So if you're too school for cool

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

My sister Emily is an english professor. She'll sometimes post a funny sentence out of a paper a student submitted (annoymously, of course). I thoroughly enjoy reading these, because it's funny to laugh at the ridiculous mistakes we all sometimes make.

Emily posted this video on her blog:



I have a few thoughts about this.

First, she probably should have made her blog private. It's not too hard to find a blog, so she should have anticipated a student could come across her blog.


Also, she said some horrible things, and how can you expect a student to feel safe and encouraged to learn in an environment where the teacher seems to hate you and think negatively of you. I would hope teacher's were setting an example of how to treat those at school with you, whether it is other teachers or fellow students.


However, I think there is definitely a double standard here. Students and parents alike can post and say whatever they want about teachers. Another blogger wrote his perspective as a waiter and wrote terrible things about customers all the time, and America applauded him and invited him on every talk show to educate people on how to be better restaurant customers. Why can a teacher not comment on the lack of discipline in her class and the lack of effort on her students part?


Overall, I disagree with her method of commenting on her students. She wasn't opening discussion, she was resorting to harsh and general insults, just as you would expect a high schooler to do...

...but I really want to keep reading Emily's posts about her students. What are your thoughts???

3 comments:

Shelli said...

I feel like I understand exactly what she is going through.

While she could have avoided this whole mess by making her blog private, I don't think she has to. On the one hand, her argument is that her blog was meant for her and a few friends and therefore should have been private. On the other hand, it's freedom of speech. If she never named the school, its administrators or her students, she's entitled to write whatever she wants and should not be punished for it.

It is unfortunate that she feels so negatively towards her students, but HS students are a pain in the butt and as long as she is not saying those things in the classroom environment, I stand by her right to vent.

emily said...

Oh man! I just read a great line. Maybe if I write it on your blog they won't find it...

"Last journal I wrote was about getting into a rotten."

I'm thinking, a rotten what?

"So far it's working for me unless the wreath is bad."

I'm thinking, a rotten wreath? What are you talking about?

"I'm still five minutes late to my 8 am class."

And I realize, rotten = routine. And therefore wreath = weather.

I love my students.

Heather said...

oh that is sooo funny! we need a super secret club to enjoy this writing :)

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