Guidelines wanted for teachers on Facebook
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 8, 2009 | 10:13 PM PT
CBC News
A student's Twitter post about finding her teachers' profiles on Facebook and MySpace. (CBC)Many grade school students posting on Twitter about discovering their teachers' profiles on social networking websites such as Facebook or MySpace say it's "weird."
"All of my high school teachers are on facebook and it's weirding me out," wrote projectnat on Sept. 4 in a Twitter message.
Their parents are also uncomfortable.
"I suppose the only thing they can do is to have some sort of a policy in place about what's acceptable standards and what isn't," said Andrea Campbell Tuesday at Cleveland Elementary School in North Vancouver.
"I think Facebook is too open to interpretation and too many things can happen — photos of people in inappropriate situations, teachers as well as students," said Faith Mellenger.
Assistant superintendent Chris Kennedy uses Facebook to teach, but says current teachers and students should not be Facebook friends. (CBC)Chris Kennedy, West Vancouver School Board's assistant superintendent, uses Facebook to teach.
"Facebook has a few ways that schools can use it. One is creating Facebook pages for a school. It's a way to push out information," said Kennedy.
He said a third of Canadians are on Facebook and most kids "live" online.
Kennedy has changed how he connects, accepting online friend requests only from former students and won't let them see photos or all his posts. He thinks teens should set the same parameters.
"It really is a private journal. It's like opening their bedroom to their teachers, and that's the boundary issue. And I think students need to understand, they don't want teachers to see in there. Teachers don't want to go there," said Kennedy.
Vancouver and Langley school district guidelines ban teachers from sending friend requests to students on Facebook. Other districts are giving directions so teachers treat online communication as public and professional.
