Teachers on social media – the dos and don’ts
2018 – everyone is online students, teachers and parents In light of recent news that one in three teachers have reported derogatory comments posted about them on social media from parents and children, the discussion around student and teacher communication practices is becoming increasingly vital. The interaction with teachers on social media raises a lot of questions: Is there a need for out-of-school hours communication? If so, what channels should they be using? Do teachers need to be more careful about revealing their identities on social media? First and foremost, we need to be clear that teachers are just as at risk from cyberbullying as anyone else in a public facing role. People can be surprised that teachers fall victim to online hate but, as students (and parents) become more and more social media savvy, some can feel empowered to make negative comments about their teachers online under the guise of anonymity. How to get the right balance Context rather than content Every school has a policy, but sometimes it can be difficult to follow especially when social media is such a natural habitat and part of everyday communication. Students in particular see social media as their communication channel of choice and recognise few boundaries in the nature and purpose of messages used on these platforms. A student with a question about their homework may think they’ll get a quicker response sending you a DM, but anything deemed to be personal (i.e. outside official school channels such as work email addresses for example) takes the conversation away from a safe transparent place; regardless of the topic of conversation, it is the channel that makes it inappropriate. Ideally, your school should have a communication platform that allows appropriate and transparent communication, so students and parents don’t feel the need to approach you on social media, and you have somewhere to drive the conversation towards if they do. If you do find yourself being contacted on your social channels, let them know about the school policy and how it would be best to speak to you. That way, they will understand it’s not you being unfriendly, but a matter of protocol. Fake names and pictures Although everyone has the right to their own personal profile, if you use your full name and have a photo of you on your profile it will make it easy for students and parents to find you. Consider using an anagram of your name and a scenic photo for your main picture. Check your Facebook settings – you are sometimes searchable by your email address or phone number. Facebook regularly change their algorithms so stay on top of your privacy settings and visibility. It is important that you have a clear separation between your personal and professional digital footprints. Your profile Before you feel overwhelmed at having to watch your every move on social media, most professions now warn of the dangers of showing too much online as being harmful to job applications or promotions. As a teacher you are a source of fascination for students who only ever know you in your teacher role. Your public profile should show minimal information. If there’s nothing to look at, there’s nothing for students to gossip about, and there’s less incentive to add you as a friend. New social media When we think of teachers and social media, the problem traditionally lies with Facebook. Not any more. Snapchat, the darling social platform of Generation Z, is a huge no-no when it comes to interacting with students – with messages and images that disappear, it can look suspicious to parents and senior staff that any communication has taken place at all. It’s the same with WhatsApp, with its encrypted messaging system, allowing complete privacy of conversation. Ignore any messages from students on these platforms and bring it back to real-world communication. Good communication Despite the risks, controversy and sensitivities, it’s important to remember the advantages to developing good communication with your students and their parents when done so appropriately. Respecting the feedback loop between parents, students and teachers is not only a good idea, it’s essential to the happy and successful progress of the student’s education – just as long as it’s done in the right way and using the right channels. “If you invest the time earlier to create structure and process around communication, planning, and goal-setting, you can prevent missteps before they occur.” Christine Tsai By Rob Eastment, Head of Learning, Firefly
Schools battling negative & offensive comments from parents online
In the run-up to Anti-Bullying Week, new data shows that at least 11,300[1] <#_ftn1> school leaders across the country have received negative or offensive comments on social media against themselves, their school or their staff. While cyberbullying among pupils remains a significant concern[2] <#_ftn2> , findings released today by The Key, the organisation that provides leadership and management support to schools, reveal that school leaders are facing their own set of issues on social media – often at the hands of pupils’ parents. Leaders in more than half (56%) of mainstream schools across England said they had encountered negative or offensive comments on social media from children’s parents over the past year, and almost two in 10 (15%) said they’d been the victim of cyberbullying during their career. Personal insults, grievances and potentially libellous remarks are among the types of comments[3] <#_ftn3> that school staff reportedly face from parents via social media sites, like Facebook. One primary headteacher told The Key: “Social media is a massive concern for schools to deal with. Negative and inaccurate comments that would never be said face-to-face are often posted by parents online, and most of the time the school is unaware of these.” Similarly, another school leader said: “Most of the posting occurs outside of school, making it difficult to police or control.” The Key’s survey of more than 1,000 school leaders found that issues were more prevalent at a primary level, with almost six in 10 (59%) saying they’ve had to deal with parents’ negative posts on social media, in comparison to almost half (46%) of secondary school leaders. Speaking about the findings, Fergal Roche, CEO of The Key, said: “Social media is becoming a more and more prominent and influential part of everyday life, and schools are having to adapt quickly to the many new challenges, and opportunities, it brings. “Inaccurate or offensive comments are not only upsetting for those individuals involved, but at a time when schools are increasingly having to market themselves to attract pupils and staff, such public and negative remarks can have a detrimental impact on their reputation.” Schools are using a variety of approaches to support and manage engagement with parents and their wider communities online. Some, for example, are incorporating parent/carer codes of conduct into school policies to set expectations around the use of social media.Others ask parents and carers to refrain from discussing the business of school or children attending school in any public forum, while many request that complaints are made via official school channels rather than social networking sites. Fergal Roche continues: “Schools take complaints seriously, and have formal processes to ensure that any issues are resolved quickly and with pupils’ interests at the fore. Nevertheless, it’s important that schools recognise the potential risks of social media. Building strong, two-way relationships with parents and carers, and having procedures that are clear and mutually beneficial, helps to ensure that everyone feels part of an inclusive community where concerns are aired constructively.” Dr Kathryn Weston, Director at Keystone Aspire and parental engagement expert, said: “The best research evidence tells us that if schools engage with parents in an effective and meaningful way, the benefits for children and their learning outcomes can be substantial. Good two-way communication between parents and schools is fundamental to developing positive relationships. Social media can play a significant role in nurturing this relationship.” One headteacher who has seen the rewards of using social media as a way to engage with parents, explained: “Social media has been an overwhelming force for good in our school. We use it to broadcast all the exciting activities that are going on in a moment-to-moment way – meaning parents are able to connect with school activities far more easily than in the past. “Parents think that it has contributed to a feel-good atmosphere throughout the school and report that they enjoy having something they can ask children about when they get home.” To view the online release follow: www.thekeysupport.com/parents_online_comments-release For more guidance on how schools can respond to negative comments online, please follow: http://key.sc/dealing_with_parents_online_comments For information on how to engage and communicate with parents effectively, please see: https://cpd.thekeysupport.com/parental-engagement