Teachers on Facebook

[pigletz]

I'm a teacher and I have a facebook account. So far it hasn't been a problem. I have all of my settings set to friends only and I rarely post anything anyways. A lot of my students will ask me if I have a facebook account and I just say no. I don't have a profile picture and I don't have a city listed as a hometown so it's difficult to identify me just from what they would find in a search. I do have one former student as a friend. I taught her in 7th grade and now she's a teacher in my school so she's also a coworker.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I think adults befriending kids on Facebook is weird, unless they are the parents and they feel they need to. My MIL right now is going around all the kids Facebook trying to befriend them, all the nieces, nephews, grandkids, etc., and it drives me crazy. She is on my niece and nephews' and then she goes around and gossips about it, etc, trying to be nosey, etc. I have people lately, old school friends, etc., trying to get me to join and I'm considering it, but I will not befriend my MIL or the nieces, nephews, etc., in my family. I think it's weird and also I don't want them to know what we were like in the 70's and 80's either, lol.

 

[magpie889]

Well there is a setting where you can block certain guests from seeing ur pictures and posts. So all they can see is what the post on your wall and ur profile pic. It just says u have no other photos. So you can add them and block them at the same time

 

[klacey1]

One of my good friends is a teacher-- her profile is SUPER private and no one can search for her. However, her students are in first grade, so it's really a non-issue. No parents have tried to friend her b/c her profile is impossible to find-- she must reach out to others.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm a substitute teacher, who does not have a Facebook account, and my job is one reason.

 

[LBAK]

i am a pre-k teacher so the students aren't an issue. I also ask parents not to friend request me during the year but after graduation I will be their friend. Privacy settings are always "friends only" for me.

 

[disykat]

I'm on facebook under my maiden name and my profile picture is from 25 years ago.

 

[Cinderella94]

High school student here . Quite a few of the teachers at my school are on facebook. I'm friends with a few of them now, and some others won't friend you until you graduate. Two teachers have created two pages for themselves: one that's their "real" page, and one to friend students on. I don't know of any that won't friend students altogether.

 

[Tinijocaro]

My HS students may friend me after they graduate. My elementary kids (4th and 5th grade) must also wait until after they graduate. DH has many current and former HS students as facebook friends.

We don't have anything worrisome on our FB pages, if something were to be posted that we didn't like, we'd ask the person to delete it or delete it ourselves. I asked a friend to delete a picture of me that I hated.

Friending students really isn't a big deal unless inappropriate things may be posted about you (drunken pics, comments about something questionable you did...). I don't like to have students as friends because they post too often and I really don't care to read their drivel. I would end up hiding them all anyways.

 

[Jennasis]

I am not a teacher per se, but I have plenty of students. I'm a riding instructor and my students keep hounding me to create a FB page (or one for the barn). I refuse. After seeing the nonsense that goes on with these kids and FB, I do not want any part of it.

Also, I have NO interest in connecting or reconnecting with any of the people from my childhood. If I want to chat with family, I will call them (and I do, a lot).

 

[We_Love_Disney]

At DD's school, teachers are forbidden to have students as Facebook friends. Sadly, a few, well, just one, thinks the rules don't apply to him, so he is friends with anyone.

I have issues with adults being 'friends' with teens. From my point of view, if the teen is doing something wrong, and I am made aware of it, then what is my obligation? If a teen did something wrong in front of me, I would advise of dangers and if a teen told me they were doing something wrong, I would, as an adult, feel need to be parental. If I ignore it, aren't I in essence giving permission to the teen?

I do not have a Facebook. I do read my daughters. I have seen somethings, I wish I didn't. Teens are so stupid! What they write is ignorant. There are some of these kids who are friends with adults, and sometimes these so called adults will just 'lol' the idiotic things.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I have a friend who is a teacher that refuses to get an account of Facebook because he is a teacher and doesn't want to get himself into trouble and/or get into issues with refusing to become friends with his students (middle schoolers).

So, some questions...

Are you a teacher? Are you on Facebook?

Yes and yes

Do you add your students or parents as friends? If not, how do you handle situations where a student or parent requests to be friends? Do you ever have an issue with that person getting insulted?

No, I do not add students or parents of students. I have had several students send friend requests and I just ignore the request. Noone has said anything about being insulted.

I just don't get what the big deal is about teachers having personal Facebook pages. What I do with my time is my business. I am not breaking any laws or acting against the ethical expectations in my state.

 

[Tiger926]

I have a friend who is a teacher that refuses to get an account of Facebook because he is a teacher and doesn't want to get himself into trouble and/or get into issues with refusing to become friends with his students (middle schoolers).

So, some questions...

Are you a teacher? Are you on Facebook?

Do you add your students or parents as friends? If not, how do you handle situations where a student or parent requests to be friends? Do you ever have an issue with that person getting insulted?


If you aren't a teacher, but you have kids, are their teachers on Facebook? Are you friends with them?

Teacher - Yes
Facebook - Absolutely not

I am not interested in Facebook - love computers and email, but do not like Facebook, Twitter, etc. I have no interest in finding old childhood peers, as that is not my life now. Nor, do I think they could care about my life at this point. My friends and I have meaningful relationships, and so I'm not interested in doing this over a computer, nor, does that fit the description of what a student or their parent is to me. I am NOT friends with former, nor current students. I am their teacher, and those two worlds never meet...

Tiger

 

[Lanshark]

You could set everything to be visible to friends only, not friends of friends.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Lanshark]

Teacher - Yes
Facebook - Absolutely not

I am not interested in Facebook - love computers and email, but do not like Facebook, Twitter, etc. I have no interest in finding old childhood peers, as that is not my life now. Nor, do I think they could care about my life at this point. My friends and I have meaningful relationships, and so I'm not interested in doing this over a computer, nor, does that fit the description of what a student or their parent is to me. I am NOT friends with former, nor current students. I am their teacher, and those two worlds never meet...

Tiger

This pretty much sums up my feelings

 

[Blueeyes101817]

I am a Kindergarten teacher--I have had a couple of parents try to friend me on facebook--I just let them know that I do not friend my students parents--they have understood..I also have my profile set to private

 

[Jeafl]

I'm a teacher, and I don't do Facebook. Mainly because I just am not interested, but also because I don't want to open myself to the question of befriending students.

I teach special ed and I agree with this. I do not have a Facebook account because I have enough trouble with student's parents emailing me trying to get around the district social workers and case managers. They always have "just one question or request" which turns out to be something that I have no business answering or doing. General questions about their child I am happy to answer, but there are some tricky issues that they try to get around. I guess I am just trying to save myself a headache or two.

I do think I am the only person I know without an account though.

 

[Tiger926]

I teach special ed and I agree with this. I do not have a Facebook account because I have enough trouble with student's parents emailing me trying to get around the district social workers and case managers. They always have "just one question or request" which turns out to be something that I have no business answering or doing. General questions about their child I am happy to answer, but there are some tricky issues that they try to get around. I guess I am just trying to save myself a headache or two.

I do think I am the only person I know without an account though.

Count me as not having one, as I mentioned! Hope you have a great school year, Tiger

 

[Rora]

I'm a 3rd grade teacher and have a Facebook account. It's set to private and I don't accept any students or parents-- past or present. I also don't post stupid pictures, make comments or update my status with anything that could get me in trouble.

No problems here.

 

[MickeyisBeast]

Some of my teachers have facebooks, and I'm only friends with one of them. She only has the page for her students/old students to keep up with work and school and such. I do know my old keyboarding teacher has a facebook, I don't have him as a friend, because I really don't want to... but he accepts his students/old students as friends. His page isn't for students keeping up or such like my other teacher's page. My mom's a teacher and has a facebook, but doesn't accept her students or her students parents as friends.