kids being friends with teachers on facebook

[memoo]

Am I the only one who things this is weird?

I use to work in a primary school, stopped last year after having dd.

I have lost count of the number of students from the school (some now in high school) who have requested me as a friend.

I have also seen teaching staff that I am friends with that have pupils from school as their friend on facebook.

Surely this is inappropriate?

Kids should not be requesting the friendship in the first place but the teacher/TA shouldn't be accepting them.

If I found out one of my children was friends with their teacher on FB I would be complaining to the school

The teacher/TA is leaving themselves open to all kind of allegations

[CrazyPlateLady]

YANBU. I am very surprised that teachers or TAs accept friend requests from pupils. Completely inappropriate! I would be having a word with the school tbh.

[KnittingisbetterthanTherapy]

Crazy thing to do. YANBU.

[PlumBumMum]

YANBU

My friend says she has to tell her pupils all the time not to take it to heart when she hits the ignore button

[Feenie]

Inappropriate and against most schools' internet safety policies.

[calaminecovered]

YANBU! I am a teacher also and would not accept friend requests from pupils! (Or their parents!!)

[LadyViper]

if its years after they left the school then I think its acceptable (but if I was a teacher I would not accept them because i'd find it annoying), but not while they are still in the school.

If a pupil wants to contact a teacher they can email them.

[scurryfunge]

Very unprofessional and quite frankly a stupid idea for the teachers to do this. Leaves them wide open to allegations.

[coolma]

We have this issue at my work - clients wanting to be facebook friends with staff. Has to be explained it isn't really terribly appropriate!

[echt]

Absolutely inappropriate. When you say "teaching staff that I am friends with" , do you mean FB friends? If so, you need to make it very clear that no photos or references to you can be posted.

[roomonthebroom]

YANBU - it is wrong, wrong, wrong.

I'm a secondary school teacher, although gave up a few years ago, but notice some of my former colleagues have pupils and ex-pupils as friends. I have de-friended these people as I don't want former pupils to know my business.

I think it's totally unprofessional.

What's worse though is the female headteacher buying sixth form pupils alcohol at school functions. That is another thread entirely!

[pozzled]

Very inappropriate and quite foolish of the teaching staff. It's a disciplinary offence in some schools and against policy in most.

[sterrryerryoh]

I teach in a secondary school and we have categorically been told by the head that under no circumstances are any staff to be FB friends with any student - even my Goddaughter, who is at the school where I teach.
It is highly inappropriate - teachers are people too, and some of the staff on my FB friends list get up to all sorts of stuff that would arm any student for abuse, name-calling and trouble-making. There are, nationally, lots of example of online ?bullying? (from students towards staff AND vice versa) and staff are also leaving themselves open to allegations.
Whichever way you look at it, it?s not a winning situation, and I?d be surprised if any school didn?t have the official line of no FB friends between staff and students

[Goblinchild]

I thought my LEA had banned teachers from doing this, not checked up if it's true as I think it's very inappropriate and would never do it.

[Hassled]

The teachers are insane. DS2 was telling me about how his Biology teacher is so lovely and nice that some of the girls asked if she could be their FB friend, and that the (very sensible) teacher told them it wasn't allowed - I'm amazed any teachers would think otherwise. Teachers aren't meant to be "friends", are they?

Having said that, I'm FB friends with an ex teacher of mine - but I'm 44, so I reckon it's OK :o

[memoo]

Yeah I do mean teaching staff I am also friends with on facebook.

I've even had a fair few requests from parents why on earth do you request to be friends with your childs TA.

But again I have noticed that some of my old colleagues have parents on their FB

[ChippingIn]

Once they have left school I think it's fine, but not while they are still at school.

[eldritch]

My husband (a teacher) has instructed me to say YADNBU - v silly thing to do on teacher's part and leaves them open to all sorts of trouble.

[snowmummy]

YANBU its not appropriate at all

[MrsSchadenfreude]

I think it depends what you use Fb for, TBH! DD1 is FB friends with one of her teachers. He writes nothing that isn't dull and routine in his status updates and "keeps a weather eye" on the children to make sure there is no bullying etc.

[Panzee]

I can't stand it when I see my colleagues do this. I ignore (and often report underage ones)

[curlymama]

I'm a pre school teacher and I hate it when parents try to add me. I either feel I have to ignore them and risk offending them, then I worry that they think I have something to hide. Or I accept them and let them see things from my personal life that although cmopletely inoffensive, I'd rather them not see. I tend to go for the former, unless I know the parent from doing the Mummy rounds anyway.

Secondary school teachers should definately not have pupils on their fb.

[scurryfunge]

Doesn't matter what the content of the messages are -very foolish of that male teacher MrsScadenfreude, bearing in mind any contact can be seen as grooming - dull updates or not.

[memoo]

I had an 8 year old from school send me a friend request!

[MardyBra]

wrong wrong wrong

[Feenie]

How old is your dd, MrsSchadenfreude? My dh teaches in an FE college, and a colleague of his faced a disciplinary panel because he was friends with a student on FB - and their students are all over 16. Your dd's teacher is indeed foolish.