Teachers: To Blog or Not to Blog?

The question: Should teachers blog?
As a newly computer literate person, the short answer is I don't know. I am just learning about different blog sights, and their function. I did some research looking for blogs in Klamath County, and surprisingly I did find a few blogs. None of them had anything but course descriptions and the syllabus. This was not exactly what I thought a teacher would use a blog space for. I can see how a blog may help to inform parents, but I am old fashioned, and to me nothing beats a note sent home with a student for the parent's signature. I would want to know by a signature that my message was read. Blog space can be used as a fun tool for learning...if the student has a computer, I think this is the main roadblock to using computers. Socioeconomic status, and actual availability of the Internet. Yes, there are still places that don't have cable access. I like the idea that blogging can allow those computer savvy parents to have an additional resource for what their child is doing at school. But unfortunately, in our litigious society, I see more problems than solutions. By making blog posts, the teacher can soften boundaries with both the student and parent and feel more like a friend without human interaction. Blogging also can open up the teacher, administrators, and district to severe public scrutiny. The content of a blog should remain purely professional without personal insights, to protect yourself. Maybe this is one of the reasons, the Klamath County teachers literally had one blog post a year. Today, with a witch hunt for teachers with any flaws, blogging may just allow the stoking of a fire. I hope that our society will change, but for now, tried and true communication seems to be the safest way to keep a good job. On a positive note, once all children have a computer to use at home, the blogging and Internet are superb tools to enhance traditional education, and hopefully spark interest in subjects that may have gone dim with the student and teacher. Maybe this is the best way to spark interest in parents for their student.