PATINS PROJECT -Rapid Fire-

Dear Daniel,
I read this post last week, and I had some thoughts about this issue, because I am on Facebook myself. I also know at least one high school teacher who is on Facebook as well.

First, I don’t think school districts should create policies governing interactions that happen outside of school. School buildings and property are their sole jurisdiction, and common law can take care of the rest. I also think it’s up to teachers to make their own decisions about whether and what to use on social networking sites. As a Facebook user, I know that Facebook provides easy ways to keep some relationships professional and other relationships more like a “family reunion,” as one superintendent was quoted as saying in the article in your post. For example, Facebook users can designate certain friends for a limited profile only. Facebook also provides various levels of security for each part of your profile, for example, contact info, photos, applications allowed, etc. The teacher I know even created her profile under a different version of her first name so as to be less searchable by her students.

I am much less familiar with other networking sites, but I think Facebook can be a viable and allowable tool for teachers. It is possible to be less formal and still maintain a professional relationship via Facebook’s personalizable security–as long as teachers know how to use it.

Thank you for your comment Laurel! This is the sort of conversation I was hoping my post might initiate. Your thoughts are very much appreciated! Hopefully, others will contribute their thoughts as well.

In my opinion, your last statement is a powerful one; “-as long as teachers know how to use it.” To me, this indicates a need for professional development, hands-on practice and for teachers to take some initiative to learn to use the many powerful tools that exist rather than fearing them.