Let's not confuse "friending" with friendship. I "friended" my dad, my uncle-in-law, some of my highschool teachers, a few co-workers, a boss, my girlfriends friends, plenty of people I don't like, this guy from my class who I was doing a project with. That doesn't mean I consider any to be friends.
I've seen many teachers use facebook in classes and projects and it can be a very powerful tool for learning. Moreover, for students without a parent or without a lot of other social supports around (e.g. friends and family) , which there are a lot of these days, that teacher they friended might be their only connection to support and help when they really need it. For every one story of an inappropriate relationship that I've heard across the nation, I have heard dozens of stories from one school alone of students reaching out to teachers through informal media to get the support they need.
Of course boundaries are important, every teacher knows this and every teacher I know treads very carefully with whatever social media they use. And drawing out guidelines is fine too. But I do have issue with the public and administrators telling teachers how to do their jobs to "protect" our children, because my own experience tells me no one knows better about how to do the job of a teacher as a teacher. And no group of people is protecting our children better than our teachers.
Robert Haslett - 11 years ago
"Friending" on Facebook is a level of fraternization that changes the relationship between teachers and students from professional to personal. That's not a good thing. Friendly, yes. Friends, no!
@Robert.
Let's not confuse "friending" with friendship. I "friended" my dad, my uncle-in-law, some of my highschool teachers, a few co-workers, a boss, my girlfriends friends, plenty of people I don't like, this guy from my class who I was doing a project with. That doesn't mean I consider any to be friends.
I've seen many teachers use facebook in classes and projects and it can be a very powerful tool for learning. Moreover, for students without a parent or without a lot of other social supports around (e.g. friends and family) , which there are a lot of these days, that teacher they friended might be their only connection to support and help when they really need it. For every one story of an inappropriate relationship that I've heard across the nation, I have heard dozens of stories from one school alone of students reaching out to teachers through informal media to get the support they need.
Of course boundaries are important, every teacher knows this and every teacher I know treads very carefully with whatever social media they use. And drawing out guidelines is fine too. But I do have issue with the public and administrators telling teachers how to do their jobs to "protect" our children, because my own experience tells me no one knows better about how to do the job of a teacher as a teacher. And no group of people is protecting our children better than our teachers.
"Friending" on Facebook is a level of fraternization that changes the relationship between teachers and students from professional to personal. That's not a good thing. Friendly, yes. Friends, no!