A Public Personality

So, I just set up my Twitter account - with my real name and a photo! But it wasn't setting up this account that most made me feel like a public figure this week... it was having a student see me at the store with my family. All of the sudden, it became so clear to me that our lives as teachers aren't just limited to the classroom - we are really on display all the time. It's an awesome responsibility to remember not to say or post or do anything we wouldn't want our students to hear or see (not that I routinely do, I'm just saying).

But beyond that, we represent teachers, by which I mean that we are each an example to the public of our professional community.  When they see us in our personal lives acting a certain way, the public may generalize this to all teachers.  This, too, is an awesome responsibility. Perhaps by knowing us and our personal character, some people will come to trust and respect teachers more.  Hopefully the opposite is never true!