Dylan Arnett

Bethany Grace
Jacob Paivarinta
Teresa Prout
Margaret Rose
Andrew Wawersik
Mr. Gross
English 12 B (3)
10 May 2016

Teachers Allowed On Social Media

Would someone give the keys to a brand new expensive Bugatti to a 13 year old? This is
essentially what is happening with Social Media. Young teenagers are being thrown into this
world without any instruction on how to use it safely. Some of the most quiet students speak the
loudest on social media. Teachers being able to access social media violates first amendment
rights, in result this restricts the student. When it comes to education students want to use social
media because they are familiar with the cites. Advocates of teachers privacy worry that a
teachers use of social media can often be detrimental to their career. However, this is only true if
the social media accounts are misused or used unprofessionally. Teachers should be allowed on
social media. This is especially the case with quieter students in the classroom.
Some of the most quiet students speak the loudest on social media sites. A reserved
student that was in Mr. Globes class walked into his classroom one day and said, Mr. Goble,
guess what? I received a comment on my blog from a person in Australia, she said. Youre
right! What we produce does extend beyond the walls of our classroom!(Leicht 1). A teacher

cannot expect a student to be involved in the classroom if they do not take the time to be
involved in students lives. A teacher needs to show that they care more about their students lives
than just their ability to turn in papers on time and taking tests. Interacting more with students
helps encourage students to more actively participate in the classroom. Mr. Goble states his
belief that if he treats his students as professionals and holds them to higher expectations, in
return it makes them more motivated, engaged, and have higher standards (Leicht 1). This is true
in all classrooms, despite attempts to pass laws that prohibit social media interaction between
teachers and students.
By prohibiting access between students and teachers on social media, first amendment
rights that deal with free speech are violated. One law in particular that does this is in Missouri.
It is called the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act. The law does not prevent all interaction
between educators and students, it only prohibits hidden interaction. These kind of laws are so
broad and unspecific that teachers and other educators, or authority figures within a school, get
in trouble for seemingly innocent actions, such as sending reminders and alerting students of
school closings. By allowing teacher access to students on social networking sites not only does
it benefit students by allowing them to be reminded by teachers due dates and upcoming events,
it also allows students that are too shy or timid to contact teachers in a way that is more
comfortable for them. Very smart and intelligent students may be struggling in a certain class
such as history, yet the student could be too scared to talk to the teacher face to face, instead
social media sites allow the student to get their questions answered (Leicht).

The picture above sums up that when it comes to education, students want to use social
media because they are familiar with the sites. By using social media to present projects, the
students will not even feel like they are working on the project. The students would be excited to
come back to school, and when the teacher asks to tell them what they did on break, they could
just show the teacher on Facebook or Twitter. Making projects fun helps to get students more
interested in learning instead of sitting and pretending to listen to their teacher all class period.
By creating a project that has to be presented through social media, teachers are effectively
teaching students on how to be responsible on social media, as well as getting them to learn the
information so the students' unique understanding of the information can be found . Furthermore,
social media is a way for teachers to get feedback on assignments as well as post feedback to
their classes about assignments. Students assignments can be posted on social media and they
will get an alert on their mobile or computing device. Most students have social media

applications installed on their smart phones. Therefore, it makes education more readily
accessible as well.
Advocates of teachers privacy worry that a teachers use of social media can often be
detrimental to their career. However, this is only true if the social media accounts are misused or
used unprofessionally. To avoid such occurrences teachers (or any professional) should have
separate accounts for their professional and personal lives ( Pannoni 1). So much of modern-day
life in the United States includes social media in some form, it is inevitable that this trend would
reach education too. Just like any other form of communication between teachers and students
there must be a certain degree of professionalism in social media interactions. As long as that
professionalism is maintained between teacher and student, no harm should come to a teachers
career.
There are many reasons why teachers should be allowed on social media. Some of these
reasons are that the most quiet students speak the loudest on social media. Teachers inability to
access social media violates first amendment rights, and this also results in restricting the
student. When it comes to education students want to use social media because they are familiar
with the cites. Advocates of teachers privacy worry that a teachers use of social media can often
be detrimental to their career. However, this is only true if the social media accounts are misused
or used unprofessionally. Teachers need to be allowed on social media. The worldwide use of
social media is growing more and more everyday. Technology is part of the future and the more
that people accept this, the better the world will be.

Works Cited

"Florida Public Schools to Spy on Students' Social Media, Report Says."CNET. N.p., n.d. Web.
10 May 2016.
Leicht, Gail."Should Teachers And Students Be Allowed To Communicate Via Social Media?"
Social Media Today. N.p., 09 Sept. 2011. Web. 10 May 2016.

Pannoni, Alexandra. "3 Tips for High School Teachers to Use Social Media Responsibly In
Class." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 14 Sept. 2015. Web. 10 May 2016.

Condors, Jack J. Teachers on Social Media. N.p., Mar.-Apr. 2014. Web. Apr.-May 2016.