Should Teacher-Student Facebooking And Texting Be Banned?

For today’s students, Facebooking and texting the teacher seem as normal and harmless as sticking around to talk to him or her after school.

But the Virginia Board of Education is preparing to vote on a set of guidelines that will restrict all teachers and school board employees from any electronic communications outside accounts and platforms provided by the schools, readwriteweb.com reports.

Why so harsh? You guessed it. The proposed guidelines are meant for the “Prevention of Sexual Misconduct and Abuse in Virginia Public Schools.”

The state has had to take 120 actions against employees for sexual misconduct against minors since 2000, according to readwriteweb.com.

But some Virginia teachers say the new rules make no sense.

“A professional code of conduct should apply whether you are speaking with a student in person, on the phone, via email or through posts using a variety of online Web 2.0 tools. These tools actually provide a written record of communication, so that in itself provides a level of accountability,” one teacher complained, according to readwriteweb.

“We should trust our teachers to interact in a professional manner instead of unplugging our students and quashing their ability to communicate and collaborate digitally.”

Unfortunately, some teachers have proven they can’t be trusted, with at least three fired from the New York City public schools last year for having inappropriate back-and-forth with students on Facebook.

The bad apples ruin it for everyone.

So in honest opinion do you think Teacher-Student Facebooking And Texting Be Banned?

What do you think of this?