Social Networking NOT for School Teachers

Thanks all for the comments.  

I don't think it is anyone denying teachers freedom of speech.  This is their union encouraging them to make good decisions about where they hang out on the Internet.  At least I believe the Ohio Education Association is their union.

I am not sure if a school board, superintendent, principal said "don't join Facebook or MySpace.com" it would be the same thing as their union encouraging them not to post a profile or participate on a social network.   That might be denying teachers free speech.  I think their  union is encouraging them to protect them from their school boards, superintendents, principals as well as other teachers AND students.  

And the newspapers.  Some local teachers profiles made a great newspaper article.  The the Ohio Education Association's letter encouraging Ohio school teachers not to participate on ActiveRain and MySpace came out just after an article in the Dispatch, but they said it was already in the works.

Charlie:   Can you quit Ning.com or are you just going to abandon it? Did you start a social network? 

Can you quit a social network?   I vowed to read everything and think about an exit strategy before joining a social network or two... but I never do...  I don't know that you can quit most.  You can stop participating, some you may be able to do a lot of deleting to obliterate a profile...  but with a lot of social networks it's the members and traffic that they want so they can sell it to or partner up with Google or Microsoft (Facebook) or someone... or do the advertiser thing that Facebook is doing now. 

Aren't some social networks like the Mafia?  You can't quit. 

Lenn they were on Facebook and MySpace before us and it was for more social endeavors than what the real estate professional is using it for IMHO. It was for college kids first?  Then high school?  Or vice versa?  That's why it asks such silly, immature questions about how you met someone. Some of the teachers of today joined MySpace.com, Facebook when they were in school. It has nothing to do with business for many. MySpace too.  The fact that Facebook decided to add us oldsters at some point.... was long after Facebook and MySpace were established social networks.  And a much more social kind of social than most of us are ever going to be interested in.   

Leigh if kids are interacting with the teachers via MySpace and Facebook it is not the same good old fashioned wholesome interaction though.. is it? Not the Columbus Dispatch article in my entry but an earlier series called The ABCs of Betrayal is about teacher misbehavior. The kind of stuff that ends up a punchline on Letterman or Leno's shows.. and is not really funny at all... According to the newspaper article the memo with the recommendation to not participate in these sorts of sites says: "While this advice might seem extreme, the dangers of participating in these two sites outweigh the benefits." the union memo said. "Because of the high standarda placed on school employees and the risk of job and career loss, the OEA recommends even the appearance of inappropriateness." The Dispatch article in this post does give three examples of profiles that "appear legit" for three Ohio teachers. Someone with the Ohio Department of Education (the director of the Office of Professional Conduct) says the three if the three profiles are teachers, their online info can be considered "conduct unbecoming." He makes a point in the article that they have a right to have it up... but that it needs to be appropriate for their students to see.... and the union is afraid of ..."what ifs" interpretation of improper relationships, imposters posting as teachers, children posing as adults in on-line conversations with teachers.

I think they are allowed to use social sites Drew, the Dispatch story is their union is recommending they don't. 

It doesn't look like the teachers union is doing anything more than sending out a memo discouraging social networking, but it is not only Facebook or MySpace, although they are named.  The quote says "and other online social-networking sites."

Thanks for the comment Karen.

Someone Twitted this recently... very scholarly but it has a timeline for social networking that jogged my memory about a couple of others that I have joined but am not active in. 

UC Berkly and Michigan State - Social Networks  and about some SNs that have been launched, died, relaunched.

I miss Carole Cohen... and I missed her comment too.  Someone reading this made me look.