Sins of omission

I am really sorry I don't have more time to surf the net in search of websites managed by colleagues and containing ideas about the link between the net and teaching. Really interesting suggestions can be found.

For example, in his "The Thinking Stick" blog, Jeff Utecht offers some important notes about something few teachers and school managers have understood over here. Students are on the net, have their own social presence, do talk, even about the "XY School", even about their teacher John Doe. If they are the only ones to do so, all that will be found online about the "XY School" or about professor John Doe is what students write...

Is it necessary, then, to "occupy" spaces, to use one's name in a massive way so that the information we want to be visible can prevail on the students' chatter? I don't know, but personally I think that if not necessary, it is at least important. Surely being aware of the situation is good. Not taking care of one's name on the internet can become an unpleasant omission with no significant belated remedies.

But there is another kind of omission, in my opinion, regarding us teachers from even closer in our relationship with our students. A very good way to be on Facebook or other social networks is garrisoning. There are, unfortunately, those (even colleagues), who misuse or abuse these channels. Direct personal experience. To be there means, beside a lesson in style, a form of moderation of potentially harmful situations for our students and for the images of our schools. Certainly we can pretend we are not there. But we know perfectly well that we wouldn't be quite honest, and besides, vices and virtues are often seen collectively, and rarely the faults of one don't reverberate on the others. Rightly so.