Even before the pandemic changed the world, our students were being introduced to the internet and technology and younger and younger ages. While technology is a fantastic educational tool, teachers and parents know the dangers children can encounter. The cyber world has connected the physical one more than ever— not all good.
A shadow hides nearby for every brilliant expansion of virtual education and tutoring. As a result, cyber security has become as important a topic as Stranger Danger, mental health awareness, and multiplication tables.
Online safety isn’t just for kids— it’s for parents and teachers. We need to stay on top of the latest advancements and concerns. We need to be having conversations about social media use and online bullying. We can redirect students to safer sites or resources. We can talk to parents about monitoring their children’s internet time and signs of trouble.
A New Age of Bullies
One of the biggest concerns in schools is how bullying has moved into cyberspace. Before, we could watch our kids in the hall and physically intervene. We could hear the comments and step in. We could see when a student was hurt. But with the internet so prevalent among our students, bullying is no longer so blatant.
Cyberbullying is a term for bullying through social media, text messages, and other virtual spaces. Online gaming and forums can also open our students up to bullying from outside sources, making them even less likely to confide in a teacher without prompting.
All states, including Illinois, require schools to have policies relating to bullying. But it can be harder to catch; we must know there is an issue to address it. States do include cyberbullying or at least cyberbullying offenses in the language of these laws. Teachers also need to review any new school policies about cyberbullying. One of the best ways to learn all options available to teachers is to speak with your principal, local law enforcement, and a local Chicago personal injury attorney. A personal injury lawyer sounds extreme, but they are an excellent resource for information on evolving laws and how cyberbullying can affect people, especially children.
What Can Teachers Do to Protect and Support Students?
While we cannot constantly monitor our students or invade their privacy, there are steps we can take to protect and support them. For example, you can adjust classroom policies to create a safe environment while kids are under your care. You can keep in contact with your students’ families to share tips for ensuring a secure online experience. If your principal is willing, you can host informative cybersecurity and online safety events. Your school may even want to host an assembly to discuss cyberbullying and introduce procedures for students to follow if they are being bullied.
However, the most important thing we can do is let our students know we are there. Encourage them to come to us with concerns, and keep our offices and ears open when they want to talk. While bullying can be hard to find in virtual space, it can also be easy to prove. But your students have to trust you. They have to know you are a safe person. That you will help them.
Stay Informed
While you build this trust and assurance with your classrooms, take time outside of work to keep on top of current trends online. TikTok videos can be a fun activity with classrooms or fellow teachers to have fun and give your students an opening for conversations. Still, the app is also notorious for dangerous challenges spreading through schools. If you stay on top of TikTok trends, you can spot these challenges and inform your students why they are a terrible idea.
Work With Your Peers
Bullying may not be blatant, but teachers are constantly educating themselves on the signs of a student in emotional distress. If you work with other school staff, you can catch the signs much faster. It may not be cyberbullying, but it may be something you can help with.
Keep Up with Mental Health Awareness
The importance of mental health is finally becoming mainstream. As such, more resources than ever are available for struggling children and teens— and for teachers. Keep a list of resources available in your classroom, and stay up to date on mental health information and blogs to better support your students.
Danger in a Virtual Space
Students who spend a lot of time on the internet and in gaming spaces have more than their own classmates with which to contend. Bullying can come from grown adults, and sexual predators may be hunting through anonymous chat spaces like Omegle. While your school can take steps to prevent students from accessing dangerous situations from school laptops, computer labs, libraries, and classrooms, the school can’t control what happens at the student’s homes.
This is where our job as educators matters. We can’t control those spaces, but we can prepare our students for how to handle them. We can teach them about red flags and catfishing. We can teach them about verifying sources and avoiding echo chambers. We can teach them about security and privacy settings. Again, trust is vital. Be someone your students feel safe approaching if they think something is wrong.
Stories have emerged of students who disappear after agreeing to meet with an online friend. Young people who have been brainwashed into dangerous ideologies overseas. Browser histories of how to commit atrocities pulled from suffering students who were caught before they could act— and the ones who weren’t.
A Teacher’s Purpose
The world can be dark, and our students are especially vulnerable. From children to young adults, they are still learning about the world and how to regulate their own emotions. But the world can also be bright and beautiful. So we have to help them find the sun. We must shield them from the shadows and teach them how to avoid red flags, “sus” activity, and the pitfalls of the internet.
As educators, we know: banning something doesn’t necessarily stop curious minds. Instead, we must do what we do best— teach.