The Core Knowledge Blog

Teachers texting or communicating with students through social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace has been prohibited by one Mississippi school district. 

The Lamar County school board approved the policy earlier this month after becoming concerned that casual contact between teachers and students would be unprofessional. “The only intent is to limit the personal communication between teachers and students,” Superintendent Ben Burnett told The Hattiesburg American newspaper. “We don’t need to let it cross the line between professional and personal communication.”

Few of my students had Internet access, but those that did had the ability to instant message or email me.  And I can see how a class Facebook page could be a powerful resource for communicating with students and families.  So while the point of this policy is obvious–to prevent inappropriate contact between teachers and students–it’s worth asking if broadly prohibiting a particular tool rather than looking at how it’s being used takes a potentially powerful resource away from teachers.