Some teachers on Twitter kept referring to SM. I googled "SM education." For the rest of my life, and for years beyond, there will be a record suggesting that I searched for sado-masochistic literature. My digital footprint is forever stained.

Such are the dangers of the internet.

(For the record, it was shorthand for social media.)

***

I've been playing with computers for a long time. I doodled with a Timex Sinclair almost 30 years ago, before many of the more excitable edu-bloggers were even zygotes.

My first experience with the internet was 300 bps.

I taught an elective computer class in the early 90's.

I have a clue about the power of searchable databases.

What I don't have a clue about is how to approach the pedagogical lovefest brewing on the horizon.

***

I've done some godawful dumb things in my life. I've been forgiven for most of them. Nobody but people I love know, and they have chosen to forget.

The internet does not allow amnesia.

I stumbled across "The Principal's Office" today, a reality series that focuses on principals disciplining kids. One particularly icky episode has an older man paddling a young woman behind closed doors.

The internet does not allow refuge.

One of the principals featured is someone reasonably local. I've read his blog, his tweets, watched a few of his videos. He's young--he was 7 years old when I was playing with the Sinclair. "The Principal's Office" bio states that he uses "a combination of humor and toughness to break kids down."

Power is part of any principal's toolbox, and I'm in no position to judge what goes on in this principal's office. Putting it on the internet, however, increases the power and harms the student.

The principal plays the young man like a fish, indeed jokes in an aside about his avoidance of the cafeteria food:

Jordan, today's Cheesesteak Day. I love cheesesteaks!

The principal plays the irrational fear card:

Are you supposed to accept packages from strangers?

Facial recognition programs will soon make it possible for employers to find you without your name. Jordan's potential employers may well see this 10 years from now.

Jordan is a high school student. High school students often do stupid things. I did a lot of stupid things in high school. I'm not even sure that what Jordan did was even stupid. But I know it's immortal.

This principal's actions pale compared to the abuse of Mr. Halter, a principal in Arizona, who paddles a young woman behind closed doors, then offers her a "sympathetic touch" on her shoulder after administering the punishment. It borders on pornography.

***

Ira Socol has written a brilliant piece: "Lord of the Flies: How Adults Create Bullying." Go read it, I'll wait. If you have time, follow his links and the comments.

If you don't have time, read this much:

Children do learn, after all. And mostly, they learn by watching us.

"The Principal's Office" reflects all too well what's happening in our schools. It's edited, of course, and I realize the goal is more to sell a program than share the truth.

I asked the first principal today if he had any regrets.

No regrets, but I was not always accurately portrayed.

He made $10,000 for his school. He got to go on Rachel Rae. He's an up and coming star in the new edu-media universe.

I'm sure everything was legal and aboveboard, but I've got this quaint idea of loco parentis--we are obligated to act in the best interests of the children we coerce to sit in our buildings for hours at a time.

I'd be interested in what you think.

The image is from truTV here.

One of the principals involved assures me that these were re-enactments, with proper permission.
I have asked for clarification if these were the actual students.