Just getting into this ning thing and thought I’d take a look at yours after reading your blog

Hope you are finding life a little easier now. I’ve just got fired myself and thought about your position, and am about to write a blog on http://www.andytgeezer.com about it, refering to your post.

I really think that the collision between e-life and real-life is getting silly.

Gone are the days when you could go to school and be anonymous to the pupils. Me and you have been blogging for ages. I’ve been blogging for twice the amount of time that I have been teaching.

It’s kinda hard to hide away when my name is the first to come up on google.

So what’s the solution?

A conundrum that one….

For those of you unfamiliar with the nature of private international schools, there is rarely a teacher’s union or professional support group that advocates for the rights of international educators. There have been hundreds of cases of teachers being victimized in much worse ways than what happened to Jabiz, who was fortunate to retain the support and recommedation of his director (although this still puzzles me in light of his actions concerning this case). Many teachers live with the reality that their contracts can be terminated at any time with few options for recourse.

Still, the actions of the administrator in this case are understandable, especially considering the power that some parents have in school communities like these. But they beg many questions about what the definition of acceptable behavior is in terms of personal and professional activities online. I can guarantee that few if any schools have a definitive policy on this issue, which means that they will be dealt with on a case by case basis until they become so prevalent that they require a clear standing policy, and any decisions concerning them will be rife with politics - a scary prospect considering the economic ramifications of having to resign in this manner.

Jabiz is an outstanding educator with whom I have worked, played music, collaborated with on many projects, and shared many a thought on the nature of teaching. The good news for him and for all of us out there who appreciate what he does is that there are excellent schools who will recognize the quality of his work and his character and line up to engage his services in the future. Best of luck to you Beezie, and keep stirring the pot!

Peter Kimball
The Taipei American School
Taipei, Taiwan

the collision of the virtual world and that of bricks and mortar can be a perilous thing, though that separation is more of a myth than ever before.

I’d like to talk to you. Since I have one foot in technology and one foot in education I might have some networking leads for you and would be happy to assist you any way I can.

Please get in touch.

Lisa Rokusek
314.409.5633

A very useful word of warning to us working in schools today on “the cutting edge” as the previous poster mentioned.

It’s always a tough balancing act, separating professional life from personal and it’s made much harder when we are professional and personal bloggers.

It was my personal love for blogging that made me decide to bring it in to the classroom and I see that my pupils often get the bug pretty quickly.

A brave decision to expose that side of yourself, a decision I have tried not to do, but it’s pretty clear that if a pupil wants to find out about me, as I’ve been blogging for 8 years it’s not at all difficult to do.

A lesson learnt and a real shame that the parents and management could not cope with your honesty.

I guess if we work with IT and incorporate new and “scary” information sharing ideas into our teaching practices this is one of the many pitfalls we face

Your employer had a perfect opportunity to render you human.

They chose to scapegoat rather than honour intent.

I can be assured after long consultation with your peers that this is a very unfortunate circumstance that you have had to endure.

Go forth and know that the world goes with you…..please consider telling us what it’s like to be an open educator and proactively contribute to;

http://talo.wikispaces.com/learninginthe21stcentury

Make sure you look me up whenever you get settled back into the edusphere. I would love to continue working with you and your students in whatever way we can, even if it’s just bouncing good ideas around. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. We both know it works and kids love it. And for the planet’s sake and all the living things on it, especially the people, the young ones, the sooner, the better.

To anyone thinking about hiring Mr. Raisdana:

Consider yourself very fortunate to have the opportunity. This is a person with a passion for what he does. To sum it up in two very simple yet powerful words: He cares.