Sketch-A-Week

Here's a sketch I did for an article in this week's issue of The Concordian-

And here is the final version with Color and the article with it, Enjoy!

Why can’t we be friends?

Fostering relationships with professors outside of class can pay dividends

By Myles Dolphin
Opinions editor

November 1st, 2011

 

When I received a friend request on Facebook from a professor during the summer semester, I hesitated to accept his request. I wasn’t sure what the implications were, as I had never really befriended a professor online before. I occasionally use social media as a platform to voice my moronic ideas and frustrations on life; I wasn’t exactly ready to have a professor bare witness to those.

After careful deliberation, I went ahead and added him anyway. There are many reasons why I chose to do so.

Relationships with professors outside of the classroom are important, and crucial to success. These are undoubtedly some of the most important and influential people you’ll encounter during your time at Concordia. Building a closer relationship with them may be hard if you’re part of a huge classroom, but it’s well worth the effort. Not only may it open doors for research opportunities, meeting new contacts and getting internships, but it proves that you’re committed to your studies and that you want to do well in their class.

The key is establishing boundaries, according to Concordia journalism professor Leo Gervais.

“I add a lot of my students as friends on Facebook, and I follow them on Twitter too,” he said. “I just make sure to let them know that outside of office hours and email, I don’t want to get questions about assignments or anything class-related.”

Bob Babinski, also a journalism professor at Concordia, agrees. He thinks social media is a great tool in facilitating exchanges between professors and students, but boundaries are crucial.

“There’s an innate power relationship that exists between teacher and student; and everyone has to guard against abuse of that power,” he said. “At the moment, however, I think it’s preferable for that communication to take place AFTER a course is completed.”

Every so often we read about teachers who have landed in hot water because of such abuses of power. Last year at least three high school teachers in New York state were fired because of inappropriate behaviour with students on Facebook. The state doesn’t have a law preventing interaction between students and teachers, but Missouri does.

The southern state took precautions and created Bill 54, known as the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, following a rash of teacher-student sexual relationships. The Act bans students from interacting with teachers on social media networks, regardless of the nature of the conversation.

Measures such as these are way too draconian. They hinder the concept of teacher immediacy—approachability, availability and warmth—and prevent teachers from learning more about their students, and thus creating a firmer bond with them.

The vast majority of teachers use friendships outside of class appropriately. Interaction on social media sites are next to impossible to ignore because nowadays, it’s how we communicate.

Missouri lawmakers, and other states who are thinking of implementing similar laws, shouldn’t let a few bad apples spoil it for the rest of us.
A recent study led by psychology professor Mara Brendgen from UQAM concluded that “a good student-teacher bond could protect them (children) from acting out aggressively and being targeted by their peers.”
I think the results can be applied to teenagers and adults, too. A good rapport between students and teachers will inherently lead to a better classroom atmosphere, thus fostering discussion and participation.

The best learning takes place when teachers are able to integrate their students’ passions, interests and skills into classroom content. That’s how students can use the knowledge they learn practically, outside of class.

Traditional relationships were stale, unrewarding and ended when the students left the school grounds.

As long as students respect the boundaries that have been established by their teachers and professors—respecting office hours, and using e-mail to a minimum—relationships outside of class can be advantageous and positive for both sides.

The next time a similar friend request pops up, don’t hesitate. Just make sure to hide those embarrassing pictures of you on the mechanical bull at Chez Serge, first.