In Missouri, legislators are considering a bill that would ban elementary school teachers from using social-networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to interact with their students. Supporters of the legislation say it’s necessary to prevent inappropriate relationships between teachers and students. But teachers like Randy Turner, who use the sites to help them connect with their students, say such legislation doesn’t get to the heart of the problem:

“I see where they are coming from,” Turner said. “You can’t argue with people whose intentions are trying to protect children. But the simple fact is, you take these people who prey on children and they are going to find a way to do it, whether it’s over Facebook or not.”

Those teachers are ruining it for the ones legitimately trying to help children, Turner said.

“There are so many kids who are stubborn against anything teachers say, who are struggling in the classroom and refuse to ask for help,” Turner said. “When it’s so hard to reach these kids, why would you remove any of the weapons at your disposal to make a difference?”

Education lawyer Jim Keith, however, said most inappropriate student-teacher relationships start out on a friendship level and escalate, which is why he insists educators must maintain a line of demarcation between themselves and students: “It’s a line that you cannot come close to, let alone step over. You’ve got to establish it from Day One and say, ‘I’m not your buddy; I’m not your friend; I’m just your teacher.’”

Thoughts?