Blake: Work Priorities

Language arts teacher Phil Overeem and social studies teacher Jami Thornsberry, both longtime educators and club sponsors, say the site Facebook provides a faster and more effective way to communicate with students than other methods. Students don't pay attention to morning announcements, they said, and teens rarely check their school e-mail accounts.

"What it boils down to is that students think it's the corniest and squarest thing in the world to use their student e-mail," Overeem said. "They just won't. They will not regularly check their student e-mail, and that causes problems, especially for extracurricular sponsors who do a ton of stuff."

Overeem heads Hickman's Academy of Rock club. Since he launched his Facebook account earlier this year, he's seen a 50 percent to 60 percent increase in attendance at meetings and events.

Thornsberry sponsors three clubs, including Student Government, which is in charge of homecoming. She credits Facebook for helping this year's pool of homecoming queen candidates raise more than $20,000 for charities.

"I decided to get a Facebook page this school year after realizing what an effective tool it is for quick communication and announcements," Thornsberry said. "We have used Facebook for club announcements, T-shirt sales, last-minute details on events and programs we are working on, and to generate support for our queen candidates and their charities."

Professional education groups have mixed opinions about teachers using social networking to communicate with students. The Missouri National Education Association warns teachers on its Web site that social sites like MySpace are "no place for educators." But the National School Boards Association encourages educators to find ways to take advantage of social networks because they are so widely used by students.

A July report issued by NSBA estimated that 96 percent of American students with online access have used social networking sites.

In Columbia, 921 members belong to a Hickman group on Facebook, and 343 members belong to a group called "Hickman Kewpies -- Proud to be a naked baby." Rock Bridge Senior High School's Facebook group has 366 members, and the Bruin Bear has his own Facebook page with links to 85 friends.

With so many students logged on, Missouri State Teachers Association spokesman Todd Fuller said, he can see how the network could be beneficial for school clubs or organizations.

But MSTA advises teachers to avoid social networking because of the risks.

"Our experience has not been positive," Fuller said. "Teachers who are within their first or second year out of college are using Facebook and MySpace with students like they did with their friends. That professionalism isn't there."

In some cases, he said, teachers might see photographs or read personal information about a student that they're not equipped to deal with. On the flip side, students could see personal information about a teacher that could be used against him or her.

Both Overeem and Thornsberry said that hasn't been a problem for them. They don't browse students' personal pages, nor do they post personal information about themselves that they wouldn't want students to know.

They also said Facebook is secure because the site allows users to form independent groups. That means teachers and students might communicate through a club page, but the teacher is not part of a separate group set up just for friends.

Hickman student body President Cooper Livingston said he's glad teachers are starting to use Facebook.

"My AP government teacher," Andrew "McCarthy, has a Facebook account, and he uses it to occasionally remind us to be ready for a quiz," Cooper said. "I think it's neat, especially because they're adapting to us and communicating with us in a way they know we use."