Comments on: Facebook and Your Students: To Friend or Not To Friend?

By: Timothy

Timothy — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:31:08 +0000

Some college professors I know are using Facebook as an online repository for teaching materials. Some HS teachers may be doing this, too.

If this is the reason for friending students–and the only reason–then it could be seen as acceptable.

Otherwise, I would suggest the following guidelines: Grad students yes, UG no, HS absolutely not.

By: Mike G

Mike G — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:18:37 +0000

I do what Feinberg says: I’ll accept a friend request from our high school students only after they graduate and are in college.

By: Dan Willingham

Dan Willingham — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 00:47:16 +0000

I handle this as Dennis suggests–I do friend students (these are college students remember, which of course makes a difference) but once I did so I bore in mind what I posted on my FB page. Not that it would have been all that different anyway. . .

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:59:34 +0000

I think what schools really need to do is provide guidelines to teachers about what can be on the teacher’s Facebook site if they want to “friend” students, and who other “friends” can be.

By: Dennis Ashendorf

Dennis Ashendorf — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:06:18 +0000

Everyday Facebook becomes more important in our lives, not just our students. The question turns on whether Facebook is your place to inform YOUR party buddies on your escapades (which means no friends with students, current or former) or seeing yourself as a teacher,with a friendly, professional, honest presence: ordinary photos, no glamour photos, etc..

It may be easy to say that a professional Facebook is obvious for teachers. Ain’t so. New teachers frequently arrive with a strong party background. They will need to establish another professional account, which isn’t fun from a Facebook user perspective, but can easily done by using two different browsers (eg Firefox and Safari) at the same time.

By: Diana Senechal

Diana Senechal — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:29:36 +0000

Robert, you bring up important questions: (1) What kinds of contact between teachers and students are appropriate; and (2) how do online networks affect our relationships, personal and professional?

Like you, I received mixed messages in ed school. On the one hand, we were warned against being alone with a child at any time. On the other, we heard about teachers who went beyond the call of duty, making house visits, taking parents and children on trips, etc.

Once I wanted to provide tutoring for a mother and two daughters, at the school, on Saturday morning during regular Saturday school hours. The principal said absolutely not, because if anything happened during the tutoring, the school would be liable.

The “right answer” depends somewhat on school culture, but I would lean toward a certain distance and professionalism. It’s possible to show caring without making home visits or giving out one’s number for homework help. I used to let my students call me with questions; while they never abused the privilege, I don’t do that any more.

Now, online networks bring additional complications because of the notion of “friends.” I dislike the way the term “friend” is used on MySpace, Facebook, etc. My high school classmates have recently formed a group on Facebook and asked me to join. While it is great to be in contact with people and to read their news, I find Facebook a bit overwhelming and confusing. Who are your real friends? Does instant contact of this sort (with photos, updates, etc.) bring people closer together, or does it trivialize contact?

Because of the ambiguities of online networks, I am against using them to communicate with my students. I have never approved a friend request from a student and do not expect to do so. Perhaps there could be some sort of online network that recognizes the distinction between teacher and student… but I cringe at the thought of yet another network, with profiles, settings, and notifications!