Teachers' use of social media is no longer just a Missouri issue. As state school boards across the country are setting policy to restrict teacher-student social media contact, the question remains: why are teachers trusted in the classroom, but not online? And if state and federal law won't protect children from inappropriate relationships with their teachers, what effect will a change in school policy have?

In most cases, these policies will discourage good teachers from further engaging their students outside of the classroom. We are all for protecting children and accept that some limitations are reasonable, but social media potentially has a valuable place in education and should be embraced, not forbidden.

Graham Drake