Parent / Teacher Relationships on Facebook, Twitter, Etc.

Hi V.,
I would consider it an invastion of their privacy. If you become personal friends later, let the teacher invite you.
Leanne

I say NO. That is too personal. You do not need to see posts about her crazy weekend or about having a bad day at work. This sounds like the beginning of a slippery slope

V.,

YES, it would be invading your kids' teachers' personal space. I believe it is inappropriate to be FB friends w/ your kids' teachers. It is a conflict of interest. Keep personal and business separate. Why would you want to be FB friends with them, anyway? Stick to your own personal friends for FB, and have a professional relationship w/ your kids' teachers. Professional relationships and FB friends don't mix!

I was the room parent last year, and instead of friending her, I let her know I was on there to extend the invite that way and put it in her hands.

If the teacher is okay with it then they will okay your invite....But you should remember that these networking sites are not ment to be proffesonal and so you may not always like what you see or read....Teachers are like everyone else they have there work persona and then they have there lives...
Good luck..
and let me know how it works for you...

I have a friend who is a teacher and it would seem that she is obtaining a Twitter account specificially so her parents can follow the daily goings on with the class. I would talk to the teacher specifically concerning Twitter because some schools may actually be encouraging their teachers to Twitter during the day for the benefit of the parents.

If they friend you then accept, but if not I say let them have their personal space.

Plus, if you need to vent about your kids' homework load, you don't want to offend them!

My opinion is that you would be invading their personal space. My son's kindergarten teacher is on Facebook as am I. She was our sitter all summer and I still haven't sent her a friend request. I think that puts them in a no win situation if you send them friend requests because if they ignore you they lose and if they accept you they kind of lose their privacy. Just my opinion.

I am friends with my daughter's pre-k teacher on Facebook, but he is a family friend as well (even attends family get togethers). I personally wouldn't ask my other kids' teachers, but would accept if they asked me. I try to conduct what I say and post on Facebook in a way appropriate as if kids are reading it, you just never know;^)

I kind of feel that would be invading their space. If they got the invitation, they may feel obligated to accept in which case, they may have to be extra careful about what they say or post. Not that they'd probably put anything bad, but the way you may talk to family or friends may come off wrong to a parent of a student. Maybe see how the relationship goes with the teacher or wait for her invite. That's what I would do.

It's invading their space. Unless the accounts are set up specifically to friend students and parents, do not do it. Teachers have lives like the rest of the world, and Facebook and Twitter are probably ways they connect with their friends and families, just like everyone else. I am an educator, so I speak from experience.

My mom's school has a policy that they cannot be FB/Twitter friends with the kids (she's a HS counselor), which I think is inappropriate for them to be friends. I wouldn't personally "friend" my child's teacher unless we actually were friends. (I do have a neighbor who is a friend and also a teacher at our Elem on my FB. She's also a mom of my son's friends.)

But yeah - there's a line. I wouldn't typically "friend" a random acquaintance, nor do I wish to have my child's teacher (and vice versa) know my FB business.

I used to teach and would not have wanted to be friends with any of my students or their parents. If the teacher wants to friend parents or students then let her be the one to initiate it.

I wouldn't friend them- they need their own personal life and personal friends... a brief escape from their daily work life. They don't want to have to monitor their friends and their personal reactions for fear of something getting back to the principal at work. Allow them some space and if you actually do become friends with them during the year you can mention you do facebook and suggest they friend you. As a former teacher myself I know I would have felt awkward seeing you after I had ignored your friend request.

If you don't know them outside of school,
then leave them alone.

I don't think it's appropriate to be friends on fb or twitter with your kid's teachers. There are plenty of other people you can be friends with. I just think there should be a line and not to cross it.

unless i am personal friends with a teacher etc. i choose not to do this. i feel that there is a boundary & i really don't even want to follow my kids teachers on social networking sites or want them to follow us.

you can invite them, they always have the option to say No. Also it is possible for them to accept your invitation and place you into a separate group from their "normal life". Doing this will keep you from seeing posts or comments that they would not want you to see. I would also suggest that you do the same. This way if you want to "rant" they will not see your comments as well.

I believe you are probably seeing their personal/downtime activity and should respect their privacy as such. If there are other teachers it is safe to say it is their co-workers or friends. Perhaps you could start a fb or twitter for parents that need up-to-date information without invading their downtime activities.
Or if you are invited to join. But I doubt that they would deny your invite but then couldn't be sure they could express themselves freely with someone new. Plus, you aren't their friend. With you it is a business/work arrangement. If their are other parents I would suppose they are more on the friend side of their work than just simply parents.
I would wait to be invited by them.

Good luck,
L.

I am a former teacher. I know stay home with my little one. When former students friend me on Facebook, I click ignore. I do not want to share my social life with them. Also, you might wait until you know the teachers better.
Please do not get offended if your child's teacher does not want to be a facebook friend. Let the teacher have her life!

I personally would not connect in that way. If you send a request the teacher may not want to be "friends" outside of the work environment. This would make an awkward situation if she rejects the request or accepts out of obligation.

The only way I see it possible if it is the way the teacher is communicating with parents and students for updates and homework.

Oh, yeah, stay away from that! Way invasive! I know, I'm a childcare provider.

I personally would not unless you are good friends.

I view it as the teacher's private life and an invasion of privacy.

Teachers need to have down time and privacy. Also, I wouldn't want teachers reading my page that I share with friends.