second variation on the same - Facebook

Becoming transparent does not have to mean see-through: Teaching in a social media dominated world

(Teaching in a social media world where transparency changes a teacher’s PG rating to R)

As a younger teacher, I’m comfortable using whatever technology I can to increase my “cool factor” with the students. Any way we can connect and I can demystify myself is appreciated. At the end of each day, I don’t unroll my cot and take up sanctuary in my classroom void of a personal life. This is vastly different from a generation ago when what happened outside of school was never fodder for discussion on either end of the conversation; students didn’t want teachers to know about their “other” life and teachers certainly didn’t find it appropriate for students to understand they were human.

However, with this new connectedness, teachers are online with students all day and sometimes all night long. There is Facebook, Twitter, My Space, Blogger, Nings, and email which make a teacher readily accessible for questions and conversation. There is a constant question that tares at me while I talk to my students: How much is too much?
Facebook has allowed me into the lives of my students in a way that the classroom never has. The four walls created clear, impenetrable boundaries and likewise students can now see me as a whole person instead of the 1-dimensional squawk box that flits before them.

Students weigh in

Some students believe that “friending” teachers on Facebook is not a good idea. Senior, Raymond Arroyo at World Journalism Preparatory School (WJPS) said, “No, I don’t friend my teachers because it’s not professional. Relationships between teachers and students should stay in school.”

“Students shouldn’t be ‘friends’ with their teachers until they graduate because pictures people post can be inappropriate,” said Erica Castagliola, senior at WJPS.

Other students think that is okay for teachers and students to communicate outside of school in this fashion. “Yes, being a friend [of a teacher] is okay, but teachers should keep some stuff private as should students. Plus it offers students a chance to quell their curiosity about teachers’ lives outside of school,” said Marlyn Sanchez, senior at WJPS.

“It’s not a problem for teachers and students to be friends, but privacy is an issue. There should be limitations to what is shared from both sides,” said Fernando Echeverri, senior at WJPS. He also said that a person’s reputation can be at stake.

Parents weigh in
Parents think that it can be both good and potentially harmful. “My children and I all looked on Facebook this summer to find their teachers. Most were private however there were some that we had access to. It was really nice to see the teachers and their photos of their families and friends. It shows the kids that teachers are “normal people” just like everyone else. My daughters’ teacher shared her page and she came home and told me that she loved looking at pictures of her teachers’ son. It brings them together,” said Ann Whyte, parent and biller for New York Digital Print Center, Inc.

Nancy Cicciariello, Bayside, NY community parent said, “Social media can help or hurt [a professional] relationship. As a parent there is a constant connection which can aid the student or can be a nagging experience for a teacher. The social media allows one another to see how a person’s life outside of work is about which then can lead to passing judgment. As long as websites are used positively and lightly it should be a useful tool.”

Although there is an upside to the social media, there seems to be some trepidation about the sharing of information. Mrs. Whyte said, “Unfortunately, I think with the venues the way they are, it could hurt both the child and teacher if not used properly. Some people become “delusional” about the statements and pix they put on their sites. It is much easier to be stupid on a computer screen to a lot of people than it is in person. I think people would use much more discretion if they realized the impact of what they put on these sites.”

Teachers weigh in

Alejandro Sosa, high school social studies teacher believes that students have a strong desire to actually know their teachers and feel accepted by them. “Students yearn to know that their teachers are human beings and go through the same problems that they go through. There's also the curiosity factor - many students want to know what might be in store for them. I believe the third and probably most important factor is that teenagers want more importantly than anything else to have friends and be accepted and respected by others. Friendship with a teacher through any social media site or in person is a powerful form of acceptance.”

For teachers, though Sosa thinks it is a personal decision. “I think that varies from teacher to teacher. Personally I'm uncomfortable with letting students know too much as I think the barrier in the teacher/student relationship is critical for getting students (especially more difficult ones) to learn and work hard. But many times, allowing that barrier to be too rigid can have the opposite effect and dehumanize the teacher to the point where students want nothing to do with them. Each teacher really needs to decide how comfortable they are in unveiling their personal lives.”

Many teachers surveyed on the national JEA listserv have various social media accounts, but don’t include students until they have graduated or moved away. Most journalism teachers who do allow students, are extremely selective and use the medium as another way to contact their staff at the last minute. It is the consensus however, that giving students too much access to a teacher’s personal life can offer more harm than good while the student is still in the school. According to many of those teachers, keeping things uncomplicated by not permitting students into their outside world just is the best way to avoid controversy.

Administrators weigh in

Administrators have more apprehension about the practice and believe that school wide protocols would greatly help. Principal Cynthia Schneider of WJPS says that protecting teachers is her main concern. “I’m always worried about the call from the superintendant with an allegation of ‘inappropriate’ emotional contact.” Schneider also stated that technology and social media is the way the world is moving and as educators it is our responsibility to teach students how to use these mediums responsibly. Teachers need to be the role models.

The danger is real and administrators have expressed concern. There has been no Supreme Court test case around this yet the way there are distinctive rulings on other free speech topics. Schneider called attention to walking this fine line in addition to the possibility of misinterpretation. She said, “the room for error grow exponentially because tone is hard to read online.” Students have a hard time reading tone when it feels obvious to adults, so the lack of personal attention where the reaction can be gauged creates more room for problems in the minds of administrators.

So far there are no standards set nationally for “good practices” on this matter. It varies from state to state, district to district, school to school, teacher to teacher and student to student.
Sidebar:

Tips for using privacy settings on Facebook effectively –
• Make sure you create lists within your friends (sorting is often easier if you place the people in the list as you friend them. Otherwise, you can go back through the friends list and select all people you’d like on the list)
• Create a “limited” profile list where teachers/students are listed –
• Go through to manage privacy settings
           o Status updates – make sure to put your limited list as blocked (you can also add individuals that you don’t want to see)
           o Repeat this for wall posts, videos and personal information (and any other “questionable” information)
• Photo albums can be made private on an album by album basis
• Don’t post anything that you may regret later – a good question to ask is, “How would my parents feel about seeing this? My future children?”

Teacher role models struggle in a social media world

Working in New York City a teacher can turn to the Post on almost any day and read about the exploits of teacher/student affairs in horror. Always wondering “how” or “why” do these things happen? Knowing the students I work with closely, I can understand, but don’t condone the blurring of the lines in this delicate relationship.

Traditionally, teachers conveyed knowledge to students for them to learn keeping their own lives as far from the table as possible. Personal lives and situations were definitely not fodder for classroom discussion. However, in a world where we’ve moved online and share our intimate thoughts as status updates on Facebook and Twitter, how does a teacher still maintain the boundary?

I have over 1200 “friends” on Facebook. Many of them are current students and former students as well as parents and colleagues. I eagerly accept friend requests while sorting them neatly into my specialized limited groups. Students know that if I do accept them as a friend (particularly current high school students) they are not seeing “all of me,” but rather just enough.

Students have told me that Facebook has demystified teachers and somehow made them more human. Knowing that their teachers are “real” people when they leave school has made us more relatable in the classroom and also gives us a common ground for connection. For example when I’m teaching my students about context in my English classroom, I explain that I am a different person with different people. I’m not a hypocrite though, I’m merely asserting the need to establish and create boundaries with a variety of people which is an important skill in my life as a working adult. I use my Facebook friend status as a new tool for teaching by modeling. Sure, I’ve posted things that I wish I hadn’t, but I learn from it and I don’t make the mistake again. I show my students how to self-correct and readily apologize for my errors in judgment that as a human being I am likely to make. We are all human and flawed.

Not all educators however, embrace the new technology. Many of my colleagues and administrators worry about the implications of students knowing too much. Many say it is not what they post as that is controllable, but what others in their lives may post. Some older teachers don’t want students to know about what they do in their own lives saying that a student only needs to see them in this one professional role. My principal says that she “fears the phone call from the superintendent stating that line of appropriateness has been crossed.”

Where each of us stands as an educator on this subject is likely to ebb and flow as the technology becomes more a part of the lives of our students. It is clear that we can’t ignore where the world is moving, but need to better educate the students on how to be responsible with how they use these tools. How they represent themselves in the cyber-world will NOT go away even long after they grow out of whatever phase they are in now. Becoming a role model for how to manipulate these mediums for their benefit, may be the route we all need to go by keeping ourselves safe as examples for how it should be done.

Positives and Negatives of Social Media in and out of the classroom (sidebar)
• Students get to see that their teachers are real and therefore more relatable
• The teacher is demystified and more approachable
• The teacher can “watch out” for students at risk
• The teacher sees the students in more than one dimension
• Teachers need to be careful of what they post knowing that it can be misconstrued – tone is hard to read online
• Certain private activities should be kept private on both sides: teachers don’t need to know about student sexual activity or drug use and students don’t need to know about teachers doing these activities either
• Teachers are mandated reporters of abuse of any kind and being aware of students outside the classroom makes a teacher more liable and responsible
• Administrators need to set school wide protocols for dealing with social media so that all teachers send the same message
• Parents believe that being more accessible to students, teachers can help their children almost immediately.
These are just a few of the thoughts that came out of my research for this sidebar… I will get some art work to go with this as per your request. Thanks.