Let's be clear. I do not actively seek out my students on Facebook.
I don't ask for their email addresses and then ask them to be my "friend."
However, I make it clear that I will answer questions by email, text to my mobile phone, through my blog and on Facebook, Orkut, tuenti, sonico, vKontakte and hyves.net. I encourage them to write to me on Facebook so that I can recommend BIBPenpals. See www.BIBPenpals.com and www.Youtube.com/bibPenpals.
Why?
a) Gordon Dyke, Tony Hyde, DB, Clive Hartwell, Will Sutherland, David Rhodes, Teddy Senn, Mr. Koch, and others. I went to a remarkable boarding school where the faculty lived on campus and took us on expeditions in the mountains on weekends and ate dinner with us to reinforce the finer points of civilization. 20 years later I realized where I got some of my notions about what a "good teacher" does and I wanted to thank Gordon, Tony, Clive, DB, and others... and I could because the school kept in contact with those teachers. The benefit of the contact was more for me and my need to express my gratitude than for them to actually hear it. It was more to benefit me --- I felt that I had slightly moved to balance the scales by saying, "You made a difference when I was a self-centered, ego-driven kid."
b) My wife's favorite teacher: He was a passionate fan of the U.S. Civil war history and filled his students ears with details about the war so that my wife was well prepared to say, "Everyone knows that: the Civil War was not about slavery at first; it was about economics."
David Zimster, a bright guy at my office, told me about how his dad gave him a copy of Alvin Toffler's Third Wave and Future Shock, in which the author described the Civil War as a shift of power, moving from agriculture to industry, and clearly the South was losing that transition.
For both DZ and my wife, the Civil War was not initially about slavery. The Zimster had to fight for that mindset (his history teacher did not want him saying such confusing things in front of the other students); thanks to David Wagner, wherever you are, you made my wife really like history. You also inspired me to make it easy for my students to keep in contact with me, if they choose to do so.
Steve McCrea
Facebook: TLASteve@gmail.com (there are over 200 Steve McCreas on FB)
facebook.com/theGuideontheSide and http://www.facebook.com/SteveEnglishTeacher
FB groups Fans of Free English Lessons http://www.facebook.com/FreeEnglishLessons
Groups: http://www.facebook.com/groups/GuideontheSide/
www.LookForPatterns.com
Orkut, Tuenti, Sonico, Hyves.net, vKontakte: FreeEnglishlessons@gmail.com
Skype: SteveEnglishTeacher
+1 954 646 8246
Thanks also to my sweetheart, who allowed me to sit for fifteen minutes to grab this idea when we were in the middle of "territorial affairs." Time to get back to that dust removal project.
I don't ask for their email addresses and then ask them to be my "friend."
However, I make it clear that I will answer questions by email, text to my mobile phone, through my blog and on Facebook, Orkut, tuenti, sonico, vKontakte and hyves.net. I encourage them to write to me on Facebook so that I can recommend BIBPenpals. See www.BIBPenpals.com and www.Youtube.com/bibPenpals.
Why?
a) Gordon Dyke, Tony Hyde, DB, Clive Hartwell, Will Sutherland, David Rhodes, Teddy Senn, Mr. Koch, and others. I went to a remarkable boarding school where the faculty lived on campus and took us on expeditions in the mountains on weekends and ate dinner with us to reinforce the finer points of civilization. 20 years later I realized where I got some of my notions about what a "good teacher" does and I wanted to thank Gordon, Tony, Clive, DB, and others... and I could because the school kept in contact with those teachers. The benefit of the contact was more for me and my need to express my gratitude than for them to actually hear it. It was more to benefit me --- I felt that I had slightly moved to balance the scales by saying, "You made a difference when I was a self-centered, ego-driven kid."
b) My wife's favorite teacher: He was a passionate fan of the U.S. Civil war history and filled his students ears with details about the war so that my wife was well prepared to say, "Everyone knows that: the Civil War was not about slavery at first; it was about economics."
David Zimster, a bright guy at my office, told me about how his dad gave him a copy of Alvin Toffler's Third Wave and Future Shock, in which the author described the Civil War as a shift of power, moving from agriculture to industry, and clearly the South was losing that transition.
For both DZ and my wife, the Civil War was not initially about slavery. The Zimster had to fight for that mindset (his history teacher did not want him saying such confusing things in front of the other students); thanks to David Wagner, wherever you are, you made my wife really like history. You also inspired me to make it easy for my students to keep in contact with me, if they choose to do so.
Steve McCrea
Facebook: TLASteve@gmail.com (there are over 200 Steve McCreas on FB)
facebook.com/theGuideontheSide and http://www.facebook.com/SteveEnglishTeacher
FB groups Fans of Free English Lessons http://www.facebook.com/FreeEnglishLessons
Groups: http://www.facebook.com/groups/GuideontheSide/
www.LookForPatterns.com
Orkut, Tuenti, Sonico, Hyves.net, vKontakte: FreeEnglishlessons@gmail.com
Skype: SteveEnglishTeacher
+1 954 646 8246
Thanks also to my sweetheart, who allowed me to sit for fifteen minutes to grab this idea when we were in the middle of "territorial affairs." Time to get back to that dust removal project.
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