Disclosure Statement

Disclosure Statement / Disclaimer Statement

The purpose of this Disclosure Statement / Disclaimer is to position what you might find on my blog. This helps you, the Reader of my blog, to know and understand the legal implications of what you read here on my blog.

I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Danah Boyd, a brilliant researcher at Microsoft Research New England and a Fellow at the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society. I have freely and at length adapted and adopted, parts of her Disclosure Statement as a model worthy of replicating, due to its soundness and unmistakable clarity.

First things first, I am NOT speaking on behalf of my employer (Colegio Internacional SEK, Chile) nor my professional organization (TESOL Chile) where I am now a Past President.

What I say on my blog does NOT reflect the beliefs or interests of neither my employer (Colegio Internacional SEK Chile) nor my professional organization, (TESOL Chile).

This is a personal blog, for my personal use as a reflective teacher.

I say what I want and no one pays me to write this blog or say particular things in it.

I am not compensated for my blog – I do not run ads, no one pays me under the table.

With my February 2012 novel prologue: Celestial Games: The First Gold, I now promote my writing of stories and novels, here on my blog.

I continue to make my past work freely available, no cost, as that is the manner in which we have made each other’s acquaintance, you the reader, and me, the writer. It is you that I thank for coming again and again to read my blog, “A Bit of Everything”.

I sometimes repost content that I write for elsewhere here because I think it might be of interest (and then I identify where it was originally posted), but I do not repost everything.

I don’t do favors or blog about people because they’re nice to me or say that I’m brilliant; I may blog about other people when I think their work is interesting or when I’m working with them but I also might not.

Attachments

My Interests:

I am interested in (and fascinated by) anything remotely related to the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language, whether in a TEFL private sector / industry environment or in a formal, traditional educational setting.

My Passion:

I am driven by my passion, namely, being the best possible teacher I can be through autonomous Continuous Professional Development, participating in Open learning, and developing a powerful, sharing, open, interactive, global Professional Learning Network (PLN).

If you are reading this, you are probably already a member of either my Facebook PLN, my Linkedin PLN, my Twitter PLN, or a member of a TESOL Special Interest Group. If you’re not a member of one of my PLN’s, you can do so by joining me at any one of these places: Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, TESOL International, or TESOL Chile.

Just “google” profesorbaker – Chile, and you will find me.

Again, I reiterate, my activities are personal, and not in any capacity representing my employer or my professional affiliation to TESOL Chile.

Free stuff

Companies sometimes send me free technology; authors sometimes send me free copies of their books. Often, explicitly or implicitly, they are looking for a mention. If I like the book or object, I may indeed mention it, but I often don’t. I’m probably not going to tell you that I got a free copy. Why? Because it doesn’t matter and because it makes me feel like I’m boasting. Also, it reads funny and I get lots of free books from reviewing and friends unrelated to promotion.

Links

Every day, I receive requests to link to someone’s project or website. Sometimes these come in the form of PR announcement; sometimes it’s a begging request from a friend. I ignore 99% of these requests because I refuse to operate as an advertising vehicle. I only link to projects that I’m involved in or things that I think are really cool that I was not asked to promote; outside pressure to link to something tends to devalue it in my mind. When I post a link, it’s because I can personally vouch for it.

Politics and Activism

I am neither Republican nor Democrat, neither left nor right. I’m an independent thinker, heavily inclined to progressive ideals that make the world a better place for everyone to live in.

I rarely get into heated debates on my blog about any topic – I believe civil people can disagree agreeably, a notion which I actively promote.

I am happy to have commenters who disagree with me. Your interaction helps me to critically examine my own thinking, and I appreciate your contribution in this way to growing my knowledge.

I would prefer a million times over to discover that I was wrong, and consequently come into the light, rather than be mistakenly “right”, and live in the domain of intellectual darkness. So dishonest I be not.

Regarding my activism:

Although living overseas in Chile, I registered people to vote for, blogged for, made YouTube videos for, and prayed for: Barack Obama. I voted for Obama and am damn proud of it. You see, it was the first time I ever voted, for any US president, in my adult life (age 47 at that time).

My promise to you, the Reader of my blog:

I do NOT speak on behalf of my organization(s), employer(s) or past employers.

Inevitably, when it comes to my blog, I use my informed judgment, developed through critical analysis of the issue, and reach my own conclusions. I fear not to oppose the vox populi, for history teaches that often the voice of the masses is suspect.

I use my judgement, that’s my bottom line.

All I can promise is that I will be honest with you.

Sincerely,
Thomas Baker
Teacher of English as a Foreign Language
Santiago, Chile