http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_hi_te/us_teacher_suspended_bloghile
while i have mixed feelings about what this teacher actually wrote, this article brings up a big issue for me. the nature of my work in domestic violence is confidential. it makes it really tough sometimes to vent the natural work frustrations that all of us have. last week a woman shared some things that haunted me all weekend but i couldn't really talk about it. i also cant talk much about it publicly in a blog, which is a little challenging since its not just a job i spend 40+ hours at but a way of thinking about the world, relationships, safety, violence, trauma, the way people treat each other and the residual effects. it impacts the way i feel when i go for a run. it informs my interaction with strangers and systems. it makes me a worse friend as i don't have a lot of emotional energy left to listen to problems and sadness outside of work but it simultaneously makes me feel like a better person for the honor of people sharing their lives and stories with me. it makes me laugh at different jokes and feel rubbed the wrong way by others. and its all a big concept that i cant share many specifics about.
so i envy this woman putting it all out there. it probably wasn't a wise career move but i appreciate that she vented somewhere other than to the kids. i guess the trouble is that her blog ended up like molly ringwalds note in 16 candles; it got into the wrong hands.
which reminds me.....to end on a happy note: the movies had nostalgia night this week and showed 16 candles on the big screen. it was glorious!!
I'm glad you posted a link to that story because I had heard about it but I didn't really know the details. I think it was okay for her to do that. I'd probably do the same thing if I were a frustrated teacher and had a blog. It's not like she named names or anything.
ReplyDeleteI think the work you do sounds so hard and is work that so many people can't or won't do because it's so emotional and difficult. I think you're awesome for doing it. I'm sure you know this but you can always write in a journal or have a private blog just for you if you want to vent about those things you were talking about.
I have kept a personal journal since I was 12 so I still have that but I really don't write about work much. At the end of the day, I usually just want to leave it as much as possible. Thank goodness for my clinical supervisor-it's like work therapy.
ReplyDeleteEven without naming names, it would be clear who the kids she works with are. Tough spot.