If you were a teacher, would you be friends with your students on Facebook?

Disclaimer: most of the below novel i’ve written is a personal situation that led me to ponder this question. you don’t really have to read it. it’s just background info and what made me think about it.

In high school, and especially middle school (though facebook wasn’t around yet), I would have never dreamt of friending a teacher on facebook. It’s just too personal. Maybe after graduation, but even then I think I would have felt weird. But that’s just me. I have a few friends who are facebook friends of one or two teachers that they had every year in high school, and i kinda understand that. And i guess come to think of it i am friends with my college english professor.

ANYHOW. my boyfriend teaches 7th and 8th grade. and his train of thought is that after a child is no longer his student (ie: they move on to 9th grade) he will accept their friend request on facebook. I just find it…odd. They have no hobbies or interests in common and will probably never communicate via facebook. And remembering myself as a middle school girl, i was in love with all the good looking young teachers.

So I know that a lot of his ex-students and current students are friends and look through all his photos, for multiple reasons. The first time I ever went into the school, about 4 months into his first year there (this is only his second) a girl came running up and said “is this your girlfriend? you look taller in the pictures!” ....what pictures? “oh…..........nevermind”. Facebook, obviously. I think it’s creepy. He also has had several problems with students having such huge crushes on him that it interferes with their work. Come on, lol.

Anyhow, this is only one example. In general, would you befriend middle school or high school teachers on facebook (if you’re older, just think hypothetically)? or, as a teacher, would you befriend your students? Only ones you liked? Or all of them? After a certain age? After they were no longer your student? Or what?