Facebook, a rapidly growing and popular social network, is seemingly pulling a Pinky-and-the Brain and trying to take over the world. That is, if it hasn’t already. This phenomenon is changing everything from the way we interact with our friends, to the atmosphere of libraries, to politics and presidential elections. One of the things it is changing most is something that most people probably don’t even notice: student-teacher relationships. While not the most common of scenarios, a high number of professors and teachers are becoming members of social sites Facebook and MySpace. Many of them do it to keep in touch with their own friends and family, and a few do it to get to know their students. Whether in a direct or direct way, role model authority figures acting funny or displaying their lives on the internet affects how students view them. On the other hand, teachers seeing what their students are doing after hours is often disturbing enough in itself as well. The image of the teacher living in the classroom closet after all the students go home for the day is slowly diminishing. Even though we are grown enough to know that our teachers are real people and have lives, seeing their profiles online forces us to actually think about their lives, which could be very good or very bad. Seeing your professor at a barbeque with his or her family may be a strange image to grasp, but one that lets you see what an all around good person he or she truly is. Seeing your teacher cuddle a bottle of Jose Cuervo in bed, like long-term substitute for Prince William County Schools Erin Webster’s students would if they ever added her, is not so much strange as it would be disturbing. Parents seeing their special education child’s teacher adding bumper stickers that have the words “MILF” and “retard” on them probably wouldn’t be too proud to send their children to school either.
Teachers often add their students to get a new perspective, enjoying the opportunity to see their pupils in a new light, and to better understand them. Sociologist David Grazian enjoys reading his students’ likes and about me sections, as he finds the information useful for his research. People like Patrick Shrout and Mark Witte, on the other hand, simply add students to help them to better match names with faces. Often times, to many people’s surprise, it is the students who add their professors, not the other way around. Many professors and teachers find it may seem pushy to request students to add them, as they may feel pressured. Being Facebook friends allows students and teachers to feel closer to one another, and to better understand each other on different levels.
Befriending teachers can also help students with information on school and classes. When a group of teachers in Montana realized that their students were not reading morning bulletins or checking their school email, they made a Facebook group to update them on school events. Some teachers and professors even use this for class relations, as a way of giving their students extra help. Allowing students to log on to Facebook and read what they need to know or do seems less formal and less stressful, and makes it easier to stay in touch with them. Since teenagers strive toward social networking sites, teachers following them their and putting notices up seems to help. It makes students like Cooper Livingston, a school President at Hickman in Montana, feel appreciative and as though their teachers really care, as they “adapt” to students.
Seeing the way students behave, however, can lead some teachers to question what education and the world have come to, and can be embarrassing for students. A student who gets “wasted” at a party on a Saturday night and acts crazy, may end up tagged in tons of pictures of Facebook within the next few days. While all of this person’s fellow partygoers may find this to be a great achievement and look to it as a funny memory, his or her professors, former teachers, parents friends, and potential employers may not appreciate it as much. In some counties and states, employers are denying well-qualified people jobs they deserve due to the content found on their Facebook and Myspace pages, mainly, the pictures. Teachers who realize this probably feel at a loss knowing that this novice that they invested all of their time in, lost what they themselves worked so hard to instill and to help them achieve, because of a stupid internet post.
Relationships between students and teachers can also cross a line due to Facebook, and may in some cases become inappropriate. Students getting to know teachers on a more person level can lead to a great admiration for them as role models, but can also lead to a greater admiration for them as more than such. If both parties cross the line, trouble could be at hand and boundaries could be broken. Whether this is acceptable or not depends on school rules, state laws, and simple morale of the two individuals. Being Facebook friends can cause trouble, but it also allows students the opportunity to make older and wiser friends.
I am personally friends with one of my former teachers on Facebook, and we comment each other fairly often. It is nice to see pictures from old family albums that he has, comics that relate to books I remember reading in his class, and to get updates on plays he will be performing in or directing. Most of all, it’s nice to have a wise and older non-relative to look up to. It also lets me witness firsthand how intriguing our superiors are, and lets me get a glimpse into their lives. Without Facebook, as much as I hate to say it, I probably would not be so great at keeping in touch with him. There are a select few other teachers I have been wanting to check up on, but due to the formality of email, I have put it off for months. With this particular teacher, I can right one or two sentences every few weeks, ask a question about his life, and move on with mine. The gratification is instantaneous.
Facebook is a new trend, spreading quickly and making a lasting impression. It has changed the way we interact with one another, and is slowly creeping in and changing the way the school system has so long kept students and teachers separate. This can be a negative in some cases, but the good it brings may not be possible or as effective if approached different ways. It is something to appreciate for the positives it provides.
Works Cited
The Columbia Tribune. “Warnings aside, teachers embrace Facebook."
Janese Heavin of the Tribune’s staff. 6 December 2007.
< http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Dec/20071206News003.asp>
The Lansing State Journal."Facebook Etiquette: Careful What You Share."
Lauren Cohen-MCT News Service.14 August2008.
The Washington Post." When Young Teachers Go Wild on the Web
Public Profiles Raise Questions of Propriety and Privacy."
Ian Shapira- Washington Post Staff Writer. 28 April 2008.
1 comment:
First off, the title is hilarious. I agree with the intro. When it comes to writing a paper, I will do anything to procrastinate. That is why I have to start writing my papers days or even weeks in advance. As of recently I have been receiving friend requests from more and more family friends. A few of them are in their 50s and 60s. At first I was weirded out. But, since I do not have any obscene material on my Facebook I have learned to accept it. Very interesting paper! I enjoyed it a lot.
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