Refraining Teacher-Student Interaction Via Social Media

As the Deputy Prime Minister, I strongly agree with our PM’s

arguments about refraining public school teachers from inviting
their students to any social media platform, as it may result in
unprofessional interactions and inappropriate relationships.

In a press release in November 2022, Vice President and

Secretary for Education Inday Sara Duterte said that, she not only
had to think of solutions to the problems that had affected the
department for years, but she also had to deal with disturbing and
painful stories about learners being victims of sexual abuse and
even online sexual exploitation. She also mentioned sexual
grooming, which is a predatory behavior committed by adult
offenders who use their position, resources, charm, and influence
to carry out their plan against a child or another vulnerable adult.

In fact, there’s a case related to this matter. According to an

article from DailyMail, Timothy Moll, a Pennsylvanian math
instructor, pleaded guilty to texting a 16-year-old student and
asking for naked photos, promising extra credit. Moreover,
according to Middle Earth, the teacher can see everything the
students might post on social media, such as compromising
photos and videos, nasty comments, or even their dark
confessions. These personal details could place teachers in an
awkward position. For instance, a teacher might find it difficult to
treat a student fairly after reading profane comments or viewing
compromising photos, which can be damaging to the classroom
environment.
 Furthermore, refraining teachers from inviting their students to
any social media platforms does not only promote
professionalism, but it also protects the teachers from privacy and
security concerns. In addition, it protects the learners from privacy
concerns as well as potential online harassment.

There are a few points that we, the government side, need to
clarify: first, we are not refraining the teachers and students from
having an interaction; second, we are not discouraging teachers
and students from using social media.

According to the Manila Bulletin, DepEd Undersecretary Poa

said that DepEd Order No. 49 is just a mere “reminder” to
properly observe civil service rules. “As civil servants, we have to
be responsible [users of] social media,” said Poa, adding that
teachers may still communicate with learners through social
media “as long as it is within the school setting” or is limited within
the “student-teacher” relationship. “We are just reminding them of
their duty to also be professional teachers,” Poa added.

According to Poa’s statement, we are not prohibiting teachers

from communicating with their students through social media;
rather, we are reminding teachers to be responsible when using
social media to avoid potential dangers brought by the teacher-
student social media interaction.

We are not discouraging the use of social media because

some schools continue to adopt blended learning as a way of
teaching.
 However, in order to maintain a secure and controlled
connection, we encourage teachers and students to consider
using school-provided or necessary software that allows
communicating and collaborating without compromising safety.
For example, we can use Google Classroom, which is designed
to help students and teachers communicate, collaborate,
organize, and manage assignments. According to
support.google.com, Google Classroom protects the user’s
privacy and keeps them in control.

However, if teachers can’t avoid inviting their students to any

social media platform, as an alternative, teachers can establish
healthy boundaries on social media platforms, according to
jeffhorton1.medium.com. These are:

• Creating separate social media accounts for personal and

professional use
• Familiarize yourself with the privacy settings on the social media
platform you use.
• Think before posting.
• Maintaining professionalism by avoiding making offensive
comments and sharing personal information that may ruin your
integrity and the school’s reputation
• Respecting the confidentiality and privacy of your students and
colleagues
 Therefore, as a conclusion, we, the government side, believe
that teachers and students should only use school-provided
software and be responsible users of social media.