Teacher/Student Communication-Off the clock

I applaud this school district for their proactive policy. As we all know, media can be used in great ways for education. We can bring so many good things to students, and give many opportunities to experience things they would otherwise not know about; But it can definitely bring unwanted content into the picture also.

How many times have we seen reports/rumors/stories about inappropriate contact between students and teachers? Too many to count. I would anticipate that with new technologies such as Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sights, that these types of stories would increase. Hats off to this school district/superintendent who implemented this policy before something "bad" was to happen in their district. I'm one who tends to think that the boundary rules are a little silly, especially in elementary school. They tell us that we're not allowed to hug the kids, and some districts have even banned "high-fives". Well, really, how am I suppose to side-step a hug from a 1st grader running at me? Those situations are a little difficult to handle when it comes to "appropriate contact", because it's initiated by the student and is very innocent/naive. When it comes to middle school and high school though, I think there should definitely be written rules on what kind of contact outside of school is appropriate. I am not saying that I think contact outside of school is a bad thing, but this rule is, in my opinion, the best way to protect students and teachers.

I'm sure there have been many instances in school when communication has been mis-interpreted, and that's one thing to handle. It is easier in ways when it's in-school because there are other teachers, faculty, and students to back up information and events. But what happens when something is sent over a text, tweet, or Facebook chat that is interpreted differently than the intention? Most likely a teacher will be accused of having inappropriate contact with a student, and corrective action will be taken against them. Now, there are instances where students and teachers have had inappropriate relationships, so I am not defending that at all. What I am saying is that there are teachers who have all the right intentions, that will say something that they mean one way and a student/parent interprets differently, and then we have a problem. It's easier if contact is limited outside the classroom, because then misunderstandings will be less frequent.

Why take the chance on having these kinds of issues and accusations being thrown around when it can be easily prevented by setting guidelines? I think this school district has the right idea, because honestly, why should students and teachers be sharing things on their personal media sites anyway? If they feel like they need to have a friendly social media outlet, they should make it available to all students, such as a class wiki or web-page, or twitter group where they can share with each other in a space that parents and other faculty/administration. That way teachers can post some information about themselves that they wish to share, but it is still appropriate. This will prevent any misunderstandings, and create a safer environment for teachers and students alike.