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Facebook friends with pupils...sorry but no.
   

Herald on Sunday: Cyberbullying. Originally uploaded by cx1uk

I usually agree with what Ewan has to say but I don't this time with regard to becoming friends with pupils on social networking sites. Yes it could provide evidence of bullying, but when it comes down to it we are teachers and it is our job to educate not spy. We are not here to be "friends" to pupils; care, nurture, educate by all means but I feel this would be going a step too far.

It is time for parents to take more of this responsibility on board. Ollie has been doing some excellent work at Musselburgh Grammar on educating parents and teachers on internet safety. This is more how the profession should be dealing with cyber bullying.

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Comments

[Adam Sutcliffe]

Totally agree with you. Our students should feel comfortable in the way they want to approach us.

[Nick Hood]

I'm in two minds about this. I do have a Bebo account which I run specifically for the purpose of allowing it to be "found" by kids who can add me (not the other way round) to their friends lists. This was really just so that I could see what it would be like - so far (several months on) I have received a deafening indifference, once kids have added me, the novelty wearing off quickly. No bullying, no evidence of inappropriate activity or anything else above the trivia of peer exchange.

I remain of the view that pupils should be able to approach an adult in their own way for help or guidance. My Bebo is at present just another channel for that. If I had a usable alternative (e.g. Glow) in my region, I'd use that instead.

[Adam Sutcliffe]

I see what you mean. I was horrified at the thought of linking my own account to that of kids. Cheers.

[Ewan McIntosh]

My point here, though, is that it's very hard to educate unless you can see and experience what our young people are seeing and experiencing. If on the one hand we are telling out pupils to keep their profiles away from public search then we, on the other hand, lose the ability to see what they do, and how this evolves over time.

Having a legitimate "way in" allows us to see that. It's not spying providing the 'Friendship's' terms are clear enough.

I wouldn't link to kids, either, from my own account, but probably sporadically from a clearly marked school account. Where this has been done, the understanding of what kids get up to is far clearer. Then the real education can begin, such as the evening Ollie put on, rather than the out-of-date, off target guessing game that most are playing at when they are talking about "internet safety".