Every so often I like to put 'teacher blog' into google and hit search. I'm a little bit vain - some, especially my year tens, would use the word 'tosser' - so like to see how high my blog appears. Recently I've come across links to news stories about teachers getting sacked because of their blogs. Should I be worried? Well let's see what those naughty teachers had been doing:

A psychology teacher has been sacked from a college in Greater Manchester for posting "inappropriate messages" to pupils on her internet blog.

Catherine Young-Southward, 37, was suspended from Hyde Clarendon College after it was revealed she also allowed students to stay overnight at her home.

Hmm, well I don't think I've let any pupils stay overnight recently. I'll make sure to check under my bed before I go to sleep tonight just to make sure they've not snuck in whilst I was looking the other way. I wonder what "inappropriate messages" means - does inanity count as inappropriate? If so, I'd be in big trouble.

On 10 August 2006 Ali Sayed al-Shihabi, a 50-year-old English teacher was arrested for posting articles on far-left websites, especially: http://www.rezgar.com. He is still being held by the security services without being able to see his family. Reporters Without Borders calls for his release and informs that two other cyber-dissidents are currently imprisoned in Syria.

Well I am a bit left of centre I suppose, but then I'm not in Syria so if I wanted to I could probably get away with the occasional entry encouraging the workers to overthrow the oppressive capitalist machinery (whilst using Microsoft Internet Explorer of course).

So I'm probably pretty safe from getting the sack - or at least getting the sack because of blogging.

I normally quite like my year eight classes but today they've been problematic. In a class this morning one pupil threw a desk upside down. Curiously this is near to the spot where another pupil recently set fire to their bag - I think the spot might be cursed. I'll have to check to see if there's any record of anyone being killed when standing on that particular patch of mouldy old floor lining, perhaps it's a poltergeist that is possessing otherwise mild-mannered pupils. Or perhaps I just like to push the stroppy ones to the back of the room so they don't get under my nose.

Then this afternoon one of the pupils came into my room caked in make-up. This is made worse by the fact that it was a boy. This completely ruined my lesson as the rest of the class were all hyper.

I was rather glad to get rid of them.