Ivester & Asher: post#4 revised again

     In this post, I'm reacting to Iverson's admission that social networks like his own JuicyCampus needed to be reigned in after the type of responses given by anonymous perusers got out of control. His intent appeared to be different than the outcome, but to name it JuicyCampus with the ad slogan "C'mon give us the juice", just what else could he expect?  People were able to hide behind their anonymity and posted whatever gossip came to mind, whether is was partial truth or an outright lie. Who'd know? He reflected upon several examples where people's private lives became instantly public, resulting in dire consequences. He says he had to trash the site, resulting in it being added to "The DeadPool."
     Connecting this to Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher makes me think, as an educator, just how liable I am when I allow students to participate in a blog.  Luckily, I am overcautious, probably to a fault, and I have every post go through my school email.  Creating a digital paper-trail, if you will, allows for credibility for me and my students. When I showed students an example of how to add to the blog, they were astonished that they had to provide a name and email. Of course,with technology, there's a way to misrepresent yourself. Students could put a fake name or could provide a fake email, but because posts would go through me ultimately, I feel pretty secure that nothing inappropriate would get publicly posted. I've had students email me in the past, and anything strange gets sent to the vice-principal for further investigation.
     I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Mr. Porter in Thirteen Reasons Why. He was her English teacher moonlighting as a guidance counselor, but overall, I was astonished at his ineptness.  The conversation they had (#13) showed that he was trying to help, but just didn't have the support available to meet her needs. It makes me think of our teachers or behavior managers trying to moonlight, or give advice, as though they are trained psychologists. Students will share information, sometimes very personal, with the school adults in their lives. It's crucial, however, to recognize what kind of support you can give at your level of expertise. Common core standards do not address this 'other hat' aspect of a teachers' many roles.  Instead, outside groups such as family services have a yearly inservice about mandated reporting. I know that the support staff (guidance, student center, and school psychologists) diligently work to address the many needs of students.
    I can incorporate this moral lesson into my teaching involves using the examples from Iverson and having students research online to find out "where they are now." Because my students are egocentric, I would want them to collaborate with upperclassmen. The best time to do this activity would be during intervention, when the upperclassmen are available.  I would also have the anti-bullying task force and my connections group participate in creating scenarios that the students respond to online. I would be able to have them respond on their student weebly blogs. This type of communication would be beneficial because the source is their peer group. The following standards reflect the ideas of this lesson.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.5 Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1d Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented