Privacy

I have watched the CMS Teachers- Face Book newscast in Charlotte with interest. On one hand, I understand the outrage. Some teachers are in trouble for things they have posted on their Face Book pages. One said she hated her students, said she taught in the ghetto, and various other comments were made that we don't like to hear from our teachers. I have not looked at the page content. What troubles me is that something someone expressed in what they thought to be a friendly forum was made very public. We all are viewed differently in the context of friends and family. People who know us well, allow us to vent without much recourse, or see what we say in any given situation on the larger stage of their experiences with us. They know when to dismiss us as cranky, ill, intoxicated or sarcastic. But any particular remark we make can be misconstrued or magnified by the wrong person or in the wrong place.

My Father always told me not to discuss business in public, not to drink more than two drinks in the company of co-workers, and never write a letter to someone in anger. He was warning me to be careful of public conduct and speech. But these days with e-mail and text messaging, phones that record video and still photos, and social networking blogs and web-sites, there is an every shrinking zone of privacy. We put ourselves out there for public consumption as soon as we wake up. These young teachers may have behaved and spoken completely inappropriately. It seems that they were naive and immature. But to be fired, have your career ruined and be publicly flogged for what you said, not in a public context like Don Imus, but on your social blog feels wrong.

People grow and change. Fortunately the opinions I held in my 20's are not set in stone. I fear that in our present world we are not allowed to make a public or private mistake or slip of tongue. Suddenly Orwell and Bradbury are very relevant again. So to all my Face Book Buddies, drop out of those groups. You don't know who is in them and they don't know you. And sadly, we can't take that chance anymore.