Should teachers and students be friends on Facebook?

1. 77

   arizonataylorposted 11 years ago

   Should teachers and students be friends on Facebook?

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2. 93

   donnah75posted 11 years ago

   In a word, no.  I tell my students that if they want to be my FB friend, then they need to wait until after they graduate to "friend" me.  In doing that, I only become FB friends with those students who will keep in touch as they begin their adult lives.  Usually, those are the students who I spent a lot of time with in our drama program as their advisor and director.  I have had a few student try, and I have ignored them.  I also don't accept every after graduation friend request. 
   
   I actually think it is inappropriate for my current students to have a "friend" relationship with me.  Although I censor what I put on FB, I don't think they need to see that much into my personal life.  I also don't necessarily want to look int theirs.  I know that some teachers do it, and they seem to be fine with it.  I suppose it depends on personal preference and how the adult portrays him or herself on the FB site. 
   
   This is a great question.  I am curious to know how others feel about this.

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3. 77

   TFScientistposted 11 years ago

   No. It is far too open to abuse? Teachers should maintain a professional relationship with their students. They are not there to be friends with their students

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   1. 0

      Sarra Garrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I concur with TF Scientist.  Teachers are professionals and should not be friends with their students on Facebook.

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   2. 66

      Dr. Arthur Ideposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Teachers teach, not go out for a drink or dance. Education is steps towards learning--not merely achieving a diploma frequently the result of friendships. I never allow a student into my home or life. I am a friendly teacher--not friend of a student

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4. 0

   ESLTeachersTalesposted 11 years ago

   Only if you create a separate profile specifically for that purpose. That is my policy even though I have adult students. I have one profile for people I know as friends in real life or who I know through hobbies or who are relatives. I created another one (with a separate email) for students. I do want to keep in touch with them but most of them are not my friends in the pre-internet sense of the term. My students are also not from the U.S. Though I am pretty dull poster on facebook, I don't want to have to wonder if I'm offending someone with a post simply because they come from a culture with radically different values. The same could happen within the U.S. given various religious beliefs. Having a separate profile for students also allows me to post things specifically for them that people in my personal life may not find interesting.

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5. 60

   RoxiMposted 11 years ago

   Our district has a policy against teachers adding students as friends on social networking sites. They don't exactly come out and say, "No, you are not allowed to do it." They just recommend against friending students. For the most part, I agree. There are some education-directed sites such as Edmodo that allow for social networking, chat, etc. to be used as a way to extend the classroom and make it more relevant  to students' interests.

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6. 62

   jprice90posted 11 years ago

   NO! I think it's so wrong. It's a student! Work should just be work, you should not have a close relationship like that with a student. It's just a bad thing waiting to happen.

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7. 61

   soutienscolairefrposted 11 years ago

   I think, that no. The relation between a student and a teacher has limits and could not be more friends than educational relation.
   There are many professional social media like LinkedIn, where they could be in contact but not in Facebook, because it's too private and it shows the private life of the teacher and the student ... There's a possbility when the teacher has a special dedicated profile or page on Facebook for his students with some educational informations or lesson's summaries...

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8. 67

   sarahmooseposted 11 years ago

   Definitely not. I am hoping to go into teaching, and I would never make friends with any students. It leaves you open to all kinds of accusations, and as has been said before, seeing their private life is not of interest. It also over-familiarises you with those students who choose to be your friend online; do you really want them to see the pictures of you at your best friend's fancy dress hen night?? Didn't think so!! I have been a personal tutor for the last 2 years, and have only made friends with 1 student, after I had finished her tutoring, purely because they have become really good friends as a family, and its a great way to keep in touch. But never while I'm teaching them.

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9. 61

   mismazdaposted 11 years ago

   I dont think that they need to be friends on FB. They interact with each other enough in the classroom. I think strudents as well as teacher are entitled to their privacy outside the classroom, also this could lead to problems within the school or classroom if either parties share information about the other parties that the party do not want to be shared at school...So again I say..."Let sleeping dogs lay",,

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10. 72

    lburmasterposted 11 years ago

    No. I honestly consider that extremely creepy. As a student, I normally wanted away from my teachers in school and in college. There is only one teacher I would consider being friends with on Facebook and she is no longer my professor.

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11. 82

    sriparnaposted 11 years ago

    I am glad to see so many NO s to this question, I feel the same. Students and teachers are not meant to be facebook friends, I have seen when teachers trying to be on a popularity trip does so, the students can access to their personal photographs etc. and being youngsters, naughty compulsions come very easily to them. Our school has a virtual learning environment, Moodle interface, where the students of every class and the teachers can discuss on the forums, carry out general discussions, issues or academics, where language needs to be controlled and content needs to be proper. That really works well in encouraging informal learning, but definitely not a social networking site! Good question!

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12. 61

    Joanna Kimposted 11 years ago

    That is really a tricky question! But from my perspective, I would rather they are not friends. It is good for teachers to keep certain distance from their students.

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13. 57

    Shock Probationposted 11 years ago

    I think we should add teachers on facebook because of a few reasons.One of them is that we can learn more things about their life. Besides,we can also ask them for their guidance on our studies.
        We can also ask the solutions for the questions that were given to us in class. We can also ask guidance for them in the sense that we are going to tution or extra class.
        Teachers  can also help us to finish or assignments such as scrap books and folios on time. We can talk to them about the problems we are having in schools, like gangsters, bullies and also our personal problems if we are close to the teachers.
       I have around four teachers as my friends on facebook. I have improved in my academics after asking for their directions in my studies. My grades have improved  because of the guidance from the teachers on facebook.
        I still have my primary school teachers as my friends on facebook. They have motivated me in every way, both physically and mentally. I am now in Form 3, but the memories in my primary school teachers are still playing in my mind.
       Although, we students have gone separate ways we are still close with each teachers in our primary school. We are still close to them on facebooks. I think all the teachers on facebook  should create a group or a fan club.

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    1. 66

       Dr. Arthur Ideposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       As a professional educator with doctorates in subject fields, teaching, and psychology, I disagree strongly.  No student has any right to know about the private life of a teacher or other students.  This leads to poor learning skills and dependency.

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14. 0

    danielabramposted 11 years ago

    This is a very delicate issue and can lead to the teacher getting fired if things get too personal. Also, there is a level of respect that the teacher should try to maintain.

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    1. 66

       Dr. Arthur Ideposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Teachers we find who are "friends" on Facebook, usually are also bed companions; I have sat on many cases and found such friendships are detrimental to the student and to learning. There is no privacy on Facebook and everyone deserves a private life.

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15. 66

    Dr. Arthur Ideposted 11 years ago

    Never.  A teacher is a person to help a student learn; this can be achieved by the teacher being "friendly" (objective, unbiased, nonpreferential, etc)--but never a friend, as that can lead to complications of all forms from sexual relations to favoritism in class and the dispensing of grades. 
    
    I do not use (nor am I a member of) Facebook.  It is an invasion of my privacy, and has no value academically, as anything can be posted on Facebook--and material taken from and transmogrified.  I have researched thousands of cases of suicides of students, and published on them, and in the last five years, many cases of bullying come directly from Facebook entries.  It is not Facebook that makes students feel that there is no hope--it is the messages of hate, self-righteousness, estrangement and ridicule on Facebook that leads many to self-destructive acts and suicide.  Suicide is a growing problem, and Facebook increases the risks.

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