A fine blogging colleague
A follow-up on my blogging colleague who has had his blogs shut down. Recently, I talked with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal (referred by Will) about weblogs. The reporter had read my post “Blogging voices needed!” and wanted to talk to my colleague. I was unwilling to give him a name because I didn’t want to bring more attention to his situation while his office of technology was looking into the issue. I did tell the reporter that I would email my colleague and have him contact the reporter if he was interested in being interviewed. My colleague had a dilemma, as many of us do in education. He emailed me the following:
“I guess in my situation as an enthusiastic technology leader looking to continue my prof. advancement I am a little afraid of repercussions of negative spin on my comments in his article. What are your thoughts?”
I understand his concerns. I’ve had the same concerns in the past. Here’s my reply to him:
“I totally understand your reservations. I know how school systems can be. If you have qualms or any reservations, you might just want to pass. I would love to say go for it because that’s how I WANT education to be - where we can say what we really feel anytime, anywhere. However, this is not the case in reality. Also, now I am NOT in the school system and I can say what I really think without worrying about repercussions. My heart is still in the classroom though.”
Now this is what is great about my colleague. He did talk to the reporter. Here’s the reason he decided to do the interview even though it might not be in his best professional interests:
“I just feel that my story needed to be heard b/c I feel so strongly about the use of weblogs in education. And if I can help push weblog providers along to more supportive features for educators as well as help start the discussion needed regarding the future possible trend of banning weblogs then all the better.”
You see why I love this fine educational weblogging community. It’s just full of good educators like my colleague.
—–