Access to smart phones means teenagers of today are subject to
far more avenues for peer group teasing or bullying then we ever were. The
challenge for parents and schools is teaching them how to access the positive
benefits of technology to support their learning and social lives, while sticking
to an acceptable code of conduct for their use. Taking photographs of homework,
diagrams or other teaching resources written on the whiteboard, using Apps as a
teaching resource or using What’s App to get advice from friends while
completing homework, seems a positive change from the days of wrist-ache from
taking copious notes from the blackboard.
Sadly, the news is not all positive. I’ve just had a
conversation with a worried mum whose son had received a couple of nasty text
messages from an un-known mobile number. Though pretty sure it was just one of
his classmates being silly, she was unsure of the best way to prevent it
happening again, without causing tricky on-going issues for him within his peer
group.
My advice was to first contact the school. The tutor or form
teacher is a good place to start, only escalating to the Head if initial conversations
do not resolve the situation. Schools are able to investigate and resolve problems
of this nature within peer groups without causing awkwardness by singling out
any one individual as the victim or perpetrator. They can also make a judgement
as to when to involve the police if investigations indicate things should
escalate to this level. Community based police officers are often happy to go
into schools to talk to groups about the law surrounding social interaction via
technology, helping them to learn responsible use and the possible legal implications
of improper use.
Avoiding parent to parent confrontation is paramount. It’s hard
not to get emotional. The school will keep communication objective and
constructive, whilst also ensuring both sets of parents are fully informed,
reassured that the culprit has understood the error in their ways and the
situation will not arise again.
Our consultants mentor a number of teenagers who are for a whole number of reasons finding life at school tricky.
If you would like to find out more about this service, give us a call on 01865 522066 or email us consultants@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk
For more information about all our education consultancy services for parents, visit our website www.independenteducationconsultants.co.uk
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