Teachers say social media-including the popular site Facebook-can be a vital educational resource if used appropriately.
Should students and teachers ever be friends on Facebook? School districts across the country, including the nation's largest, are weighing that question as they seek to balance the risks of inappropriate contact with the academic benefits of social networking.
Dozens of school districts nationwide have approved social media policies. Schools in New York City and elsewhere have disciplined teachers for Facebook activity, and Missouri legislators recently acquiesced to teachers' objections to a strict statewide policy.
In the New York cases, one teacher friended several female students and wrote comments including "this is sexy" under their photos, investigators said. A substitute teacher sent a message to a student saying that her boyfriend did not "deserve a beautiful girl like you."
Such behavior clearly oversteps boundaries, but some teachers say social media-including the popular site Facebook-can be a vital educational resource if used appropriately, especially because it's a primary means of communication for today's youngsters.
"eMail is becoming a dinosaur," said David Roush, who teaches media communications and television production at a Bronx high school. "Letters home are becoming a dinosaur. The old methods of engaging our students and our parents are starting to die."
New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott plans to release social media guidelines this month, saying recently that teachers "don't want to be put in a situation that could either compromise them or be misinterpreted." SNIP
Should teachers and students be Facebook friends?
Several years after Facebook expanded from a college social network to a global phenomenon, schools are still grappling with this issue
From staff and wire reports
Read more by staff and wire services reports
Teachers say social media-including the popular site Facebook-can be a vital educational resource if used appropriately.
Should students and teachers ever be friends on Facebook? School districts across the country, including the nation's largest, are weighing that question as they seek to balance the risks of inappropriate contact with the academic benefits of social networking.
Dozens of school districts nationwide have approved social media policies. Schools in New York City and elsewhere have disciplined teachers for Facebook activity, and Missouri legislators recently acquiesced to teachers' objections to a strict statewide policy.
In the New York cases, one teacher friended several female students and wrote comments including "this is sexy" under their photos, investigators said. A substitute teacher sent a message to a student saying that her boyfriend did not "deserve a beautiful girl like you."
Such behavior clearly oversteps boundaries, but some teachers say social media-including the popular site Facebook-can be a vital educational resource if used appropriately, especially because it's a primary means of communication for today's youngsters.
"eMail is becoming a dinosaur," said David Roush, who teaches media communications and television production at a Bronx high school. "Letters home are becoming a dinosaur. The old methods of engaging our students and our parents are starting to die."
New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott plans to release social media guidelines this month, saying recently that teachers "don't want to be put in a situation that could either compromise them or be misinterpreted." SNIP
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