Persuasive Essay Example on Students and Teachers Should Be Friends on Social Networks

As education has steered away from the real-life model, we’ve all been used to and towards one that is over the internet, and with student-to-teacher communication being increasingly prevalent, the question of whether students and teachers should be friends over social networks has become a lot more relevant. This discussion is not black or white, there is many upsides and downsides to the notion of students and teachers having a friendly relationship over the internet, and in this essay, I will present both sides of the argument as best I can, and at the very end, concisely tie it together and state my own opinion on the matter. 

Students and teachers should be friends over social networks for the following reasons: A more personal connection to the teacher may motivate students to be working harder, to learn more, to be more ambitious and more driven to do schoolwork, since they will feel more responsible for their actions if the teacher knows them on a personal basis. A more friendly environment for students will make them less anxious to ask questions about the curriculum, a less authoritarian order within the classroom will let students prosper as they feel less pressure coming from their teachers. 

On the flipside, students and teachers should not be friends for the following reasons: The lack of authority over students will lead to them being less productive in the classroom since they will not feel a drive to perform their best if they are not supervised by a figure of authority. A medium through which students are more easily able to communicate will increase the number of cases where a teacher abuses their student in a myriad of ways since they have control over a large aspect of their lives, and they garner trust by being a teacher. 

As I have already stated in the essay, the question itself is not so easy, even with the arguments I have listed, the question is still up to debate. On one side, some students may find a more relaxed environment motivating, but on the other side, an unprofessional environment might lead some students to do less work because of that, plus, there is a lot of risk involved with letting students communicate to teachers so freely. I believe it is good for students and teachers to communicate over social media, with only some students acting out and abusing the less strict environment, but an actual personal relationship between the two is too risky and could lead to possibly harmful situations.