As a teacher, I think that it is really important not to cross a certain line with your students, especially if your students are near your age. It can confuse boundaries and make uncomfortable situations for all parties. It is especially important in a private lesson setting. We've all seen Mr. Holland's Opus, right? Remember the girl who wants Mr. Holland to go with her to NYC, and Mr. Holland has the deaf kid at home and is frustrated with his life and almost leaves his wife and kid? That Mr. Holland, he got all the way to the bus station before he realized what a dufus he was being! And this isn't just a story, kids! I think we've all heard of this happening in real life. Anyway, I think it always falls on the teacher to be the responsible adult, which means not messing kids lives up. So, stay far far far away from your student's facebook pages. Maybe when they have degrees and both of you are adults the student can stop calling you Mr. or Mrs. so and so. Until then, its only appropriate and conscientious of the teacher to make boundaries very clear. It is also important to be sensitive to the student's emotions and feelings, but the teacher is also an example to the student of psychological health.
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It is exceptionally important for teachers to establish boundaries of things that they are willing to do for students and unwilling to do for students.
ReplyDeleteI for one, made very strict guidelines on my facebook page. It is much like Ohio Revised Code regarding adult establishments.
18 and up to view my page.
21 and up to participate.
The management reserves the right at any time to remove you from the premises and service can be refused to an patron at any time for any reason.
Good article. I need to pass this on to others.
ReplyDeleteI think that we've all seen different examples of how the boundaries between student and teacher can be stretched to dangerous levels. You're absolutely right- this is something that we all need to be proactively conscious about.
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest - one of the things I worry about as a future educator is doing something wrong to offend a student. In this day and age of lawsuits galore, I know that sometimes I will feel placed under a microscope. This is one of the reasons why I love this article. As future educators, we need to set boundaries or else we run the risk of developing inappropriate relationships with students, especially those 18 and younger. And this applies to both genders.
ReplyDeleteI also saw this article and thought that it was extremely relevant and important, especially with the increasing popularity of sights like Facebook. I agree with you and everyone else that boundaries must be set in regards to situations with students. You want to be able to relate to students, but there must be limits, and the teacher must setup boundaries. In regards to Facebook, I have found that students will try to become your friend and find out all they can about you. Therefore, my rule is to not accept students as friends and to set the privacy features of Facebook in a manner that students cannot access my account. Even though I do not have any information on my Facebook account that is inappropriate, I still think that it is safer to avoid contacts with students. I have also found that students also understand when you don’t accept them as friends. This article definitely brings out some concepts that all teachers should be aware of as they are working with students.
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