Do you think teachers and students should be friends on Facebook? To go on from the previous blog post I wrote on Social Networking: Facebook has become a huge part of today's communication. As mentioned in this article, emails and letters are no longer ways that youngsters communicate. Still, teachers must learn to draw boundaries in the social networking world. Yes, Facebook has many benefits and builds on students' social skills, however, it can also damage the relationship between teacher and student and be the cause of career loss. Therefore, as teachers, we must be extremely careful about what we post on Facebook pages, even if we are not friends with any of our students. Employers are investigating inappropriate activity on teacher and substitute pages. But let's say your Facebook page is PG, would you still friend your students?
As a current teacher in three dance studios in NJ, I refuse to accept any of my students' requests on Facebook. My page does not contain anything inappropriate, however, in my opinion, it is not professional for students to have access to your Facebook page and you to theirs. I think there are other more appropriate ways to reach students: email, phone, mail, and so on. It is true that less and less youngsters are using email as a means of communication but as teachers, we can make this more common. At the start of the marking period or semester, we can inform students that they need to have an email account. You should give them an estimate on how many times during a week they should check their email. This information should be verbalized and written down for students. This is a good way of letting students know your expectations as a teacher and their expectations as students. Granted, I would love to form connections with my students that go beyond the classroom. I want them to be able to rely on me, however, Facebook is not a way to enhance that relationship.
I agree, there are many other ways to create a bond with your students outside of a classroom that don't involve overstepping the limits of professionalism. In one of Ellen's blog-posts, I just read that some school's implement their own social networking sites that are safe to use and monitor. Those might be another option.
ReplyDeleteEmily,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting you bring up this argument, because even outside of school I am experiencing a similar conflict. My supervisor at work wants to be friends on Facebook, but I don't know if I feel comfortable adding her. I have nothing inappropriate on there either, but I would rather play it safe than sorry. I wrote on an article similar to this on my blog.
Should teachers delete their social media sites once they have a job? I don't think so, but I think as teachers we need to be smart about what we post, who we are friends with. We do not only need to learn this for ourselves, but I think there are valuable lessons that are to be learned in these security precautions that we can teach our students.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI think your article is relevant for what us future teachers are experiencing currently. Being "new" teachers, students sometimes fail to see us as "teachers" and see us instead as "friends." I think is important to establish a relationship with students that is academically beneficial, however nothing more than that. Students should look at you as a teacher figure first at ALL times. I don't think it is wise or safe to be friends with your students. The news constantly talks about unprofessionalism with teachers and students, which something to be very careful about. Students should not be friends with teachers on facebook because it will cause a lot of problems and create several unnecessary situations that can be avoided from the beginning. Teachers and students have boundaries, being friend with your student is an invitation to getting fired and losing your job. So my opinion is don't do it unless you want to lose your job. BAD IDEA.