Public schools and Facebook

[cabanafrau]

The OP mentioned an 8th grader. Aren't most 8th graders 13 unless they've skipped a grade? I hope that the school would have more sense than to encourage students to violate the Facebook Terms of Service, so I would assume they mean they only want the students who are old enough to have an account friend the school. If the school is irresponsible enough that they are encouraging underage children to join a social networking site, a parent really ought to file a complaint with the school board.

I understand that, however the OP didn't state whether or not the request was only for 8th graders.

In any case, I find the whole notion ridiculous. I'll parent my kids and ask my school to focus on educating them.

 

[tvguy]

Wow, far different than my kids private high school. Having a Facebook or My Space account was (and still is) grounds for expulsion!
The school has their own website. All the syllibises are there. The nightly homework assignments are there. You can log in, and check grades. No need for FB or MS.

 

[FireDancer]

Wow, far different than my kids private high school. Having a Facebook or My Space account was (and still is) grounds for expulsion!
The school has their own website. All the syllibises are there. The nightly homework assignments are there. You can log in, and check grades. No need for FB or MS.

I find that even more disturbing than the school spying on them, especially for a high school where a subset of the student body are full fledged adults. It is extremely controlling and what they have online is none of the school's business. I could see them blocking access to the pages on school computers but would never allow that kind of intrusion into my kid's life.

 

[Scurvy]

I find that even more disturbing than the school spying on them, especially for a high school where a subset of the student body are full fledged adults. It is extremely controlling and what they have online is none of the school's business. I could see them blocking access to the pages on school computers but would never allow that kind of intrusion into my kid's life.

I agree. I suppose it's different since it's a private school, and parents have the option of sending their kids elsewhere if they object to the policies. But if my son's public school tried to enforce a rule like that I would have serious problems with it.

 

[FireDancer]

I agree. I suppose it's different since it's a private school, and parents have the option of sending their kids elsewhere if they object to the policies. But if my son's public school tried to enforce a rule like that I would have serious problems with it.

I guess. At least we know there are helicopter schools out there for all the helicopter parents to send their little snowflakes to.

 

[Becky2005]

Having a Facebook or My Space account was (and still is) grounds for expulsion!

OK, the school asking children to "friend" them is just bizarre & I wouldn't do it. Our grade school PTO just got a Facebook page and I'm not even wanting to "like" them or friend them (not sure if it's a group or Fan Page) but still just feels like too much for me.

A bit creepy BUT saying a HS can't have a Facebook account at all is insane. My daughter has one and there are a lot of outside activity that she uses it for that have absolutely NOTHING to do with school. One of her local theatre company uses it to post audition information and for that matter information about ticket sales just tidbit of stuff that doesn't always make it on their main website in a timely fashion, if at all. Basically she would be shut out of knowing when special auditions and other things are coming out because she wasn't on Facebook if she went to the private HS but it is a private HS, I'm wondering is it a boarding school too -- in that case, it would make more sense, if the students lived on-site and they just completely banned Facebook.

 

[SaraJayne]

Wow, far different than my kids private high school. Having a Facebook or My Space account was (and still is) grounds for expulsion!
The school has their own website. All the syllibises are there. The nightly homework assignments are there. You can log in, and check grades. No need for FB or MS.

I'd tell the school to stick to educating my kid and leave the parenting to me.

And then I'd sign my kid up for Facebook.

 

[minniebeth]

The story goes that it was told to them by the principal during, as I understand it, a back to school-type assembly.

Do you really sign an agreement regarding technology use outside of school (highlighted above)? I hope it's like "guidelines" and not an actual agreement. Or do you have school technology that you take home (such as a school-owned laptop)? That I would understand. Just curious.

No, there are no take home laptops, just for use in school in the classes.
Yes, the wording in the agreement includes appropriate use of social media outside of school.

However, let me clarify that my kids' school is a private school, so of course, their house, their rules. Apparantly, there have been too many cases of cyber bullying, etc. and the administration of the district (diocese) felt that they would include the technology agreement to include out of school technology use including texting, computer use, social media.

There HAS been some good that has come out of it protecting kids at this age and then again there is still the times you're just left scratching your head like huh? really?

But for a public school, I really think there needs to be a boundary (with exceptions of course) between school and home privacy.

 

[tvguy]

I'd tell the school to stick to educating my kid and leave the parenting to me.

And then I'd sign my kid up for Facebook.

Well, they make it VERY clear before you enroll your child what the policy is. Unlike public school, if you don't like it, you can go elsewhere. Somehow they continue to find 1,000 students every year to fill the school.
They also have other rules, like you kids can color their hair, but it has to be a naturally occurring color in humans.. I love that one.
And their lockers are subject to inspection at anytime without notice. Of course, most of the public schools here took out all the lockers because they couldn't control what kids had in them.

 

[Alphabetsoup]

Hmm....forbidding high schoolers from having a FB page is kind of extreme. As a university prof, we look at student FB and MySpace pages when we are culling admissions...generally looking to see if students are well rounded and to get a better feel for what sort of student they are. Not having a FB page or any form of website, etc...might be seen as a student who is a loner and anti-social, therefore one who is not likely to fit into the university.

Besides that, do they ban cell phones or internet use? Because sexting and bullying via texts and twitter is just as rampant as bullying on FB -- and getting rid of bullying on FB is way easier than cell phones -- just block or unfriend the bully -- no more problem.

Sounds to me like the school is basically fishing with dynamite!

 

[castleview]

I don't think teachers or administrators should be monitoring what students do outside of school period. That is the responsibility of the parents. Once a child leaves the grounds of the school they are no longer under their authority IMO.

When we were kids if we got in a fight on the baseball field on the weekend it was none of the school's business unless the fight picked back up while we were in school. I feel what is done outside of school in the virtual world should be treated the same way.

They check because a lot of times it carries into school (he does this in the evenings). Plans for fights or other stupid stuff actually has been posted and he's been able to stop it. It does get tough though when something bad happens (i.e. someone posts something sexually explicit about another) because the school can't punish one because it didn't happen on school grounds. But the school has to deal with the aftermath of this.

 

[MM27]

Hmm....forbidding high schoolers from having a FB page is kind of extreme. As a university prof, we look at student FB and MySpace pages when we are culling admissions...generally looking to see if students are well rounded and to get a better feel for what sort of student they are. Not having a FB page or any form of website, etc...might be seen as a student who is a loner and anti-social, therefore one who is not likely to fit into the university.

Besides that, do they ban cell phones or internet use? Because sexting and bullying via texts and twitter is just as rampant as bullying on FB -- and getting rid of bullying on FB is way easier than cell phones -- just block or unfriend the bully -- no more problem.

Sounds to me like the school is basically fishing with dynamite!

I'm glad I went to college before the big Facebook boom, because I just signed on recently. I was a great student and was so active in extra-curricular things that I didn't have time to sit around posting about my every waking minutes. Not a loner, not anti-social, just active. It's sad that a college or university would hold it against an otherwise good candidate just because they are not into something like Facebook.

I do agree with the cell phone thing though. We have had 5th grade girls in my school sending nude and/or topless pictures to boys in the school. One of the girls was the quietest, well behaved, bright little girl that just made a stupid choice. Can't tell you how many kids ended up seeing those pics.

My principal talks to kids about Facebook/MySpace every now and then at assemblies. I teach in a 3-6 school, so none of the kids are really old enough to have accounts. Apparently, some of the kids were posting really harmful (to themselves) things that ranged from inappropriate sexual, gang and other related comments and pictures. While it's not his job to monitor what these kids do outside of school, I work in an area where many parents are single parents and the kids are home alone for a long time after school. I think it's more out of concern than monitoring for punishment.