Should you be friends with your pupils?

Of course you should! Personal connections help students learn. When they feel connected, they want to please and learn. Well, what if I throw in the idea of being friends with them on Facebook! Now, we have something to debate. I read the article Teachers and social networks: should you be friends with your pupils? I want to be connected to my students. I feel I get more out of them. I live in the district in which I teach. What you see is what you get. I am not a different person outside of school than I am in. Students know about my children and my large family. I have nothing to hide, but I do have grown-up conversations. At this point, I do not "friend" students. I am very up front with them about this. I guess my biggest concern is not what I post, but what my friends might post. Some of my Facebook friends are fellow teachers. Would they be bothered if a student saw what they posted? I am not 100% sure, so I don't friend students. However, I feel I am missing out on a great opportunity to connect with my students.