She's no longer "hiding behind her blog"

I'm so proud of Reflections 2.0 for going to her principal about her blog. Her original post Hiding Behind My Blog was concerning because it shows much of the prevalent thought of educators and I wrote Why Should You have to Hide Behind Your Blog.

Read her great new post: Came Clean I'm Coming Out! in which she says:

"I had to struggle with what I’d do if my administrator said she WASN’T ok with me blogging publicly and in any relation to our school - how tough am I? How strong are my beliefs on this issue? Well, I decided that my beliefs about not blogging anonymously are strong enough that the issue needed to be addressed. Vicki’s constant use of the phrase “professionalism in blogging” made me realize that this WASN’T a choice - it had to be done, and soon. Especially with all the attention my angst-ridden posts were getting! So, how’d it go?

As usual, my worries were completely and utterly unfounded. My principal is a visionary in education and treated me like the professional I am - it’s understood that I won’t compromise the confidentiality of our students or the integrity of our district and I’m now free to blog under my full name without the fear that it will somehow come back to haunt me in the future. I was chomping at the bit to write this post immediately, but was at school - this is my own project that I do on my own time. I respect that and had to wait until I was off contract time. So, I’m finally updating the saga, and actually, the saga’s over for me! I feel so much better about what I’m doing here and look forward to being able to connect on an authentic level with my readers and others in the blogosphere."

Let's give a standing ovation! Please go to her blog and applaud both her and her principal!

This is a model of doing the right thing the right way.

Oh.. and we're planning a mini-series as a simulpost. She has great potential. I wish I could spend time with all of you new bloggers out there, but for now I guess I (and you) will have to trust the happy accidents that seem to be happening all around us.

She ends with:

"For all the new or fearful bloggers out there, I’d suggest working your PLN to find a mentor - mine have been invaluable to me and I wouldn’t be writing this right now if it weren’t for them. Thanks to all who offered advice this past weekend, especially those who actually posted comments, it means a lot to me."

I want to tell everyone REMEMBER THE POWER OF COMMENTS! You are blogging if you comment on a blog. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but you are.

Comment comment comment. They make a difference. (I can't tell you how many days I tell myself... oh, the readers that show up on my blog... they're not really reading... no one is reading. And when a comment comes a long, snap... I'm back and realize that what I'm doing does make a difference.)

Blog on and blog strong.

Edublogosphere, you rock!

tag: blogging, education, learning, teaching, PLN, ethics, professionalism, PLN