If you look at the General Assembly session, you’ll note there are several proposed bills that attempt to eliminate or limit the use of wireless devices. We’ll talk about that in greater detail as the session heats up.
However, one thing you may not be aware of, is that the Virginia Department of Education is seeking to put a halt to student-teacher relationships on social networks in an effort to stem the tide of sexual misconduct.
This is the proposal:
Model policy for electronic communications with students
• Under most circumstances, teachers and other school board employees must restrict one-on-one
electronic communications with individual students to accounts, systems and platforms provided by or accessible to the school division.
• Teachers and other employees may not use personal wireless communications devices to “text”
students and are prohibited from interacting one-on-one with students through personal online
social-networking sites. Teachers and other school board employees must decline or disregard
invitations from students to interact privately through texting and personal social-networking
sites.
• If, because of an urgent or emergency circumstance, a teacher or other school board employee
uses a personal communications device or account to contact an individual student, the date,
time, and nature of the contact must be reported in writing to his or her supervisor on the next
school day.
• Teachers and other school board employees may not knowingly engage in online gaming
unrelated to instruction with students.
• School board policy on electronic communications with students also applies to teachers and
other employees of virtual school programs and other vendors providing instructional services to
students.
Forgive me, but what ever happened to just disciplining inappropriate behavior? Why do we have this hasty reaction to default to limit, limit, limit? Isn’t there a parental responsibility here? What about appropriate oversight of educators?
Ban guns. Ban SUVs. Ban mobile devices.
What about just enforcing responsible behavior for a change?
The nanny-state strikes again.
(h/t: ReadWriteWeb)
