DEC 8 — Some time last year, I wrote something about how social networking websites allow us to communicate with each other with greater ease now compared to before. Since most of my pupils (and their parents) have a Facebook account, I decided to create a group for my class this year.
The boys thought that was a pretty cool idea since no other class in school had that. I figured since they spend a lot of time on the social networking site, having such a group would be the best way for me to communicate with them outside of school.
Although Facebook’s terms and conditions state that a user must be at least 13 years old to be a registered user on the social networking site, that can be easily bypassed. All they need to do is create a fake birthdate. My kids even joke about how old they are on Facebook. One chose to be 68. I have no idea why he chose such a big number!
I also like the fact that it allows us some bonding time. Though spending time with them at school can drive me up the wall, I do love these kids to bits. It is very important that they do well inside and outside of school. Having such a group allows me to at least communicate with them, especially since we have limited contact hours at school.
My kids would share jokes and trade gossip in our little group, with me moderating of course because some of them can be really mean to their friends. Even in class they can just say something and somebody would get mad and that can start a fight, what more in a virtual world where they can safely stay behind the different screens and make fun of each other.
Being on Facebook also helps me to communicate with their parents. I can’t remember the last time I actually sent a handwritten note to a parent regarding a school issue. Unless it is on official school business, like a warning letter for disciplinary cases, I would use Facebook or just send a text message. I found that parents seem to prefer that compared to a phone call, so that soon became our main mode of communication.
Also, by doing this, it kind of elevated me to the “cool teacher” status. It is a nice bonus because I do find that when the kids like me, they respond better to my lessons. Most of my teacher friends do the same. Some even choose to have two separate Facebook accounts — one for work, one for their personal life. I do this too, just to create some sort of boundary.
When someone is missing from class, I can just take a couple of minutes to send them a message on Facebook to ask why they are missing school that day. Sometimes they would send me a reply merely seconds after I had sent the message and tell me they are sick. That in itself always makes me laugh because if they were really sick, they wouldn’t even care about Facebook right?
This coming year, I am hoping to use more of the social networking site and include it in my lessons. Maybe I can use it as a form of homework. Since most of my kids spend a lot of time on the computer, I am thinking of using it to get them to start using the language more.
Since the setting would be a little less formal, I am hoping that they would feel more comfortable using the language. Perhaps we can have a discussion on a topic that we are learning in class, just to get them to start expressing themselves better in English.
I find that some pupils are better at writing but they are terrible when it comes to speaking tasks. Building on one of these skills first before moving onto the next would hopefully help motivate them as well as build their self confidence.
On the other hand, having them spending so much time on the Internet exposes them to a different sort of danger. I always tell them to be wary of strangers and to always be careful about what they divulge on the Internet. Not everybody on the Internet is a good person.
My boys told me of instances where a stranger would befriend them and be nice to them on Facebook before trying to arrange for a meeting to do “stuff” together, whatever that might mean. I always tell them to NEVER agree to such things because they could get into so much trouble!
My kids know eventually I will find out about the bad stuff they do in and out of school so it would be best to just not do it in the first place. Of course all the kids assure me that they wouldn’t follow a random stranger but at the end day, I can only hope that they would at least take my words into consideration and stay safe on the Internet.
Keeping up with my digital kids is not easy, especially because technology changes so fast. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages so that is a good reason for me to continue using it in my classes. Hopefully they will at least learn a thing or two from it and can use that knowledge to become better net citizens.
* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.
