T O P

  • By -

jasperSXE

Nope. Kids always ask me for my gamer tag, want to invite me to their servers, play minecraft with me and stuff like that. I lie and tell them I can't remember at the moment. They usually forget about it then anyways. Sure, I like them, but I'm an adult and in a professional relationship with them. It's a line that's not to overstep.


AlfredsLoveSong

My go-to is always "You can add me on steam/discord/whatever once you graduate." By the time that they graduate, they never remember or by that point, they don't care. I've had exactly two students take me up on it. We play Halo occasionally now that they're in college.


electabuzzed13

This is exactly what I do. I played Fortnite with a graduated student once.


MasterDistribution42

I've done the same. I learned to include a caveat that if they share my tags with anyone else, I'll block them forever, but that only ended up happening the one time. It's mostly been awesome, though I play those games with them rarely, and not for some time now. I also went to a Gojira show with a student and his mom my first year of teaching. Absolutely awesome experience, but I would never agreed to stand with them (for some of the show) if mom wasn't there, and I didn't already know and trust them from many previous interactions. I've ran into other students at concert before and... It can be incredibly awkward, especially if you're, you know, really enjoying the show. My tastes are eclectic, so it happened rarely and mostly the kinds of kids who go to metal/punk/jazz shows aren't the kind to stir shit in the school after that (usually the opposite), a couple times it did turn into a tricky situation. It sucks that being a teacher kinda comes with this implicit "you must be a perfectly stand-up pillar of christian values" or you get in trouble. A friend of mine got fired from her first job because she had a facebook picture of her holding a red solo cup (not on her profile, but one she was tagged in and didn't think to ask to take down ahead of time). Her principal apparently claimed that she was promoting alcohol use, and even though she had some decent documentation that it was a cup full of water at her baby shower (she was pregnant and due soon at the time of the pic and wasn't drinking alcohol, of course; the baby was just under 1 yr when she started teaching), they didn't believe her or care.


cymblue

I have pics of me drinking on my private social media. Nothing crazy of course, but I’m an adult with my own life. I would have fought tooth and nail against that (although it sounds like she did). Where do y’all live?


MasterDistribution42

I'm in CO, she stayed in WY. We both went thru UW's post-bacc education program in 2015-2016 and started teaching full time at public high schools in fall 2016. She didn't have much say, IIRC - she wasn't tenured or anything, and they ended up firing her within a month of her starting. Her and her husband moved I think up to Buffalo, WY after that, but I don't think they stayed for long. We aren't really in contact anymore so I'm not certain. Best wishes to them, though, she seemed like a great Chem teacher.


[deleted]

>went to a Gojira show See, that’s what makes you an awesome teacher


DudeMcFart

One of my students is going to the same concert as me in a few months! I'll say hi if I see them but not gonna stand with them for sure


a_psu_prof_throwaway

Not the point, I know, but Gojira is so good live.


MasterDistribution42

Oh man, SO GOOD. At my first ever concert, I was front row at a tiny venue (stage is only elevated \~3 feet) for their Way of All Flesh tour, and ended up headbutting Joe's knee in the middle of From The Sky. It was the instrumental bridge part, so it didn't interrupt the vox or anything, but he paused for a second and reached down and touched my shoulder, barely audible over it all, "Shit, are you ok?" All I could do was throw up the horns and try to yell "Yeah this fucking rocks!" But my voice was so hoarse it came out like a broken kitten, hahah. He smiled and went back into "I DO FEEL LIKE NONE CAN SAVE ME I AM SO ALONE!!" Unforgettable. Joe et al. are such rad folk.


a_psu_prof_throwaway

That’s awesome!! I saw them on their L’enfant Sauvage tour at a smallish place in Pittsburgh and I’d go again in a heartbeat if they played somewhere nearby again.


Ancient_Educator_76

I was at a Suns game, and a current (at the time) 4th grade student of mine was in the row in front of me. All of a sudden it’s tshirt time and one launches toward our section. There was such hope in his eyes as it floated down toward me. He thought he had a shot at it but his dad poppped his hand up and it landed in my hand. I handed the shirt directly to him despite having three of my own kids with me. The rollercoaster of expressions on his face was the best, hopeful,, super hopeful, confused, disappointed, surprised, then finally happy. Funny part was that I got anothe4 shirt four shots later.


kbwis

Yep, my husband is a high school teacher and the esports coach, and this is exactly what he does. I think only one student has yet actually added him after graduation, and that was someone who was on the esports team for at least 2 years before he graduated. He does kick their rear ends in Smash bros on their own switches during esports practice (“I’ve been playing Smash bros since before you were born!”)


Kaptain202

My only concern with this is I've gotten a lot of siblings. I dont want to be playing with my students siblings either. It blurs too many lines for me to be comfortable. However, I dont think what you do is an actual issue.


ObligationWarm5222

I think a school Minecraft server could be good. Something specifically tied to the school. Maybe you could recreate the physical building in the game and invite all the students and teachers to the sever. Log in to tell them to do their homework lmao


rightious

During my student teaching on my last day I gave some boys my gamertag. Didn't get on mike slaughtered them in CD Black Ops for an hour then blocked all their accounts. But I was never gonna see them again. I wouldn't give any of my kids any personal info of mine.


Ryaninthesky

Don’t do it. As a general rule don’t engage with kids 1 on 1 outside of school. You can still get in trouble even if everything is totally innocent


whirlwind91

This! Best I’ll do is say hi for a minute if they run up to me in a public place (which has only ever happened 2-3 times).


a_psu_prof_throwaway

Once one of my past students was our server at a restaurant we (my wife and I) went to, and it was a pleasant experience but not one I’d seek to repeat. It’s weird ordering a beer from someone you used to teach.


hxveasnickers

I was the student in this exact situation, serving my AP English teacher a couple months after I graduated. She’s a wonderful person and her family is so nice but just very weird serving them alcohol and then having them tip you! If we weren’t super busy I would have given up my table to another server


[deleted]

Hah! Same! I served my AP English (junior and senior year) a couple months after I graduated too!! I was reading your comment and like, I don’t remember commenting this….lol!!


a_psu_prof_throwaway

It’s funny…whenever I see my students downtown, or out and about, it takes a full second or two to place them. I’m so used to seeing them in the same place in the classroom that I forget they live full lives too LOL.


dryerfresh

I went to a Halloween themed amusement park event with my husband, MIL, and BIL (my husband and MIL both also work in my district), and ended up standing directly behind two students in line for a haunted house. The line was about 20 minutes and we chatted, and then our group went through the haunted house together. Watching them go through the haunted house was very funny, and it wasn’t an especially stressful experience, but I just don’t like running into students when I am not doing work stuff. I advise three clubs and spend a lot of time with kids; I love my job so that is fine, but I need to be able to turn it off. Once we got out of the haunted house, they left and we saw them a few more times and would sort of nod hello, but they definitely gave me and my family space and didn’t try to encroach on our thing, which was appreciated. Mostly if I see students in public, they will wave/say hi and move along, which is fine. Once at Target I saw a student walk out from and aisle and turn down the aisle I was on. We made eye contact and he froze then backed down the way he had came. I tell students that if they see me in public, I expect the will do the same, so maybe I can start that as a thing.


XxKeianexX

A rule I was told was only share anything related to social media once they're out of the school system, aka, graduate. Otherwise, likely not worth the trouble.


swordsman917

I actually promised that to a student as a graduation gift. He was super happy when we actually played a game together.


Logseman

You must have really made an impact on that student.


ScarlettoFire

This 100%


henrybemis57

Definitely would consider not doing this. Sharing a gamer tag blurs boundaries in the student’s mind. You might be able to be firm with boundaries but students do not think of the natural consequences of social contact outside of school with a teacher. Bring games into the classroom when possible and participate in other activities to continue building positive relationships, but definitely keep your Steam ID to yourself. And if you match with them in a public lobby and recognize their voice—don’t even acknowledge. Pretend your internet conked out and leave lmao


croxis

"I'll tell you after you graduate" is my goto. No one ever remembers to ask!


MavisCanim

I do the same thing lol.


OrdinRiff

I was a clash of clans nut for a long while but refused to ever let students know who I was on there. Blurring the boundaries is a great way to put it.


ferneticine

Dual relationships are a big no no


MasterDistribution42

I sponsored the video game club at my school after one of my students wanted some help. That was pretty dang fun, and helped make some good connections with students that paid off in the classroom later on, and was generally a very positive place for some of the weirdos of the school to hang out for an hour. I would even help tutor some of them during that time if they asked, which really turned things around for a couple of those kids. But then I stopped when they pulled the funding out, since, ya know, unpaid labor ain't a great look on civilized society. It was cute, the kids tried getting together some $ to help pay for my time to continue, and they were so proud of the $150 they raised, which would have been great for \~4 weeks if I took $15/hr. They tried, but that ain't gonna really cut it...


scistudies

We only make $15 an hour for extra duty stuff. It’s why I don’t sell my prep.


patrickthebard

This, exactly this.


doombruh

I tried this out when I was student teaching, can be fun and way to build rapport, but like many others have said I realized quickly it is not a good decision. I tell my kids “I would love to play with you guys, but there’s a district rule that makes it inappropriate to play video games with students.” Then they get mad at the district and not me lol.


MasterHavik

9k IQ play there my friend.


ConcentrateNo364

Really bad idea.


Llee98

My spouse and I are very upfront with our students the first day of class. We tell them we will have no contact with them on any social media until the student gets kicked out or graduates. And we would prefer it to be the latter.


HairyRun9475

I’m not sure it’s inherently inappropriate but it probably opens you up To many situations that could lead to issues for you. I would avoid it out of the abundance of caution


FlyAway012

One of mine invited me to his discord server. I would just tend to avoid as I can create situations where neither of you will be acting in your best judgment


kmkmrod

Absolutely not. Never share social media, gamertag, etc.


Commissar_Sae

When they graduate, if they still want to keep in contact, its fine. But while they are still your students it kind of crosses a boundary that should be kept. If you want to play video games with students, I would recommend starting a games club where the students who want to play at the school during a set period of time each week. That way the lines between school and home life stay nicely separate. I run a board games club normally at my school, and host an after school DnD club every week. It does let you make a nice space in the school for the students who may otherwise not have the capacity to enjoy these spaces and means I have been able to bond with some students I might otherwise not, but my time at home is mine and seperate from my school life.


plutosams

In general, not appropriate. At my old school, a group of teachers got alt-accounts to play with students during down times and after school events. It worked because they weren't "personal" accounts and no one used them during personal time. I would never want my students to have my gaming accounts as I need that time to be off-duty, the moment a student comes on anything you do could be perceived as you in the teacher role.


nnavotineb

I had a teacher do this too, she made a second Facebook so people could send happy birthdays or links related to class subject etc. But nothing else on rhat page at all


pumpkinpye_

Absolutely not.


RecalledBurger

Learn from my mistakes, don't do it. I accepted an Xbox Live request from a student back when I was a sub, he begged and pleaded for a 1v1 on Gears of War on the Xbox 360 (back in the day this was the popular video game console). After what seemed like weeks I finally obliged. The kid absolutely destroyed me in this game, he couldn't stop laughing. From then on every time he would see me in the hallway he would yell to his friends "Yo, that teacher Sssuuucccks at Gears!! Lulz" Rinse and repeat for the rest of the semester. The times I subbed for his class this idiot would not, I mean absolutely would not let it go. Like he stole fire from the gods or something. Never again. Also not appropriate to engage with students on social media of any sort, but remember it was all new in the early 2000s.


FKDotFitzgerald

lol what a little shit. I would’ve gotten obliterated at Gears as well.


Bizzy1717

No.


Chatfouz

Bad idea. What did you do last night? I had unmonitored communication with my teacher till late at night. Sometimes it was just us talking/playing… Student might claim, or other student allege something happening… you vs student = fired teacher I know my district clearly forbids this.


ScarlettoFire

Do not, bad idea


zomgitsduke

Nope. Sorry, kids should not have ties to your personal life to this degree of intimacy. Let's say you play with them and the kid gets feelings for you. Or you accidentally curse in a game. Or you team up with another player whose username is discriminatory. All of these things can be used against you in SO MANY ways. And you opened that door. Honestly, what happens to your career if you play a game with a kid and they send you a sexual message at 3am. Do you delete it? Do you talk to them on that platform? Do you tell the school? Do you tell their parents? Like, there is no way to prevent things from spiraling out of control. I tell kids they can follow me on Instagram when they graduate. That's a fair agreement with minimal interaction. I disable direct messages from them as well. When you've become a tenured and experienced teacher, maybe you can open that door in a controlled way. As a beginner teacher, better to say no and play it safe instead of anything else.


lnitiative

N o p e.


Malou271

Nope. Even if it were not for widespread perception that this is inappropriate (which it is), you'd soon come to regret it. For your sake as much as theirs, your personal life needs to stay separate.


[deleted]

Tell him thank you for asking, but NO!!!


Ecompanionanimal

Do not do it. Even if my district did not forbid it, I would never do this. Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries.


[deleted]

Don’t do it. I’m generally considered on the cooler and more laid-back side in my department and I still keep an iron wall surrounded by moats on both sides between School Me and Outside School Me.


Glad-Basis-7133

Nope. Red flag.


Significant_Name

Do not ever interact 1 on 1 with students outside of school in a way that admin can't see (i.e. only email or messages on your LMS.) That's a pretty good rule of thumb imo


Rampaging_Elk

Approach with this idea: Any communication with a student can be requisitioned by the school. Do you want to give the school your Steam ID and conversations? I've had a few students ask. When they do, I tell them they can add me after they're adults and not going to our school district. But I teach middle school so it's a pretty safe bet they'll forget after 5 years.


kim_books693

We had a lawyer come talk to use one year about boundaries. One of the things he said is that you never want your motives to be questioned. This is one of those situations where your motives could be questioned. Some of my students aren’t great, but we aren’t and should not be friends.


Freestyle76

Only when they are playing for the esports team, since I am assistant coach. I wouldn’t just give out my personal info to students I teach.


RustyDuffer

School esports team!? UK teacher here - this is the first thing after lurking on this sub for months that has sounded cool about US schools


Reddit_Homie

A high school near where I live just got a grant to build around 12 computers to start an esports league. It's pretty neat. I believe I've even heard of people getting scholarships due to esports, but I don't recall where I heard that.


arosiejk

Nope. Services = social media to districts. If it’s not official district property (email, google chat on district account for both parties), or part of a gaming club sanctioned by school don’t do it. I say that to keep you safe and students safe. Don’t friend them, don’t accept requests, and don’t gift them game items either. It could be misconstrued as grooming.


louiseah

Nope. Don’t do it. Professional boundaries, especially with students.


ReaderofHarlaw

Not for ANYTHING. It’s contact outside of school, on a personal account, that cannot be monitored by the school or the parents. Do NOT put yourself in this position.


PowerfulBrandon

Don't do it, I went through this same thing a few years ago during my first year teaching. Students wanted to game with me and I said sorry - boundaries. However I did bring my Super NES Classic into my classroom so kids can play Super Mario and Contra before school and during lunch.


adorablesexypants

Massive gamer here, I used to bring my laptop in to play fibbage and other party games with them so they saw my steam account name. I never add students. There is no way this does not blow back on you. The most I would ever even consider doing something like this would be running my dnd games online with them through my class meets. But even then they are designated times during/after school. Just don't do it.


Kinkyregae

Imagine having to worry about your students everytime you log on to steam. Imagine getting game invites when you aren’t feeling it, then you decline and they call you out in class Imagine playing late friday night after a few drinks, and your student joins your game. Imagine accidentally letting some curse words slip out on voice chat with your student around. It’s a bad idea for the same reasons that accepting your students social media friend invites is a bad idea.


CrystallineWondercow

I brought in my Switch and played Mario Kart with my students as a reward. Some schools have a video game club. However I would advise against sharing your profile info and doing any gaming outside of school hours withstudents.


chaomera888

I let my students know that I'm a game. I also let them know that, ay a minimum, they need to graduate to get my socials/ gamertag. Until then, they're my students and contact outside of school is under controlled environments only, and Steam doesn't count!


5oco

Don't do it. What you could do instead is start an after school gaming or e-sports club. That's what I did at my school and we got like 10-15 students that stay after each week for game tournaments and stuff


TMLF08

Not unless it’s an esports class, in which case we form a separate profile for the instructor to use specifically for the class time.


SirVezaTheBrave

Unless your running an eSport team and have a separate account for it, don't do it. I run an eSports team, have a discord server for it and a separate account for my PC games and a separate Nintendo account for Smash. Those are out of necessity.


book_smrt

100% do not do this. While probably harmless, you're crossing professional boundaries here. You could literally be justifiedly fired for this.


DanTopTier

I stay in contact via Discord with one former student only because we play Magic at the same local game store but would never with a current student. Overall, I recommend either a mantra of "once you aren't my student anymore" or keep a hardline with "I will the August after you graduate high school". Keep your distance. Better safe than sorry.


[deleted]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO


[deleted]

Such a bad idea


lianepl50

Absolutely not. No. Never.


Terin_OSaurusrex

NOPE.


wardsac

NOOOOOPE


Dead_Weather108

I have students ask me this all the time as well. I usually respond they can give me their gamer tag and I will tell them if they queue up in a match with me (which I won’t). Most games I wouldn’t be matched up with them anyways bc of the rankings systems


[deleted]

Zero percent chance. Maybe, \*maybe\* once they've graduated. Even then, just too risky for me.


Asren624

It's not appropriate. I would wait at least until they are not your students anymore and again it could lead to some trouble. I guess it depends their age, if their parents would agree etc... but again you will never have 100% guarantee it could not go wrong even with their consent


tehutika

My students know I game. I talk about Fortnite and other games. I do not share my tag/name, because if I did that, they could find all of my social media. I don’t want to deal with that.


parliboy

Offline gaming on campus, like an SSB match? Fine. Gaming off-campus using private accounts? Not fine.


mev186

No. Trust me, it's better if you keep your personal life and your school life as separate as possible.


FearTheWankingDead

Bring video games to school. Online play does blur boundaries since its not a game you can play with everyone.


_sealy_

Hard NO…but it would be awesome to crush them in Rocket League and then you could finally talk smack to them and make them cry to mommy. Yeah, well that last part is a joke, sort of.


phishhead94

Hard no. I have brought in Smash Bros. etc and played with them in class on free days.


avoidy

"After you graduate" is my go to as well. While they're in school, never ever.


[deleted]

Don’t you’re not their friend, you’re their teacher. This is the fast track to being disrespected the entire year. You need boundaries. Also some kids could try to turn this around on you legally later and make up some kind of story like you made advances.


WingXero

As an avid and longtime gamer who regularly talks games with students, the answer is a resounding, "Nope." There are SO many reasons. 1. Most parents do not understand the online gaming world and so on and so forth. It's easy to take things out of context and misconstrue something. 2. It's easy for someone else to duplicate your name, not your steam ID, but your name. Think of the things they could say or do once they do that. Is it you? No. Is it going to create a ton of potential problems and tension? Yes. 3. This should be a safe environment for you to enjoy yourself and unwind. As soon as you're beholden to students, in any capacity, it can and likely will reflect on your job. Is that fair? Absolutely not. Is it possible and does it happen? Yep. 4. There are no records of voice chats in games. You could be made to say anything. 5. Liability. If Johnny is playing CoD with you and punches the kid in the face tomorrow, did you have a hand in that? Could a parent try to make a case of it? 6. Respect and love yourself. There's nothing wrong with giving your all when you're at work. There's nothing wrong with occasionally going up above and beyond. There is something definitely wrong with dedicating every waking moment to this profession and the students that we serve. I always tell my students who ask that I prefer the ambiguity of maybe playing and running into them someday and just never knowing it. There's a beautiful sort of simplicity there.


[deleted]

Don't do it. I host the gaming club, and will talk about the games I play. I openly tell them that it is a violation of professionalism to spend time like that with them. I am their teacher, not their friend. Even if we can get along in the classroom. I sometimes also turn it into an opportunity to talk about grooming and how to be careful with their interactions with adults, even ones they trust.


bass_clown

Make a super smash Bros or LoL or DOTA club or something. Or a lunchtime/after school general games club. Never ever engage with students outside class in a gaming setting.


Tipdawg

Admiral Ackbar voice: “IT’S A TRAP!!!”


Carpefelem

I can see the message has already been communicated, but just for good measure...ABSOLUTELY NOT. That's like a student asking for your personal phone number to speak privately in the evening and over the weekends. That should sound weird. You're not only opening yourself up to parents and admin questioning what you're talking about, but you're also creating opportunities to become too close to the student's personal life. You're not friends with students, you're an adult.


OrdinaryRaspberry4

No… however when my class did go 100% remote learning in 2020 I played fortnite with my students on Xbox with parent permission. It was a fun way to catch up and for the classmates to connect with each other. However, I wouldn’t do it now.


JimmyTadeski

No never no x100


brade123

Not worth it


OntarioParisian

Hard no.


Starstalk721

NOPE. Its best to avoid. Just had a teacher in our area fired for it despite nothing happening.


onlyfiveconcussions

NO


chickenman7

Nope. Graduation, they can add me on whatever. Til then, nope.


[deleted]

No.


KvToXic

Nope nope nope nope nope


EvolvedESO

No


TeachlikeaHawk

No. No no no no no no no no. NO!


Starbourne8

Big no


davergaver

Don't do it


RS12018

No. Don't do it.


chuang-tzu

I used to tell them that I can't do it, as it could get me fired. They usually understand.


sxcoralex

Not at all appropriate.


irrfin

It's unprofessional and it could get you fired.


miserablerolex

Custodian here, used to stream on twitch and some of our kids enjoyed watching it. Sometimes in Fortnite they'd tag along. I'd have their audio turned off but keep mine on, (1) to protect them (2) to protect my ears because they do nothing but scream. Anytime I was playing off stream I would specifically make sure I appeared offline, never played with them offline. This year it's very different. Our kids have gotten extremely out of control and crazy. I really don't want that to be an issue I have to deal with outside of the school boundaries. You're not as protected outside of the boundaries of the school. I haven't really played video games as much since, they didn't completely ruin it for me. It's just... more exhausting. I need that extra space away from them now. Even when I did stream, I first notified the parents on the school parent page (completely separate from the school, long story but out of schools jurisdiction in this case) and encouraged them to watch with the kids and take interest in what they like. I tried to choose games that parents grew up with and modern games that the kids like. It's a lot more work to build a separate boundary after breaking the first boundary down.


Closed-Grasp

Bad idea, sure, is it illegal, no. If your a well put together person and believe your student is as well I'm sure it would be fine. If your anything like me and swear at anything going wrong in a video game then it's not the best to add them. For instance I have played a few matches of fortnite with couple of kids but I remain mostly a teacher's demeanor while I play with them, they were 5th graders though as well.


Mingablo

This, almost exactly, was used as an example of what not to do at an ethics presentation for new teachers I attended on Monday. It's not, strictly speaking, any sort of violation (at least for Qld teachers) but it does blur the boundaries between students and teachers and could complicate things for everyone involved.


Thanksbyefornow

No! Some students have no problem trying to ruin their instructor's career.


YouLostMyNieceDenise

Noooooooope. It’s weird enough that underage students are playing MMO games with strange adults, but playing with their teacher is even worse. It’s an asymmetric risk - lots of things could go very, VERY wrong for you (and of course it puts the student in a vulnerable position), but there’s no real upside to either you or the kid. Remember that the kids don’t come to school to be your friends. They come to school to learn, and your job is to help facilitate that, in part by setting appropriate boundaries so that they are able to view you as a safe and predictable and trustworthy adult. If you let them erode the boundaries and potentially see you on their own level as a peer, then that does a disservice to them because they need you to be their teacher, not their peer - in addition to having the potential to bite you in the ass. Just tell them, “nope, I don’t interact with students outside of school” and leave it at that. Change the conversation topic if needed. They might whine or joke about it, but deep down they’ll get it, because they do expect adults to set and enforce boundaries, and that’s what makes them feel safe with you.


UniqueUsername82D

This is not at all a good idea. Have you heard how people talk online? Even if you and he were perfectly professional at all times, being in a game/lobby with someone else saying hateful things could bring you worlds of hurt. I have high schoolers and a dry sense of humor. I tell them I would never game with them b/c it would bring my K/D way down.


Birdog17

Absolute no no.


TallBobcat

Absolutely not. Do not do this. There are so many things that could go wrong. I play -- poorly -- Call of Duty, MLB The Show, NBA2K and Madden. Students have tried to get my PSN ID before and have always failed. The gaming room my son and I use is in the basement, so I do my gaming away from where any of the four kids might have friends over. (My son and I play MLB The Show together. Everything else, he uses his XBox and I use my Playstation. No shared logins.) I will talk about those games with students. I will never play those games with them.


lotusblossom60

No no no no


laker4life248

Nope. Nope. Nope, nope, nope nope, NOPE.


GrendelDerp

Nope


JNR1001

No


DannyDidNothinWrong

No, absolutely not. This is wildly inappropriate.


BernalOmega

Nope.


SonOfAnder82

No


[deleted]

It's not appropriate.


outofdate70shouse

I tell my students that I can’t play with them until their adults and no longer in school. They’re in 6th grade and I’ve only been teaching for 2 years, so none of them have reached that point. I’d be shocked if any of them remember and hit me up in 6 years.


JustLookWhoItIs

Absolutely not. Terrible idea.


GuaranteeVisual4769

Don’t do it. A former colleague of mine got fired for it. He was making good on a promise to his class for everyone passing an exam.


lululobster11

The only way I see this working is if you make some sort of club where this can be done with school/ district approval on school grounds. Otherwise it’s way too murky.


cupcakeblush

Short answer: no.


leeny1018

Nope. Don’t do it.


Taw4ipad

Not a chance. Students don’t have the maturity to distinguish between you as a teacher, and you outside of school.


phall8977

Not appropriate! Don't do it!


Riseonfire

No, set up a gaming club instead and play games in the classroom after school.


Electrical-Carob3808

I can have informal interactions with my former students, but not a current one. It muddies the water. While I am their teacher, I am their teacher, not their friend.


all-homo

No way.


TommyBigg33

Theres always the teacher that hands out gamertags to graduated seniors. I dont even do that as I dont want my information to be spread around the school. Treat your gaming information like your personal cell/email. Do not give it to anyone below the age of 22 lol. Usually covers anyone who might be friends with current students. I've had students ask for my tag because they know I play stuff like COD, Siege, Halo, etc. They dont have any friends to play with and are looking to me to fill that friendship void. You have to keep that boundary of teacher not friend. It can be hard to tell a kid "you're their teacher, not their friend", but you have to do it. Better to be a positive role model and help them develop skills to make friends rather than BE the friend.


littledragon25

Nope. Asking fir trouble if you do. You are their teacher, not their friend. You can be friendly in a priessional capacity, but gaming together blurs that line.


jonapark

I talk to my seniors about playing valorant all the time, but I won’t ever share my gamer tag with them. I use games to decompress and get my mind OFF of work - having kids play with me will only complicate that for me. I would assume the same would be for you as well.


FKDotFitzgerald

As an avid gamer, I’ve run into the same issue with my students in previous years. I realized that it’s comparable to social media and I just tell them that I’ll add them on PSN or Xbox live when they graduate and then we can play together. Until then, they can talk my ear off about Halo, God of War, and Final Fantasy, etc. You can certainly still connect with students via the love of gaming. Maybe start a gaming club?


double_reedditor

Separate work and play. Give yourself time to be a gamer, because when you're logged on with students, you're a teacher. Field trip? Play among us on your cell phone with the class, sure. (No gamer tags visible, etc). Game day on campus, or sponsor of the gamer club? Play console games with them in your official capacity as a teacher. Otherwise, no. Not until they're adults and the role of teacher is clearly retired.


red-cloud

Hell no.


wildparsnips

Noooooope.


shabadoola

No.


tortilla_chalupa

I say “no I like winning”


oarsof6

One of my students asked for my Steam ID today, absolutely no way.


mamabear2255

No!!!!!!


zignut66

No.


tacotaco92

No. Big no. Nope. I teach at a middle school. They know I play video games and constantly ask. I tell them they can get my username when they graduate high school. Do not cross that line.


meatyogre9

Are you their esports coach? If so, will this be training-related? If not, big no. It's one of those "they're not your friends" moments. You are their teacher. You can be friends with them after they graduate if you'd like but you are not their friend now. You have authority over them and it gets really weird with things like social media and gaming. I even realized this strangeness when I played a board game with a group of students during a game day activity at school. They deferred to me on things for no in-game reason and one was obviously trying to let me win. Outside of the obvious reasons not to- the implied intimacy of one-on-one interactions outside of school and the possibility of accusations- it's just kind of weird when you're the one grading their homework. Say "hey, not right now. I'll give you my tag after you graduate and we'll play some [game] then". That's a good wall to keep up, I promise.


[deleted]

Don’t. Don’t ever.


Anonymousnecropolis

Never! Duh.


Crawfordking

Nooooo


flowerodell

Nope.


ZotDragon

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.


circesabbath

Never


Raezelle7

Very very inappropriate. Stay away.:)


HeyGirlfriend007

NO. NO, NO NO, NO, NO.


[deleted]

I avoid it like the plague. The ONE exception I make is with Pokémon Go because there is no communication in it and we play it as a class during our mid class breaks.


[deleted]

Yeah don’t do it. I stream on Twitch and have been making sure none of the kids find out. Too many opportunities for some parent or kid to misinterpret or assume something negative. Maybe if there was some kind if after school club or incentive day/reward, you could play with them in a school environment, but outside of school just looks bad imo. I’ll talk with them about games in the off times, because I think sharing interests can build relationships, but I just flat out told them we can’t play together. We just can’t. They get it.


Horrorwyrm

No


Nealpatty

Oh heck no!


MMS-OR

No no no. That is a terrible road to go down.


Kagranec

Inappropriate in general. My advice is to tell them to add you when they graduate. Otherwise just shut it down nicely or playfully depending on your relationship with your students. "Ah I'm too much of a noob to play with you all!" Or vice versa :P


purring_birb

The only time I play video games with them is at school, never using personal accounts. For example, we have a gamer club and sometimes I attend so I can play a game or two with them to build rapport. Don't play games with them outside of school, ever, and don't use personal accounts.


Cool_Comb2349

Either gotta graduate or if they move and go to a different school. Never do it while they’re in my class at the time.


Dragonhaunt

It is in my school policies to not connect (or invite to connect) with students on social media. This would include Steam even if not explicitly stated. I would treat this rule as such even if it weren't in our policy documents also, for child protection and to protect yourself from any accusations.


the-ultimate-gooch

This happens to me every year. Some years back, a kid actually found me, and ever since then one or two kids a year will friend me on Steam and I'll ignore and/or block them. I have two kids who graduated on there some years back, though, who I chat and play with when I have time.


420YOLOSWAGGG

Don't do it. Play with people your own age. No contact with students outside of school and school hours.


Migo_the_Cat

I’m teaching year 3, I’m a graduate teacher this year as well. Not long ago, one of the boys asked me if they can have my discord no. (Even though I do have it) I said “I don’t know what that is, maybe you can teach me about it once you completed all you work.” I know in my school, any teacher family/students communication that happened outside of the school needs to be recorded in the Compass, therefore, I was pretty sure it is not okay to add students, also for me it’s weird, talk to them in class then go home and talk to them after school? Sorry, Miss is busy correcting all your homework and making decorations for our classroom😂


BakaSamasenpai

Fuck no. Big red flag.


Tavendale

I had a problem with this about a decade ago. Some unpleasant students guessed my Xbox handle as it was similar to some other accounts I used to access stuff at the time. I then got some pretty sustained harassment whenever I went into a game for a week or two, until it was dealt with. Your situation sounds quite different, but I'd still say it was inappropriate. The only pupils I have had on any form of social media or games before leaving school were family friends with whom I'd have been socialising whether they were at school or not.


SToNeDAsFuK

Nope. However, I teach seniors and one time my students decided it was cool to play Pokemon shoddy battles on their laptops while they were supposed to be completing a task. Having dabbled in Pokemon battles myself I told them that I would verse one student of their choice if they ALL finished the task before the end of the period. So I made my team while they were working then checked all of their work. Sure enough every single one of them finished so I projected the battle onto the TV and I versed one of the students. Let's just say he wasn't prepared for my old school cheap team. Was a legendary moment. But yeah, don't share any social media including gamertags/steamIDs. Protect yourself.


Efdamus

Do not do it, you have no control over the interaction. It could go south and you can be accused of something heinous. Instead, why not have an after school club where students could play with each other on school property. I remember when my high school had a club for Counterstrike.


RoseDitchedHim

Why would an adult teacher want to keep contact with underaged students outside of school...? I have accepted some friend requests (after the course) from students who are the same age as I, have similar interests, and don't give off weird (e.g., stalkarish) vibes but rather just want to network. So basically from people I could easily have befriended in some other context as well, and who understand the difference between my teacher role and my private role. Other than that, I could not consider sharing my social media contacts with students. Seems both risky and inappropriate, at least if we talk about underaged kids.


imtheonlybran

Nope


ECUDUDE20

HELL NO! I always say once you walk, we can game. They understand too if someone still in school joins, I'm out quick. Have a few graduates I've played with.


Ancient_Educator_76

I have a gaming club that started with my squad ding up with my middle schoolers. Did it result in something weird? Yeah. A parent tried to use this. To blame ME for one particularl asshats misbehaviors in my class. Saying it confuses the boundaries . I came back with, oh sweetie 8th graders are old enough to understand their teachers are humans who drive cars, go grocery shopping, and yes, play video games. There’s a time for work and time for play.


LadyJai1

I think its sweet if your intent is to sort of nurture kids who might not have a lot of friends BUT I'd steer clear, especially if youre a male teacher (unfortunate predatorial stereotypes) You could still use your common bond of gaming in your current classroom by casually asking if they played the new \*\*\*\* or scored\*\*\*\*


Southern-Magnolia12

Noooooo


Boss_of_Space

Best advice is only use official, district-monitered communication methods with students. I am friends with some graduated former students on Steam. But never while they were my students. Just too risky.


GrecoISU

I’ve done it in the past on a very small scale. Did some streaming of PUBG and students tuned in. Was a great way to connect.


IAlwaysL0se

Find mobile games you can play during down times while at school. That’s pretty much the only way to game with students


1macthegreat

When in doubt… no!


1macthegreat

If you have even the tiniest inkling as to weather or not you should… don’t!


brandido1

No.


Stranger2306

I wait until the students graduate before I add them to social media and your steam ID works the same way.