To add teacher on social media?

[CocoBean22]

DD finished school last week and the teacher she had is moving to Australia to live and teach there.
DD has become very fond of the teacher and would like to keep in touch and is sad that she is leaving the school and moving away.

Is it acceptable to add teacher on social media to stay in touch now that the teacher has left the school and moved to the other side of the world?
Or is it still not appropriate?

Can you say what you think would be in it for the teacher?

Life is full of change ..here's one for your daughter to process .

But are they 11 at first request? I too, am friends with some former teachers but I was an adult when whoever made the first request and Facebook was new then so it was less of an issue. I think my son has a few former staff on his SM but again, He is an adult at time of request.

A lot of the responses here indicate that people haven’t read that OP is asking about adding through her own account, not her child’s …

This. For sure.

I have I would say all the primary teachers in mine. Also in WhatsApp. Rural community. Very normal.

She hasn't posted why the teacher would want this.

Nope, don’t do it,

Just send the request she’ll only accept if she’s happy with it

Yes, the account may be OP's, but it’s the child who OP said "would like to keep in touch". The teacher should not be put in the position of either feeling obliged to accept the request, thus presumably letting herself in for exchanging messages with a child, or refusing the request in the knowledge that the child will feel hurt.

As both DD and the teacher have left the school, I would say it’s no longer much of an issue for you (parent) to add teacher on social media. Don’t be surprised if they don’t accept though.

Don't. It will be awkward as you only know the teacher professionally and DD is too young.

I am in touch with an ex-student who was an adult and a few years after teaching him at the point he got in touch. He likes to update me occasionally as he's in a career strongly associated with my subject. That's very different to staying connected with a primary/ young secondary age student even by proxy through the parent.

I work in my community so my work/life boundaries are fuzzier than average. I've retained people I previously knew, and some are particularly close friends, and I'm upfront with my employer about that. I would not accept new people only linked my professional community. I have blocked u18 students and referred to safeguarding for their own wellbeing and everyone's protection when they've tried to get in touch directly.

Fortunately at the dawn of the social media era, I was already firmly into adulthood and my career so there's never been anything compromising on there which is another thing that needs to be considered.

I’m friends with some of my old teachers. I’m not in my 30s.
also friends with some of the parents of old pupils. It’s nice to hear what they’re up to now.

What do you think the teacher is going to be posting? Curious.

Exactly.

Its really a non issue.

send the request and job done.

be different if OP was posting saying

oh my goodness I sent a request and it was ignored. Fair enough.

But there is no way to know the teachers views without sending it.

It’s more for them to see what progress/ achievements DD has

I am a teacher. I have taught many children over the years. I have been very fond of many of them, and very proud of them for their many achievements.
However, they are not my children. There is no way I would be interested in keeping in touch with a child's parent just to see their child's progress and updates.

Please don’t take this rudely, but no teacher would be interested in keeping in touch & seeing updates of a random child that they have taught.

No, don’t be weird. Your daughter will have forgotten about her by September.

Nooooo!!!!

Please don't do this

As a teacher, please do not do this. It's awkward for everyone, plus her SM should be private, there's no chance she'd want you (or your daughter) to see her private photos and posts.

OMG

Please don't embarrass yourself this way.

I'm cringing SO much.

This is some form of narcissism by proxy.

The teacher is not going to be interested.

I think you are going to try to friend this teacher anyway despite what anyone, well everyone, advises you.

Oh my.

I have two of my ex teachers on facebook but they both had to wait three years to have me on there and I was 21 by then! 11 is inappropriate and the teacher would be mad to have her on there

My school had a rule that teachers were not permitted to have any social media contact until five years after the child had left the school as part of the safeguarding policy.

In addition, as a previous poster has said, much as I was engaged with each child while I taught them, I really have no interest in keeping in touch that way. It was (and still is) nice to see some of them at school reunions, but to be honest, I can rarely even remember their names. I was one of only a few teachers they learnt from during their time at the school, so they remember me clearly, but I taught many hundreds of children, and hardly any made a lasting impression. While the OP’s child is important to her, to a teacher, she’s just a kid I once taught.