This is why I'm on Myspace

I'm on Myspace. I joined Myspace before it became the hip thing for high school students to be on, and I joined it solely for the purpose of getting mp3s from some of my favorite bands and artists. However, it's turned out to be slightly more than that; I've gotten some dates through myspace, which is much more active for twentysomethings than friendster. I've gotten in touch with people I knew in high school. The last thing, though, is that students have found me.

At first, I ignored their requests to be my Myspace Buddy. Then, however, I saw how many students were contacting me through the site, so I decided to just go ahead and do it. Now, if you go to my profile, you'll see a number of students in my Buddy List. I decided that as long as I didn't spend time going to their sites or as long as I didn't write anything on my profile that was inappropriate, that it was fine - maybe even beneficial - to have a profile accessible to students. I also added this description to my profile.

To students: I joined myspace years ago because it was the only place to get certain music from some of my favorite independent artists and bands. I never would have imagined it to become such a big thing with high school students, but I've decided to keep my page up here since there's nothing here that I mind students seeing or knowing. I don't log into myspace that often and do so really only for downloads of music or to advertise my house concerts (though, on occasion, an old high school or college friend has found me on here). I do not mind if you contact me via this page, although you can expect a quicker reply if you contact me via my e-mail address. In addition, if you add me as your buddy, know that all of your bulletin boards come through on my page so either don't ask for an add or don't post stuff you don't want your teacher to see. And, lastly, be safe on here; remember, you can't trust anyone on the internet.

There are a few other teachers, including one at my school, that make their myspace profiles accessible to students. I sometimes wonder if it's a good idea, but it's been proven time and time again to be so. From students contacting me with valid homework concerns, to keeping in touch about summer reading, it's just been a good thing for me as a teacher.

Today, I got this message from Tasha:

thank you so much for passing me. i really wish that you could have seen my true potential. i dont know what happened. this year has been tough, but watch. when tenth grade rolls around, my english teacher will be talking about how intelligent i am. you'll see. anyway, THANK YOU!!!!

Would I have gotten that message if I weren't on Myspace? Absolutely not. And it just brightened my day, and I immediately replied to her reminding her to do her summer reading and saying that she better make good on her promise next year.