Don't be a Facebook exhibitionist! - A message to all senseis

Don't broadcast your failings to your students

If you have a Facebook page and you have friended your students, please act with a bit of decorum! I've seen senseis whose main Facebook image is them in just a bra and knickers; I've seen senseis whose Facebook photos are full of pictures of them paralytic drunk and falling about like complete morons; I've seen senseis whose pages are full of links to jokes that would embarrass a pub stand-up, and I very often see senseis whose Facebook status and homepages are full of an endless stream of very bad language, spouting off profanity about everything from their day at work, to who won the latest X-Factor.

Nobody is saying that you can't friend your students, but if you choose to do that, treat your Facebook as something your grandmother or your boss would see. Do you really think that it's appropriate for them to read your inane stream of consciousness filth and ramblings about the tedious minutiae of your life? Do you think that they will respect you more for it?

Be playful on your Facebook (or Bebo or MySpace, or Twitter, or whatever), but please remember that you represent a club that espouses family values. Family values is NOT seeing a mid-life crisis strumpet in her knickers, or a drunken lout vomiting on a pavement outside a nightclub, or a toilet-mouthed pig who doesn't know when swearing is inappropriate. If you were sending YOUR kids to train, would you put them in the care of these people?

One suggestion is to have a Facebook for your students, and another one for your friends, then if you want to share the disgusting side of your personality with your nearest and dearest, nauseating and childish though it may be, you can do so without tarnishing your Sensei image, or GKR's reputation.

And before anyone asks who the heck am I to moralise or tell you what to do:

1. I'm not casting judgement on your lives - well, except upon your good judgement. I'm VERY far from being an angel myself, but I have the common sense not to broadcast my failings to  those whom I'm supposed to be a role model to.
   
   
2. When you make yourself look bad, you make us ALL look bad. Live your life how you want. Just don't smear your fellow senseis.
   
   
3. If you honestly think that this is the sort of information you should be sharing with people who look up to you, some of whom are children, perhaps you should consider whether or not you are really cut out to be a sensei?

Also please remember, the default Facebook settings enable friends of your friends to see your pages as well, so even if you don't directly friend your students, they may still gain access to your pages and photos. You can restrict Facebook so that only direct friends can see your personal stuff, and if you plan to reveal the darker side of your personality on Facebook (and I'm bewildered why you would), you might like to think about changing your settings. You can do that by going to the Account button top right of the screen, then changing the Privacy settings.

Oh, and as a final courtesy (and I can't believe that I even need to tell some people this,) don't upload pictures of other Senseis or students in unflattering situations either. It's just plain rude.

Do whatever you want behind closed doors or away from the students, but please, keep your private lives private.