Ms. Jae: As a fan of confrontation, I would say it to their face. Were I a cussing man.

I don’t think he had an issue with my sentiment — there was none — and I don’t think he had an issue with how I quoted him, either. Specifically, he asked that I remove a few descriptions of the status of his career. I did, and for the right reasons.

Now, he told it to me to begin with, and I didn’t misrepresent or criticize his assessment of BTSA. This was all a matter of mistaken identity — intentifying him, rather than nobody.

Again, I think I tend to agree. You might think you would say it, but how would the manner in which you say it change if there were eyes staring back at you, rather than a computer screen with more anonymous words for feedback?

I remember reading Kate’s posts in January. I’m interested to know how you handle the situation. I am kind of at a crossroads myself–do I even start on this road?

Good luck with this situation, it’s a tough one.

Mr. Bogush: I didn’t consider any of what I wrote offensive, and, given what I know of our principal, I don’t think he’d disagree.

Changing what you wrote or deciding not to write something should not be out of “self-preservation,” but out of respect for the other folks.

It was out of respect — “self preservation” is idiom.

Note, also: On the blog entry in question, I didn’t insult or mischaracterize or demean the staff member in question. It most certainly wasn’t libelous, either. I simply quoted him on a common sentiment, a sentiment shared by, apparently, every staff member at my school.

Now, while I would say to the face of every teacher at my school exactly what I write on this blog, I’m not going to tempt fate by making them accessible to administrators, daily. I’m not on-staff, there.

I stick around here because I notice a lot of similarities between what you are writing and what I used to think. Before blogs, I used to publish an anonymous satirical newsletter at my school about staff members. At the time I could not understand the reaction — it made no sense at all to me. Today I see it as one of the most regrettable short sighted things I ever did. Not that the newsletter and your blog are the same, but when I was publishing it I only saw it through my eyes, not through the eyes of the people that were offended by it–people I cared about.

Changing what you wrote or deciding not to write something should not be out of “self-preservation,” but out of respect for the other folks.

It’s not about a distant “third party” finding out about what is being written on your blog, it is about the people next to you–would you say it to their face. Would you have a conversation with someone and then turn to another person and repeat the conversation with the first person right there. It is not about what you are saying, but how you are saying it. I really do not think that it has anything to do with the age of the teachers or any kind of anti-blogging sentiment.

Final test — If you don’t have a problem with what you are writing print the last four posts and leave them on the staff lounge tables.

You sick of me yet?