Social Networking

The internet can be such a great thing to use for homework, gaming, or just relaxing. But it also has it’s dark side…it can show people things about you that you may not want other people to know.
I’m glad that I didn’t find anything bad on google.com and pipl.com. Not that I expected to find anything bad since, as far as I know, I’ve never don’t anything illegal or bad. I mean, I’ve never even gotten a traffic/parking ticket! I did find out that the results of most races that I did as a little kid were posted on the internet. It’s really interesting to go back and look at the things I did as a kid…it’s something for me to be proud of and reminisce on. (http://www.coolrunning.com/results/02/fl/Dec29_LastGa_set1.shtml) There was information about the scholarship I got right out of high school for Concordia Chicago (http://m.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/Jun/21/central-kitsap-high-school-awards-and/). Other from things like that and links to my facebook, I didn’t find anything about me on the internet.
Before I even switched my major from music to education I had heard from my friends that you need to watch what you put on the internet because it can impact your ability to get a job in the future. So, between my common sense and my friends’ warnings I have always made sure to be careful about what I post to the internet. And I have always made sure to keep my myspace (which I no longer have) and my facebook on ultra private so that only my friends would be able to see my real page. And for places like facebook I am picky about who is on my friends list; to me it is not a popularity competition….if I don’t know who you are and we don’t communicate on a relatively regular basis then I’m not going to accept you as my friend.
I do think that teachers should be held to high standards like they are because we are supposed to be the example for the students. If we don’t live a good, law abiding and respectful life why should we expect our students to do that? But, along with teachers being held to these standards I believe that all adults that have an impact on students should be held accountable for keeping their lives and being responsible, good citizens.
I found the story about the student who planned on being a teacher but had the graphic myspace page very interesting. To me, I just don’t understand why someone would, a-have that posted on a very public site and b-why they would give the link to their teacher without thinking about what was on it first. It seems like some people just don’t think sometimes.
To protect myself and my job I will make sure to continue to watch what I put on the internet, especially since I will be turning twenty one in the next year there may be some random/interesting pictures taken of me and posted on the internet. Therefore, even when I’m not at work I need to make sure I am being responsible and I am willing to take credit for all my actions whether they are bad or good.