Teaching Today's Students Lessons on Digital Citizenship and Consequences for Cyber Bullying

I’ve always been proud to say that I’m from Palo Alto, California, the heart of Silicon Valley.  I grew up in two blocks from Steve Jobs’ home on a street adjacent to Sand Hill Road, home to numerous venture capital companies that helped fund the dot com boom.  I never really gave it a second thought when I biked by the garage where Hewlett and Packard developed their first computer en route to a friend’s house.  Now when we visit my family, we walk right by Facebook’s headquarters when we head downtown to grab a bento box at our favorite sushi joint.  Yes, I’ve always been proud to say that I’m from Palo Alto because the prestigious technology originating from Silicon Valley has changed our lives but not always for the better.

Imagine my shock to discover that 100 students at my former high school used Facebook to cyber bully another student with mean, cruel, vicious comments that defamed his character through personal attacks. Students launched an online assault through a Facebook group “just for fun.”  No one should ever be subjected to bullying whether in a physical face-to-face altercation or one online.

I am horrified to learn about the behaviors of these students and appalled that nothing more than deactivating their Facebook accounts will be done. Nothing is being done to protect the victim or punish the perpetrators.  The Palo Alto Unified School District says that the students will not be punished because the comments were posted over the weekend and not during school hours.  The victim is truly the victim and it seems like the only consequence for the 100 bullies is to have their Facebook accounts deactivated. The Palo Alto Unified School District should take responsibility for ensuring that its students are responsible digital citizens and make them take accountable for their actions even when off campus outside of school hours like other school systems across the nation have done.

In Montgomery County there are policies outlining acceptable use of computers within the school system.  The User Responsibilities for Computer Systems, Electronic Information, and Network Security is a 10 page document that states that “the responsibility for appropriate behavior rests with all individuals” and goes on to protect against text, graphic, pictorial, or auditory representations that are harmful to students or staff.  The regulation also clearly states that “making statements or actions that are libelous, slanderous, or that harass others” is a clear violation of the guidelines.  Consequences range from a warning and loss of computer privileges to suspension, expulsion, and even criminal prosecution.

Palo Alto is similar to Montgomery County.  Sure, Palo Alto Unified is smaller than Montgomery County having only 2 high schools compared to Montgomery County’s 25, but each school system is highly progressive in terms of the quality of education provided to their students.  Palo Alto and Montgomery County are both award winning school districts who churn out record numbers of National Merit Scholars, outstanding overall test scores, high graduation rate, and rank highly in per pupil spending. Both are well regarded on the national level.

Given these factors, why doesn’t progressive school system like Palo Alto have such a policy in place?  A Google search indicates that cyber bullying has been a problem since 2005 so why won’t it punish the students to send a message that cyber bullying and inappropriate online behavior is not to be tolerated? 

Why does a town located in the heart of Silicon Valley seem so far behind in educating its students about digital citizenship? Becoming a proficient user of technology means acting responsibly and exercising human decency.  A school system should include education about what it means to be a  responsible user of technology as part of its curriculum and have consequences for those who violate the code of conduct.  

While I am extremely grateful for the wonderful education I received when I was a student, I can only hope that the Palo Alto Unified School District will incorporate more curriculum to teach today's students about being responsible digital citizens and create an acceptable computer use policy that will include a no tolerance policy towards cyber bullying.

Original DC Metro Moms post.

Leticia is a Technology Magnet Coordinator for Montgomery County Public Schools, writes about technology resources and issues affecting children at Tech Savvy Mama, and is the City Editor for Being Savvy Washington DC.