Teachers Told Not to “Friend” Students

Huh.

Earlier this week, Lee County school officials issued a list of guidelines to teachers suggesting they don’t correspond with students through sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. The guidelines for the 2010-2011 academic year also warned teachers to be careful when using communication to prevent legal or workplace issues that could surface.

“It is inappropriate for employees to communicate, regardless of the reason, with current students enrolled in the district on any public social networking website,” the guidelines said. “This includes becoming ‘friends’ or allowing students access to personal web pages for communication reasons.”

This is the first school district in the state of Florida, possibly even the country, to issue teacher-protocol guidelines for social media.

On the one hand, it’s a good idea for teachers and students to maintain a professional relationship with clear boundaries.  Social networking breaks down those boundaries.  On the other hand, Facebook and the like might just be the best communication tool for some kids.

Thoughts?