Will reluctantly weighs into the current media overload on stories about schools in conflict with student online journaling at "evil" sites like MySpaces and Xanga. But he manages to add some clarity and perspective to the issue that’s missing from most of those "professional" reports.
My students would be safer if we worked hard to provide our students with some context for their actions and gave them some tools for making good decisions about what and what not to publish. They’d be safer if we educated parents to help them understand what their children are doing and how they can counsel them. They’d be safer if every teacher and administrator and staff member were modeling the benefits of publishing online.
I don’t know why people find it so hard to understand one simple fact of learning: you cannot teach ethics. The only way to help kids develop the ethical qualities we want them to have is for parents, teachers and other adults to model those traits. Banning any student behavior – even irresponsible blogging – will not work.
Go. Read the whole post.