If you want to know why blogs may never catch on in schools and academia, this is why. Anything you say can and will be used against you. And I'm not referring to the teacher who was fired, I mean the "Keeping a Lid on Your Blog" article by "Ms. Manners."

Well, I guess that rules me out of any job working for any anti-freedom-of-speech deprived university. Come to think of it, is that really such a bad thing?

I don't know about the "blathering blog," but I sure as hell wouldn't want to work for thought police who scoured the net searching for ancient webtexts they could harp on as "offensive." For God's sake, teachers are NOT paragons of moral virtue, nor should they strive to appear so. This silliness is the reason people groan when they hear a teacher is coming to a party..

I really think we need to treat teachers the same way we treat other professionals; what we do with OUR time is OUR business. People wouldn't fire a doctor because she had a website online with dirty jokes. As long as the doctor is doing her job and making sick people well, who cares what goes on after working hours (assuming it's legal?)

I fully agree; teachers SHOULD NOT be held responsible for content put on the web in their youth, nor should they feel an oppressive moral burden to present themselves as suzie-cream cheese. Unfortunately, we ARE held to a different moral standard than other professionals. Just think about all those words/ideas you dont' say in class. Consider your wardrobe -- are you the miserable owner of an entire line of frumpy "teacher clothes"? Some of us in higher ed. may feel unrestricted (frumpy skirts begone!), but our colleagues in elementary and secondary schools are certainly more limited. Fear and distrust of teachers are not so easily ignored. I believe we should exercise our rights as much as possible, but it is prudent to remember anyone can be watching. Tricia, USF