Teachers And Students Online Together: Creepy Or A Fantastic Use Of Resources To Better Your Education?
This is so typical. Social networks may have started out as a place for teens and young adults (actually, I thought they started as places for older adults to reconnect with people from their past). But now that teachers are showing up online (remember, some teachers – many – are still under 30 and thus considered “young adults”) and kids are creeped out. Some have the balls to assert that social networks are “theirs” and that teachers shouldn’t follow them into their personal lives. Last time I checked, you could make your profile private and disallow someone from being on your friends list or being able to view your page. The internet isn’t yours, you know.
Still, there may be ONE cause for concern and creeped outedness – the very very very few teachers that do like to have affairs with their students. Yes, it happens. That is why parents need to use parental control and monitoring software like PC Pandora to make sure their kids aren’t getting too “Hot For Teacher”… or visa versa.
My thoughts: actually, I wish my teachers were online. If I knew I could get a hold of them at any time to ask about a homework assignment – that would have been sweet. Then again, I come from a generation that valued an education and had respect for teachers. Unlike today’s kids that have zero respect and treat teachers like they would a homeless bum – they walk over them. I also come from a generation that didn’t have any cases of teacher/student relationships (that we knew of).
I, personally, think it’s a great idea that teachers are on social network sites, but that is where I think it should end. They should just be there and that is it. If kids want to go to them, they can. I don’t think that should be a 2-way street. Not yet. If a teacher wants to be active on a site with other adults, fine… but they should have a separate page that identifies them as Mr. Teacher and is reserved for students only. Just as in the real world, there needs to be a separation between the job and the personal life.
Here’s the story. It’s a good read…
Social networking Web sites started out as places for teenagers and college students to socialize. But the increasing number of adults – particularly teachers and school administrators –going online is making some young people uncomfortable.
What is “Creepy Treehouse?” Slang for how students feel creeped out by school teachers and college professors who are using Facebook and MySpace to interact with their students online. Education blogger Jared Stein defines it this way: “a place, physical or virtual (e.g. online), built by adults with the intention of luring in kids.” The term derives from urban legends about sexual predators luring children into treehouses.
Why are some students creeped out? They believe the popular Web sites are meant for young people and not for uncool or even dangerous teachers. “Students can be creeped out or feel repulsed when a teacher uses Facebook to emulate what students are doing and go into their personal space,” Mr. Stein said. “They’re inviting the students to accept them as a peer.”
One student’s discomfort. Dallas Townview Magnet student Francisco Daniel, 17, explains: “If someone older than us is on MySpace, it’s creepy. It’s something they should have outgrown.”
Another says it’s OK. McKinney North High School student Julia Hart said she has made Facebook friends with her technology teacher. “It depends on the teacher,” she wrote. “I think it is great for teachers to use the social networking sites because they are made for everyone, not just teens.”
Examples of Creepy Treehouse. (1) Teachers who send unwelcome invitations to their students to become online “friends.” (2) Teachers who encourage students to use the Web sites as part of class discussion when students are reluctant. (3) Teachers who reveal too many details about their personal lives, such as information about romantic relationships or party pictures. (4) Teachers who use their online pages to push their political views on students.
Creepy Treehouse spawns new Web sites. Some students think teachers and administrators who try to engage them online are cyber-stalkers searching for incriminating photos or information. They are organizing new online groups against teachers. On Facebook, you can find “Teachers … please stop going on Facebook,” with the description, “Must you follow us wherever we go, and bother us in our private lives?”
Does anyone support teachers online? Rival Facebook groups, though far outnumbered by the opposition, are organizing to support teachers. They include “Students should get over Teachers being on Facebook” and “No … it’s not awkward being friends with my teachers on Facebook.”
One teacher says: The Academy of Irving ISD technology teacher Darren Wilson doesn’t use the sites but acknowledges that many of his colleagues are online. “I think they just want to better understand their students’ lives outside the school,” he said. “It’s another tool for teachers to connect with the kids.”
What do school bosses think about Creepy Treehouse? Some principals don’t oppose teachers connecting with students on social networking sites, as long as such interaction is limited to school-focused topics or they don’t put too much personal information online.
One principal says: Irving MacArthur High School principal Cynthia Bean cautions teachers against sharing too much information online with students. It can be a slippery slope, she says. “I don’t want to run their personal life, but I think on these venues it’s too easy to lose sight of your professional relationship with kids and that’s what worries me.”
