Adding a teacher on facebook

Higgzy

LittleMissLost wrote: »

Hypothetically - Say if you got on really well with a teacher in school. I mean you had the same interests, regularly competed against them in sport and s/he was only 4/5 years older than you. It wasn't really a student/teacher relationship and you both worked on mutual respect, do you think it would be appropriate to add him/her on facebook after the Leaving Cert? Just to keep in contact?

That it if you weren't going to see them again after the end of school and didn't get a chance to ask them if it would be ok. Do ye think it is appropriate or totally off the cards?

I would only do it if you fancy them. Otherwise it is sending out mixed messages.

Also agree, with most of the advice above. Completely inappropriate for the teacher to initiate anything like that.

copeyhagen

just cuz you add them on facebook, doesnt mean your gonna be banging them.

schools over, add away.

i finished in 2001 and have loads of teachers on my fb. now, granted i dont really be on it as i despise it!

J_E

Mountainlad wrote: »

Teachers are not supposed to accept. Even past pupils. It could land them in hot water.

Really? Are there any cases of it leading to something?

Mountainlad

Cydoniac wrote: »

Really? Are there any cases of it leading to something?

That's what we were told. A teacher that left our school at the end of last year came down for our grad night, and when someone asked him he said they weren't allowed. Somebody came in to advise them on it, and he asked about past pupils and he said even that's not allowed!

._.

Mountainlad wrote: »

Teachers are not supposed to accept. Even past pupils. It could land them in hot water.

That's defiantly just your schools policy.
I don't see why a school is allowed to restrict what teachers do in their free time/on the internet.
I'm pretty sure they couldn't punish the teacher for accepting a student (especially a past pupil), that sounds like all kinds of illegal to me.

Bottom line, it makes no difference if it's "inappropriate" or not for you to add them. The worst that will happen is they ignore the request, you're not going to be seeing them IRL very much (if at all) after school is done.

randylonghorn

Mountainlad wrote: »

Teachers are not supposed to accept. Even past pupils. It could land them in hot water.

Accepting adult past pupils isn't going to land them in hot water, certainly, but many teachers won't particularly want to do so unless they know the person very well indeed, and outside of the school environment.

Doesn't mean they dislike the person or anything silly like that; in fact, they may have a lot of time for them, but still not necessarily want to give them that level of access to their private lives.

Teachers like everyone else are entitled to get up on Sunday morning and say "Good night, but I might have overdone it! Ouch!" without getting 20 comments from past students going "HaHa!"

And remember that this craze for adding everyone you ever encountered to facebook and sharing every detail of your lives with them is relatively new, and causes most people even over 21 to go 0_o ...

Mountainlad

I kinda feel that anyone that posts about having a hangover, or having breakfast in the morning etc. deserves a slap to be honest

Im just saying what he told me. Think it was someone borught in from outside. I can see your point about not getting on hot water, but thing is our school is new so past pupils are at most 20 years old. It does seem odd

randylonghorn

Mountainlad wrote: »

I kinda feel that anyone that posts about having a hangover, or having breakfast in the morning etc. deserves a slap to be honest

I was just giving you an example off the top of my head to illustrate the point! :P

Mountainlad wrote: »

Im just saying what he told me. Think it was someone borught in from outside. I can see your point about not getting on hot water, but thing is our school is new so past pupils are at most 20 years old. It does seem odd

Maybe someone did come and tell them that, but it's a bit OTT. A past pupil, certainly once over 18, is an independent adult, and a former teacher simply accepting them on fb is hardly inappropriate as such.

I know young teachers for example who play on sports teams with past pupils they taught in LC in their first year of teaching ... if they added that person on fb would it be inappropriate? Ofc not.

But as I say, most teachers will prefer not to do so unless they have connections like that with the person above and beyond the simple teacher / past pupil relationship. Teachers are entitled to a private life too.

Mountainlad

I know yeah, but it was a pretty relevant example. I mean that seems to be a lot of what clogs up the news feed on f=Facebook. I was just expressing my view on that

I completely I agree with you. I just don't know how teachers are advised. It could be that the teacher in question was saying to let them down easy or whatever. I also agree with those that have said there's no harm in adding them and letting them decide whether to accept or not!