Australian Teacher Fired for Sexting 15-Year-Old Student

December 12, 2011 Leave a Comment

Jeffrey Stanley Hughes of Australia had his teacher registration canceled by the Queensland Civil Administration Tribunal earlier this month for sexting a 15-year-old student.

The investigation looked into the 39-year-old teacher’s relationship with a female student whom he had been assigned by the school to help through some difficult family issues. The student had also babysat for Hughes and his wife three times.

Hughes and the girl exchanged over 1,000 text messages a month, which included inappropriate content and plans for a sexual relationship. Friends of the girl also reported seeing the two kiss three times.

The teacher will have his teacher registration revoked and will be ineligible to reapply for registration for three years. After that time he may reapply to teach in public school again.

These types of issues are hitting the news on what seems to be a regular basis and it underscores the important of parents staying engaged with what our kids are doing online and on their mobile phone. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with tips for preventing sexting and be sure to talk to your kids early and often about making safer, smarter choices. It is better to have the discussion too many times versus not enough.

 

Filed under Legal, Sexting, Text Messaging Tagged with , ,

Bill in NY Would Make Cyberbullying Manslaughter

October 18, 2011 Leave a Comment

Anyone, regardless of age or gender, can be a victim of cyberbullying. And no one is immune from its harmful effects. Decreased school performance, depression and anxiety, and even suicide can be the tragic result of a tween or teen who is pushed over the line by bullying. A new bill in New York attempts to make cyberbullies more accountable for their actions, especially when they end tragically.

Under the bill proposed in New York, the definition of second degree manslaughter would be expanded to include “bullycide” – online bullying that prompts the victim to ultimately take his or her own life. The bill would also expancd third degree stalking to include cyberbullying, as well.

However, there might be some problems with implementing the new bill if it were to become law. Most suicides – including those that are precipitated by cyberbullying – are a combination of many factors. Punishing cyberbullies for the suicide does not take into account the other issues going on at school, at home, or in a child’s personal life that may have also prompted the suicide.

Problems – How much bullying is punishable? How can someone else be held accountable for a suicide?

Conclusion – Parents agree that cyberbullying is a problem but disagree about what to do about it – is it the parent’s responsibility? The child’s? The teacher’s/school’s? The legislator’s?

Regardless of where you come down on this, I think we can all agree that cyberbullying is a problem that needs all of our attention. What do you think of this proposed bill?

Filed under Cyberbullying, Legal Tagged with ,

Cyberbullying, Sexting, and Fighting: What Is the School’s Responsibility?

August 26, 2011 1 Comment

Legislators often demand that schools take more responsibility for students who engage in cyberbullying, sexting, or posting fight videos on the Internet – even when it doesn’t happen in school or during school hours. One major question many parents are asking themselves is: can a school possibly police their students’ online lives? And even if they can, should they?

Actually, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that schools can discipline their students for activities that occur on their own time away from campus, as long as the activities are “disruptive” or “dangerous” to the school or student body. So if a student’s online conduct poses a threat to the school or other students (a subjective judgement), they can be punished.

What about the first question? Do schools even have the capability to monitor their student’s digital citizenship? Teachers and school administrators are often overworked and overburdened as it is, unable to find the time (or the money) to comb the Internet to keep tabs on their students. How is any single entity expected to keep an eye on something as vast as the Internet, in addition to its regular 9-to-5 job of educating our children?

Australian independent schools have recently made headlines by using an online intelligence company to help them monitor their students’ public posts on Facebook, admitting that they can’t keep up with it all on their own. Some view the activity as a waste of taxpayer money, while others are outraged at the perceived invasion of privacy.

Opinions on these questions range all across the board, but what is certain is that schools cannot replace responsible parenting. Digital citizenship classes, school cyberbullying policies, and sexting legislation will never have the same impact that a one-on-one parent-child conversation does. Schools should play a supporting role, not a leading one, in monitoring and combating dangerous online behavior. Besides, even if schools really could effectively do it, wouldn’t you really rather be a part of your teen’s digital world?

post originally appeared on uKnowKids

Filed under Cyberbullying, Legal, Rant, Sexting Tagged with , , , , ,

Watch Your Facebook Invites

July 27, 2011 Leave a Comment

Do your kids use the “invitation” feature on Facebook to spread the word about parties and events with their friends? If so, make sure they know how to use the feature properly – or they could be putting themselves at risk.

Facebook invitations are fairly simple to use, and can be sent to anyone with a Facebook account or email address. Click “events” from your home account page and fill in the date and location, upload an optional picture, and customize the privacy level of your event (public or private.) The important part is this: don’t forget to triple-check the privacy level!

Last month a German teen identified as Thessa invited friends to her 16th birthday party using Facebook, but she forgot to mark the invitation as “private.” The result? The invitation went viral, causing 1,600 people to flood her street on the day of the party – even though Thessa later realized her mistake and cancelled the event. The police were called in to handle the crowd, and Thessa (who was nowhere to be found) had a very unhappy birthday.

Thessa’s real-life faux pas was preceded by a similar occurrence last year in Australia (which luckily turned out to be a hoax.) Facebook invitations for Kate Miller’s birthday went viral and Facebook ended up closing down the event after over 60,000 people RSVP’d.

What’s fortunate is that “Kate Miller” wasn’t a real person and that Thessa wasn’t hurt because of inviting the entire Facebook world to her house. But it serves as a reminder to you and your teens to be extra-careful with privacy settings on the Internet – that “private” button is easy to miss, but it’s vital when you’re giving out personally identifying information in an invitation!

Creative Commons License
Watch Your Facebook Invites by Tim Woda is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Filed under Facebook, General, Web 2.0 Tagged with ,

Facebook’s New Video Chat Feature

July 20, 2011 Leave a Comment

Video Chat Comes to Facebook

In an age where everyone has a social networking account and Facebook is the primary mode of communication for people (especially young people,) it was only a matter of time before Facebook introduced the ability to video chat.

Rolled out earlier this month, the new Facebook video chat feature is powered by Skype, which has enabled users to make free video calls since 2003. Facebook video chat allows you to connect to anyone on your “friends” list right from your Facebook account, and if they’re not there you can leave them a video message.

All it requires is a webcam and a simple plug in installation, and you can be chatting away with anyone you choose in no time.

This is a cool, exciting feature. Now your kids can keep in touch with friends who’ve moved away as if they still lived next door to each other. They can call home from college without paying long-distance charges – and since they’re already on Facebook anyway, they may be more likely to stay in touch.

However, as with any new technology Facebook video chat is subject to the obvious forms of abuse. Adding a video feature to the social network where your children and their peers already hang out opens the door for ramped-up video sexting (instead of just pictures) or your child becoming a target of even more in-your-face cyberbullying or sexual harassment.

Ask your teen today if they know about or are interested in Facebook video chat, and whether their friends use it. Talk about your expected guidelines for use of this feature before it becomes an issue, and as always, monitor their use on a regular basis.

Creative Commons License
Facebook’s New Video Chat Feature by Tim Woda is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Filed under Facebook, Video, Web 2.0 Tagged with , ,

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