Facebook Ultimatum: Teacher Forced to Quit over “friending” students

So the debate begins. Should a school teacher be allowed to be a "Facebook Friend" with his or her students?

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This debate has now hit a new level of discussion after an incident in New Hampshire. Here's the back ground.

A 79-year-old substitute teacher in New Hampshire quit her job after school administrators ordered her to delete thousands of students from her Facebook page and she refused. Now it has been reported by the New Hampshire Union Leader Charlestown, NH substitute teacher Carol Thebarge has now left Stevens High School.

Ms Thebarge has been working as a substitute teacher for the past 35 years, accepting assignments at 32 different schools.

“Today will be my last day at Stevens High,” Thebarge said, in a Facebook announcement. “I was given an ultimatum; to either delete every student from my Facebook page and do not post pictures of them, or be terminated.”

School Superintendent Middleton McGoodwin said that Claremont School Board policy bans teachers from being “friends” with students on social networking sites such as Facebook. The superintendent said the principal asked Thebarge to delete students from her “friends” list, and she refused.

“In truth, being a caring, lovely woman doesn’t give you immunity to ignore a school board policy that’s designed to protect everyone,” he said.