If you were a teacher, would you be friends with your students on Facebook?

No way.
I know someone who does something similar, accepts his student’s friend requests on facebook – and I agree with you. The whole thing strikes me as creepy. Perhaps as adults, after highschool.. I don’t know. Not younger kids. Something about it that I just don’t like.

I’m friends on Facebook with one of my spanish teachers, my ceramics teacher, my high school volleyball coach, one of the biology teachers and one of the former high school counselors. I already graduated, they’re all female and we just wanted to keep in touch with each other. I don’t see anything wrong with it, but I can see how a teacher accepting friend requests from current students would be inappropriate.
I remember one of the male teachers at my high school who created a Myspace page and accepted friend requests from his students. He got into trouble by the school and they asked him to delete the page or remove those students and not accept anymore requests.
I think it’s best to wait for those students to either graduate, or the teachers could create a page just for school/students and then separately operate their own personal page where they don’t have to watch what they say or worry about setting an example for their students.

I teach high schoolers and really enjoy it and would accept my kids requests after teaching them and being removed a bit from their daily lives too. The reason is, you are still friends and you want to see those students succeed. Sure there are some pretty girls in my classes, but there’s too many reasons morally, ethically, and practically that would keep me from acting on any small attraction. Just watch Mr. Holland’s Opus and realize that if your beau is a good guy-even a strong attraction to a student can never outshine his love for his family and/or wife.

Not if they were under 18. I won’t accept any friend request from anyone under 18 who isn’t related to me, and if I was a schoolteacher I’d be even more careful about who I interact with online.

I am a teacher (college) and ‘no’, I do not accept friend requests from students.

I think it’s unprofessional and blurs a line I’d prefer stays clear.

I won’t even “friend” former students who have graduated.

I was friends with my English Lit teacher (senior year of high school) during the school year and still am. She even tagged me in some photos she posted. After high school I became friends with my math teacher during freshman and sophomore year after she got a Facebook profile.

I don’t see much wrong with it. Of course I was 17–18 when I friended these people and actually, my English teacher requested me. But she and I are friends. I’ve talked to her in person since (and do talk to her sometimes online). She liked me; she chose me to receive the English award out of her 120+ students. I don’t see why I shouldn’t be Facebook friends with her.

Never. Double-never in high school or middle school.

No because that could lead to other problems. You don’t have to do anything wrong to get into trouble in high school. I had one teacher from high school on my freinds list on facebook. I requested 2 othe teachers to add me to facebook but they refused. I hated my high school and I still do hate it. I will never vote for any levy for them.

No,I wouldn’t.

I wouldn’t either, but it would make you a more popular teacher. I think it would be odd though because Facebook is kind of part of one’s private life. Buncha kids, nah, that’s getting to close for comfort. Maybe have a school page and the kids could friend that, and the teacher could leave an occasional comment, like don’t forget to do your homework.

This is the information age and a whole new world and way we interact and conduct ourselves. I am not a teacher and I would consider it an honor that a student would have an interest in me and my life just as I am sure it would occur in the class room. I believe each school district has their protocols of in school and after school interactions with students. Just for my own protection against any issues of impropriety, I would not accept friends from current students.

I’d have a seperate account of it. I have two now. One under me for my personal stuff for family and friends, and another one to social network for my business.

I wouldn’t, and I think any teacher who does is asking for trouble. Your boyfriend will probably never do or say anything inappropriate to a former student on Facebook, but it only takes one questionable status update to threaten his job. There’s always something on the news today about someone (usually a teacher, it seems) getting fired because of something they posted on Facebook. I think it would be much safer to avoid being friends with students until they’ve graduated.

There are a lot of middle and high school teachers in my husband’s family, and those that have a Facebook page never accept friend requests from students, current or former.

My daughter has a couple of teachers who blog and give the kids access to that. Her math teacher’s blog is updated every day, and sometimes relates to the homework or sometimes just has a fun picture, note, or video. Maybe your husband could start a simple blog to keep in touch with students. He controls all of the content (unlike Facebook, where someone could post something on his wall that a parent would find offensive). There would also be significantly less personal information and photos. This way, he can still keep in touch with students and feel like he is there for them but without opening up himself (or them) to the risks of Facebook.

My younger daughter attended an open school where all the teachers were addressed by their first name, and she is friends on FB with a few of those teachers. It was a smaller school, and the teachers were in the student’s business anyways.

A middle school teacher friended her, and she found that a little odd.

No way! Not in today’s litigious society. I am not FB friends with any of my employees or of personnel of agencies that I fund either. I don’t want any conflicts of interest.

I am friends with one of my old music teachers. I graduated in 1990, though, so, it’s been awhile. I came out to her (and many others) via Facebook. She has been cool with it and comments when my girlfriend and I are talking about getting together and our relationship and whatnot. She’s a chill kinda lady and I have no problem with it.

Teachers of existing students should not accept Facebook friendship offers, and agree with those above who suggest not until after they graduate. I can only imagine how it could negatively impact other students. ”Really? You aren’t on Mr. Smith’s FB friends list? That’s interesting…Susie and I are…”

If the students are still in school, they can keep up with them through work. I can understand wanting to add them after they leave the school though. It’s a wonderful opportunity to stay in touch with them and see how their lives turn out.

I wouldn’t. Especially not if I were teaching elementary or high school. I might even go so far as to change my name on Facebook so the kids couldn’t easily find me (first+middle name, initials, something like that). You can’t be too careful when your job could be on the line.

That being said, I think there might be a different standard for college/university profs. I have one of my former profs on my friends list, and I know she is also friends with a lot of her other students. Our department was very small and closely-knit, so I consider her an actual friend rather than just a teacher. I’m not sure what I would do as a professor whose students are all over 18. But anyone under 18? No way.

It’s a bad, Bad, BAD idea, unless you have a facebook account only for your students, and another for friends and family. I know several teachers who do exactly that. Your boyfriend should be intelligent enough to see the wisdom in this.

I do not censor myself in any way on my FB so if I did friend my students, I’d set them to limited profile, for sure and definitely wait until they weren’t my students any longer.

I would not do it unless they had remained friends with me as adults.

I think this crosses the line. its like the mistake my daughter made with her children. she was “just one of kids” to them. but, when it came time for discipline, her children thought she was not serious and she lost control. this is my point, loss of control. keep the teacher/student relationship at school and not on Facebook. too many words and too many photos can be manipulated on Facebook to achieve another situation, other than the truth. if you know what i mean.

This is the same situation with a police officer and a person thats “too” friendly with them. in my experience, i have learned that when a person wants to be too close, they are normally guilty of something or want something.

I see this as the same situation with teachers and Facebook. it just crosses the line.

Teachers should be teachers and students should learn at school, NOT on Facebook.

I think the main problem with it is that it could soo easily get him into trouble. I find it so weird that he sees nothing wrong with it. What’s more is that the school he teaches at is in an extremely religious jesus-loving town. He doesn’t use facebook much, but there are still tons of photos of him from college, a few of him cross dressing, and other questionable things. or, rather, things that no one would really find as questionable unless you are the insane parent of a 13 year old who is obsessed with her teacher. These parents of his students all conform to the train of thought that “you’re not a MAN unless you play FOOTBALL!” so imagine their reactions to a picture of him in drag.

and then, what i find annoying, is when, if ever, i want to post something on his wall or upload photos of him, i have to make sure they’re “safe”. which usually is no problem. its annoying though that i also have to censor myself for a bunch of kids that shouldn’t be friends with him anyhow.

creep.y.

Aye…and there’s the rub. You draw the line between what is acceptable for youth, and your SO doesn’t have the same measuring tape.

@deni there is an outside possibility that if things go bad for him, they could go bad for you (because you’re his girlfriend). I hope not, but stranger things have happened, especially with facebook. Please plan ahead and take care.

Nope.

@snowberry how would that ever happen? just curious

What are the chances most teenage kids post interesting shit to read on facebook anyways?

My college Chemistry proffessor encourages us to contact her via fb,
however I refuse to make a fb, and so therefore we are not friends…

@cockswain slim to none. just kidding thats too generous. there is no chance.

have you ever checked out lamebook? It’s one of the funniest sites I’ve seen.

@deni Have you ever heard of the term “guilty by association?” Students being friends with a teacher on facebook is not a good combination. Use your imagination, or take your pick of articles in the news. I’m not saying there IS a problem, just keep your eyes open, and be aware.

@snowberry Can you propose a hypothetical situation in which @deni could be guilty? I can’t picture one.

Yeah, I treat everyone the same. I don’t see any lines. That said, I have a lot of profs on my fb.

@cockswain Naw, that sounds too much like work. But the news media a.k.a Jerry Springer types will be happy to turn a mundane issue into a controversy, especially if they can find a story that will sell. The situation @deni describes on facebook, combined with some random event in the past or future could go crazy on you.

It’s happening to folks very close to me right now. A family member who happens to have high credibility (meaning everything he said could be substantiated with documentation) was interviewed by people at ESPN. They could find no controversy with him. So they chose to interview the guy who had very low credibility (and no documentation, other than rumors and flat out lies), and ran THAT on television instead. Why? Because his interview would keep feeding the rumor mill. News isn’t news if folks won’t read it or watch it. Apparently the news these days only needs a little bit of truth, and they can fill in the rest.

This experience (which has been going on for almost a year) has pretty much turned me off of watching the news, or believing anything I read in the paper. I’m always asking myself, “How much of THIS story is true?”

It’s kind of creepy and definitely inappropriate. You’re just asking for trouble by doing this.

NO GO ON THIS ONE, DONT DO IT