Being Friends with Teachers on Facebook

[Royaldada]

Just that really - If one of your DC's teachers was on Facebook would you add them as a friend

A while ago my school said we were not allowed to be friends with students, parents or ex-students on FB. Fair enough for the first one, but I work in a small school where more than one staff member has kids at the school and a fair few went to the school. When asked for clarification about ex-students, they said "anyone who had EVER" attended the school, which left us in the comic situation of not being "allowed" to be friends with colleagues who had attended the school in the 80s. Ridiculous. Common sense prevailed, of course. My babysitter used to go the school too. I let her in my house and trust her with kids but apparently she can't be trusted over social media

Definitely not. I follow various teachers on Twitter but those are either professional accounts (e.g. intended for use for school business) and/or people who are wise enough to know a public Twitter account should be used with caution.

I am friends on FB (and indeed in life) with someone who lives with one of the teachers at my ds' school, that's bad enough as I occasionally see her in photos on hols or my friend tries to tell me items of gossip from the school - I don't want to know anything about it. Same as if my GP were on FB. (And indeed the reverse - e.g. I work for the NHS and so have access to his email address but as a patient I am not allowed to know it, so I would never use it to contact him in a patient capacity).

DD follows one of her teachers in Instagram - her account is open - lots of bikini clad holiday snaps - she is young and attractive - lots of her followers at 13 year old boys!!

I want to report it!!

I've seen lots of school staff are friends with parents on facebook it makes me uncomfortable. Surely there should be professional distance. But maybe they do not see themselves as professionals? How would people feel if it were patients Facebook friends with local GPs?

Teachers have been suspended over Facebook comments. Hopefully most teachers wouldn't be that foolish and would have their security settings tight (but how confident that your Facebook friends are equally cautious about who can see that video of you?)
All the unions offer the same advise ... Don't! It's up to you whether you take it or not.
I can chat to my "real life" friends in person, over the phone, by text or email I don't need to share that information with the world.

One of the teachers in my school is friends with parents and the rest of us think he is being very foolish but can the head tell her not to? Surely however inadvisable it's his choice? Likewise one of the kitchen staff is very rude about the school and disloyal but isn't employed by the school, can she be told? The head sees what she writes as people show him!

I am friends with a couple of teachers at my DD's school on Facebook. We don't discuss school stuff and they are my actual friends as in we have met up outside school to do stuff. I like them and they like me. We are all sensible adults who know better than to discuss school things outside school.

www.teachertoolkit.me/2016/01/15/top-tips-to-keep-teachers-safe/

I would never request to be friends with a teacher from ds's school. As it happens, I am actually friends with one of them, but we were friends on there prior to my ds starting school there..and we've known each other since I was 5! So possibly an okay exception to the rule?

In our lower school several teachers have lots of parents as FB friends, and afaik they must know them through having their dc in their class - not friends beforehand. Weird.