Privacy, the media and schools

Hello, all. I think many good points have come up in this discussion. Thanks for being so thoughtful! There seems to be a definite connection between the media (TV shows, news broadcasts, etc.) and how our culture views teachers and schools. This might seem obvious, but I'm not sure there's any other profession so affected by media images. Taryn's (and Elisha's, I think) comment about teachers losing their privacy and Jeff's about the fear of leaving kids standing at the bus stop alone are just two examples of how media narratives and images have affected our profession. While the privacy issue might also be connected to the proliferation of communicative technologies which make us all constantly "available," I think the TV shows about teachers, as well as the movies and even books, make teachers seem like an extension of a parent or even a friend. Hence, we are always supposed to be available and our every waking minute should be spent working and thinking about school. While it sometimes might seem like we actually do work all the time, the fact is that media images and narratives have broken own the boundary between "student" and "teacher," and we, ourselves, as a profession, have also broken down this boundary for the sake of "connecting" with reluctant students. We want our students to be able to "relate" to us because we think this connection will increase their motivation to learn. While I don't think teachers should be cold or distant, I wonder about the cultural elimination (or weakening) of this student-teacher boundary. I wonder if it's good for students, I wonder if it's good for us. I even wonder if it's good for parents. Something to think about, anyway.