time, however, if their tastes move towards anything controversial they should take special care to keep their home life private. For instance, do not make videos of yourself “butt-painting.” Regarding speech, everything a teacher says in school is, without a doubt, going to be “on the record.” However, I do not believe that teachers should be denied their right to freedom of speech simply because of where they work. Teachers should be allowed to say whatever they believe outside of the school facilities without censure. Certainly, they should practice discretion and not vent in front of students or their parents.
The most interesting, and frightening, story from the article was about the aspiring teacher who was denied her license because of a picture found on a social networking sight. In the picture, she portrayed herself as a “drunken pirate.” I have not seen the picture, but I wonder if the school administration ever asked her about the photo. She could have been acting the character. She could have removed the photo before entering the classroom. Society seems ever ready to jump to the worst possible conclusion. For my part, I hope she wins her lawsuit.
Thus far, I feel that I am doing a fine job of protecting myself and my future job. My plan is to continue keeping a low internet profile and not act the fool when there are cameras around. It seems that in the future I may have to be more pro-active in searching for myself, if only to know what others will find.

"MySpace Photo Costs Teacher Education Degree," OffBeat blog, Washington Post.com, I May
2007.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offbeatl20071051myspace.photocoststeachered.html