Many districts and principals are actively fighting against teachers facebooking with students. Is this restriction impeding student success and disconnecting the classroom from the interactive world that students engage on a daily basis?
Yes.
Yes, I Facebook with students. In fact, I accept every request they send my way, because it is an incredible way to take seriously what I believe about relationships and learning.
I bring it up, because I had a fantastic exchange with an Algebra 2 student yesterday, and it couldn’t have happened if I refused or was prohibited from using Facebook with my students.
An Algebra 2 student of mine sent me a message last night saying, “Those Vi Hart videos are pretty crazy, The doodle games can get so absorbing.” I of course loved this for lots of reasons. Math was seeping its way into his life, and he was spending his own time thinking mathematically and scratching the math itch.
Students doing extra work and thinking about what they have learned in the classroom after school is reason enough to facebook with students.