Audience

During this school year, I had kids writing a lot. One of the pieces of writing that my kids had to do on a near weekly basis was summarizing a news article for current events. A key mistake that my kids made was assuming their audience (whole group, or myself) had read the article. For example, when the BP Oil Spill started we had quite a few articles summarized for current events. My kids might lead off with: "An oil spill happened and it is hurting wildlife in the water." I'd often reply, "Where was this? Was it in Elliot Bay? Did this happen last night?" My tone would often be one of surprise, showing how the missed information was a big deal (I might run out the door and be more responsive if it was so close).

You need to know your audience, and can't always assume they'll fill in the gaps. You need to know who is reading, what they likely know, and how to draw them in on your writing. Where is this going? A Philadelphia high school private school teacher was fired because of her blogging back in April. I had heard little about it until seeing a post come through my Google Reader. The student's parents claimed that the teacher had effectively bullied a student through posting about a presentation's political views, and lack of tone (per the assignment). I spent a good 30 minutes trying to find the original post, as well as reading some of her other stuff.

Without seeing the original post, it is difficult to make a complete judgement. But there are a few things that came to mind when reading about this situation. First, you need to know who is reading your blog. If you were asked to blog by your school, you know that they will likely be reading it. Being that it is a private school (and high school), it is likely that a student or parent is reading your work too. Even veiled comments about students can be trouble. Negative comments can easily be taken down a path you don't want to go (and which she found out). Second, kids' work is often a reflection of your practice. If you want them to do something different, then you need to provide instruction that moves them in that direction. If you really were upset about a student missing the lesson on "conciliatory tone," then it would be helpful to write about ways to fix it (or how you'll teach them to get there). Similarly, I can't simply be upset students are forgetting to include integral pieces of information. Instead I need to think about my plan to get them to include that information, and improve their work. The issue becomes my own issue, and not the student's.

Lastly, don't forget that the blogosphere isn't an isolated place. What you write creates a digital fingerprint, a paper trail, of you. You're intent needs to be clear, otherwise you run the risk of your words being misconstrued. Whether you like it or not, the digital you (your postings) are a representation of you (from blogs to twitter to facebook etc). Whether I like the author or agree with her isn't the point (don't know her, and haven't read enough written by her). But I do know that I'll re-read my work to be sure it is clear, and can't be confused as disparaging a student.