Now that the school year has started and you have gotten to know your child’s new teacher, you may have the desire to ‘friend’ them on Facebook, or even follow them on Twitter – hoping to get to know them even better.
There are several things to consider before hitting the request button, even if you feel that you have already built a strong bond with the teacher –
1~ Don’t Get Your Feelings Hurt. Your relationship with your child’s teacher should be based around the child’s experiences at school. The teacher, although friendly, has a right to keep her social life private. Some schools even have strict rules about their teachers interacting on social media with parents. So, don’t be offended if the teacher does not want to socialize with you outside of the classroom.
2~ Leaving Others Out. Some teachers may be responsive toward a few parents, friending them on social media and putting them in charge of school functions. This is wonderful if you are one of the chosen few. For the parents that are not selected – feelings of being left out can occur. For this reason it is important to keep your relationship with the teacher open and get all interested parents involved with classroom time and activities.
3~ If They Send the Request. If you receive a request from the teacher, use your own judgement on acceptance. Maybe they are very active on social media and enjoy learning more about their students. If the request makes you uncomfortable, simply send them a polite message explaining that you enjoy them as a teacher, but prefer to keep your social media account for only family and close friends.
4~ Future Friendship. During the course of the year if you become close to the teacher, a great time to ‘friend’ them on social media is after the close of the school year, when the two of you can pursue a friendship without your child being involved.
The bottom line is that the decision is entirely yours, to become social media friends with your child’s teacher. Most of the time things run smoothly, but bringing the relationship to that level also has it’s risks. Don’t put the teacher in an uncomfortable position, and always remember that first and foremost, the school year is supposed to be a positive experience for your child.
