Blogs - private or public?

Categories: Singapore

With so many letters to the forum pages regarding the flaming of teachers in blogs, it is interesting that whether you are for or against depends on you who you are - generally students are not against and teachers and those in position of authority are against. I think the arguments at hand had largely been sidetracked. What is important is not whether student can flame their teachers or whether the school had overstepped or over-reacted in suspending students. The most important thing is about responsible blogging.

I agree with some writers that student must be given an avenue to express themselves. This is good as a means to improve their English and sometimes gives the less expressive to make themselves heard through blogs without being overshadowed by their more expressive peers. I also agreed that bloggers should not flame anybody just because the internet is largely anonymous and is the "ultimate" democratic arena.

The question at hand is not about expressing a view but about responsible expression of a view. Everyone has a view on anything that happens in life. That is everybody's right. If you do not have a view then you are not living a full life as a human. This view can be expressed privately or publicly. In the old days, written private views tend to be written in diary which is explicitely private - that is nobody with good upbringing will open it unless it is his/hers. With the advent of blogging, the line has been blurred or even becomes non-existent. He you express you views or feelings on a medium which may be seen by the public. I used "may" because the blog is one in a myriad of pages, and unless you know where to look, it may be "lost" and therefore "private". Because there is a chance that it may be seen by any member of the public, there lies-in the problem - a "private" view becoming public domain. As it is public domain, anything written in it will cause a reaction and therefore our current situation.

If you feel unfairly treated and felt strongly that you need to write about it in your blog, by all means do so - but in a responsible way. You can write about what happened, what your teacher's reaction was and your feelings about the whole situation. And if your teacher or school principal read about it, then they can understand your feelings to the situation and then reflect on themselves so that they can change or have a heart-to-heart talk with the student. Confrontation only makes a person defensive and therefore a rational talk becomes impossible. By confrontation I mean flaming a teacher - criticising about looks, behaviour, dressing; things which are very subjective. The very thing that is sueable in the working world. Students must be taught that whatever is written or said even in private, if it somehow gets into public domain whether intentionally or not, must be held accountable. And accountability means being responsible - you do not say half-truth or non-truth and things that are not supported by facts.

Schools on the other hand who suspended the students may not be doing the "right" thing although I can understand the decision taken. It may be better to use the soft approach, give warning and councelling in the first instant with suspension as the last resort. By using the stick, some student may become more rebellious and with the current era of internet and "free" speech, who knows what and where they will write somewhere else. Using the carrot however, teachers and students can sit down and discuss the differences in views and hopefully they will meet halfway if not fully. This can only happen if the atmosphere is conducive, not threatening and not imposing so that the student is not put under duress or fear and so can speak her mind frankly. This is the preferred way. Not only will teacher-student problem be solved, they will be enhanced and the student will be taught the value of responsible writing and accountablility.