school social media Archives

Teachers and Social Media

Teachers, just like students, have to be careful about what they post on social media. With the prevalence of technology everywhere you turn, an innocent status update or tweet can cause major damage if interpreted the wrong way.

Many teachers have been fired for Facebook and Instagram posts, tweets, and other social media posts. A teacher’s social media content can impact a school’s reputation, and many cases exist of a teacher being fired for posting provocative content. Unless sharing an opinion on union activity or working conditions, the First Amendment does not protect teachers. Protections exist within the classroom, but online platforms have proven vulnerable.

A suburban Chicago teacher is on leave due to a social media post that used explicit language in reference to her fifth-grade students. She complains about her fifth-grade class in a very vulgar way, which many parents and students feel is inexcusable.

“It is so sad that we are trusting these teachers with our kids, to get an education, thinking they are loving our kids putting them on the right path,” Nikita Moss said.

According to East Aurora school district website, the superintendent met with the employee upon learning of her post and placed her on administrative leave until further notice. “Be assured that we take this matter very seriously,” the district said in a statement. “We are certain that the language used does not reflect the professionalism and attitudes of District 131 teachers and staff, who care deeply for children and work hard each day to build positive relationships with students.”

So what should teachers do? What are the legal guidelines here?

First of all, check to see if your school district has a technology and social media policy. If so, read it and follow it to the letter. Gwyneth Jones, International Ed Tech keynote speaker, author of the award-winning Daring Librarian blog, and the teacher librarian at Murray Hill Middle School in Howard County, MD, says “I’m so proud that my district has had a “Responsible Use of Technology and Social Media Policy” since 2002 and has updated it every three years.” She shared the most important portion:

“Any postings by employees will not reference, link or contain: Statements that could be viewed as malicious, obscene, threatening or intimidating; that disparage students, employees, parents or community members; or that could be viewed as harassment or bullying.”

According to Anthony Clark, a nine-year teaching veteran and leader of the Suburban Unity Alliance in Chicago, teachers should always use social media with the best interest of their students in mind. Because the rules are often ambiguous and frequently broken, teachers must be prepared for consequences when addressing issues related to their school. For teachers who want to extend their lessons to social media, they very well might find a unique platform for mentorship, but they also should be prepared to sacrifice their jobs and reputation if a scandal breaks out.

Clark realizes that not every teacher will want to adopt his mentorship approach, and he’s fine with that. But he does feel that every teacher has the responsibility to at least be aware of and up to date on the newest trends in social media. “Schools would benefit from allowing and encouraging and providing some level of [social media] training for teachers that find it valuable to build relationships,” Clark said. “We shouldn’t be afraid of it because we can’t control it.”

Sure, teachers might sometimes overreach and place themselves in controversies without knowing all the facts. But many times, teachers have a unique understanding of the issues surrounding young people. They might have the solution in their back pocket. The only way to contribute to the discussion in many situations is social media. We should respect the voice of teachers and allow them the freedom to speak on the issues that are central to future generations.

What’s the best advice for teachers?

If you must use social media, include disclaimers that note that your speech is your personal opinion and not related to your employment. Also, avoid speaking about work-related matters unless the speech is protected as discussion related to working conditions and collective bargaining.

Should Schools Monitor Social Media  For Threats? 

More and more schools are now hiring online security companies to scan social media for threats…take Orange County Schools for example. They just hired a social media investigation company who will monitor public social media content, flag possible threats and notify school officials of threats against school students, staff, and events, according to an OCS press release. The service, which will cost the school district about $10,000 a year, will look for keywords in social media that may post a threat to students, staff, or the local community.

Orange County Schools’ Superintendent Todd Wirt said students, parents, and staff are acutely aware of the need for implementing as much safety and security as possible in the school community. “When we find ways to secure our schools – whether it’s building safety measures into our schools or responding to online threats – we want our families to know that the safety of our students and staff is the top priority,” Wirt said.

The OCS statement said an administrator would conduct social media screening, review any red flags in context to determine the “type and severity” of any potential threats, and start working with law enforcement. OCS officials did not say what constitutes a threat, how data will be stored, or what role law enforcement will play.

With the 2017-18 school year going on record as the deadliest school year in decades, school leaders are trying to figure out how to prevent more school tragedies. The need to protect the lives of students and teachers has caused school districts to examine a number of solutions, including the increased monitoring of online threats, social media background checks, and consulting with social media intelligence experts.

These programs look for keywords that indicate threats of violence to others or self-harm. Those in favor of the program say that such measures reduce threats and prevent potential suicides, however, critics of social media screening point to possible violation of privacy concerns, potential human rights violations, and the possible misuse of such monitoring by schools to target students of color.
But in the war against potential threats, monitoring of keywords in public posts may be a way schools can be proactive. As Stephen Halkiotis, the chairman of the Orange County Board of Education said in response to criticism that the service is an invasion of privacy, “I think you give up your privacy when you decide to put your heart’s feelings, whether they’re positive or negative, on the Internet.”

The Cons:

Social media can contribute to psychological trauma and other challenges. Potential risks include the following.

• Cyberbullying or other online conflicts
• Quick and widespread communication of crisis-related rumors, false information, or
embarrassing and inappropriate information
• Potential for triggering crises, increasing perceptions of threat and fear, or creating crisis
contagion
• Affects privacy
• Potential for overuse or as a consistent substitute for face-to-face socializing
• Time consuming for educators, parents, and other caregivers to learn and monitor

The Benefits:

While social media screening can bring about challenges that are concerning, social media is a reality that is here to stay. Educators are encouraged to understand how social media can help prevent and respond to crisis risks by addressing the following:

• CRISIS PREVENTION
• Helping to create an extended sense of community or culture
• Encouraging positive behavior, responsibility, and healthy relationships in schools, homes,
and in the community.
• Conducting online surveillance (e.g., monitoring crisis warning signs or threats; for example,
Facebook has partnered with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to create a suicide
reporting mechanism).

• CRISIS INTERVENTION
• Quickly communicating accurate information following a crisis.
• Rapidly dispelling rumors or other false information.
• Evaluating individuals who may be affected by a crisis situation
• Quickly disseminating information about how others can access mental health resources
following a crisis.
• Quickly coordinating crisis response efforts.

• Create and/or understand social media policies. Schools and community organizations are
encouraged to create and communicate social media policies. Parents, caregivers, and others in
the community can familiarize themselves with such policies.

• Prioritize ongoing social media training, both formal and informal. Research related to how
social media and crises interact is limited. Social media platforms and applications also
evolve quickly. Stay informed about current social media being used by youth and adults in
your community. Youth in the community can take on the role of cultural brokers by informing
educators, parents, and other adults about what and how social media are being used.

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Schools Confronting Student Social Media Use

Students at schools nationwide only know social media as it currently is, as they were born into this new technology. Despite warnings and conversations, there are still many issues related to social media use among school age kids, including cyber bullying, inappropriate image/content sharing, and even threats. School districts realize that they have to be proactive and continually monitor social activity, but one story that has made the news recently highlights how schools are staring to have these conversations.

A bomb threat made on a social media app spurred a forum for parents of three schools in Pacific Grove, California recently. The forum addressed parents and provided further education on the use of social media and how to educate students on responsibility online. It again touched on the concept that there is no such thing as “anonymous” online anymore, despite what some apps will suggest to teens. It’s surprising that this continues to be a talking point, one that most would realize by now. However, when facing teenagers, who think they are invincible and typically still believe that whatever they read online is true, it’s not really that surprising.

Despite continued education in this area, schools still face a challenge when it comes to social media usage and identifying issues before they become problematic. Thankfully, technological advances have made this a bit easier. Schools have been turning to social media monitoring to actively monitor social media activity among students and even around school facilities. This can be helpful in many ways:

By monitoring social media activity via a location based program, schools can monitor school events to proactively pinpoint any potential issues related to violence, for example.

Continual location based monitoring can also pinpoint issues with gang related violence, threats, or even students that are struggling in some way, whether it’s emotionally, peer related, or the like.

As teens reach the point of graduation, schools can use a social media background check program to assist high school students with reviewing their social media activity and provide further education on the importance of maintaining a positive online presence.

It’s clear that continued education among teens and even pre-teens is much needed, and will continue to be an important factor in maintaining social responsibility. More and more apps are promoting “anonymous” social posting, yet this isn’t entirely true and can be misleading to teens. What they don’t realize is that they can still be identified online, even if they don’t tag their location or use their given name as a screen name; social media monitoring programs have become more sophisticated, and as schools turn to such tools, this will be brought to light and hopefully give students some food for thought.

Continued conversation and education among school administrators, parents, and students will help build this generation into a socially responsible group. However, it’s a long road and one that has a lot of twists and turns; the more that kids understand about social media content and monitoring, the better off they’ll be in the long run.