Blogging as Feedback

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a student's blog.

In it, she expressed her resentment about me complimenting a better class and downplaying my own class which she is in.

She also commented that English lesson is boring.

I went back to class and discussed the reasons behind my compliments to the other class ie. to let them know that they too are capable of being equally good, if not for their lack of diligence. The better class is not better simply because they are smarter and I didn't state that I liked them because they are 'better'.

I also discussed with them why English lessons are boring. Almost all the time, it's about doing worksheets and going through answers. I told them that I felt even more bored than they do. I wish to do something else with them, but these worksheets are mandatory and have deadlines to complete them for the benefit of their assessments.

The girl was quiet throughout, as usual.

After the lesson, I asked for 2 helpers to help me carry the books to the staffroom, with one of them being the blogger.

At the staffroom, I dismissed the other helper and spoke to the blogger. I asked her if she knew I was talking about her blog. She nodded her head.

I asked,"Are you worried?"

She nodded, and gave an awkward smile.

I assured her that I was not angry or upset. In fact, I was glad to read her comments on the lessons and her unhappiness about me. I felt that I got to understand her better and it served as a good form of feedback for me. I also educated her about the confidentiality of certain matters versus the publicity of a blog and she might want to be more careful about what she blogs from then on.

At this point, you might think that it's such an irony that while advising my students to be mindful about what she blogs, I'm less than careful about what I blog.

Part of me is prepared to shut down the blog if I'm ever asked to. Another part of me decides that if I'm ever so careful about what I blog, then it defeats the purpose of blogging.

That said, my student is only a child, all of 10 or 11 years old on the face of this earth. An adult will have problems handling issues or complications arising from blogging if his blog is ever worthy of a controversy, much less a child at that tender age. And a teacher is obliged to educate her students on the don'ts, more so than the dos, just like my favourite authoress who has the social responsibility of asking her teenage or early-twenties readers to focus on their studies instead of being in love although she genuinely feels that youth is the best time to fall in love while studying diligently ought to be reserved for an older age when one is more settled and mature in his thinking.