Last week, I created this Instagram reel for parents about the TikTok Licks trend which was contributing to a rise of vandalism in schools. The challenge does not mean that your really awesome and conscientious child is going to suddenly break the law and vandalize the school, but there were lots of instances of vandalism and some kids may have even been “challenged” to do this.
This week, the following list has been revealed both on Twitter and TikTok (and wherever else teens gather):
September: Vandalize school bathrooms
October: Smack a staff member
November: Kiss your friend’s girlfriend at school
December: Deck the halls and show your balls
January: Jab a breast
February: Mess up school signs
March: Make a mess in the courtyard or cafeteria
April: “Grab some eggz” (another stealing challenge or inappropriate touching)
May: Ditch day
June: Flip off in the front office
July: Spray a neighbor’s fence
If I didn’t teach in a high school, I would look at this and be horrified and terrified all at once. And that’s the problem with the media attention some of these challenges are getting. As a high school teacher going on my 28th year of teaching, people always say to me, “Oh my gosh, how can you teach those kids. They must be horrible.” And I tell the truth; for every child that for whatever life experiences have made them mean or rude, there are nine who are empathetic and respectful and awesome. The kids engaging in these pranks are far fewer than the kids who are either perplexed by the whole situation, or like the many kids I know, ignoring it altogether.
Even so, this is a real dilemma for schools isn’t it? To mention the trend on the announcements, may be drawing attention to something that may not actually have hit your community yet. To not mention it or think about how to address the issue proactively can put your school and students in a situation where you are suddenly having to mitigate some real legal issues and/or some traumatic events. All it takes is one student to engage in this behaviour…And so I have set out a few ideas and welcome yours.
Let students Take the Lead
When we had a negative incident several years ago with YikYak (I wrote about it in Social LEADia and blogged about it here) we took to student leaders to help solve the problem. I remember lots of our student leaders having differing ideas about what to do and then coming to a consensus about an action plan. I have often thought about that incident and what we could have done to be proactive. If your school has a digital leadership team or any school leadership teams, it may be a good idea to invite them to think about how to approach the situation BEFORE it becomes a situation. Their insights will be valuable as they have a personal interest in ensuring that the reputation of their school isn’t tarnished.
I love the guest post that Carly Spina wrote for Alice Keeler’s blog, Shifting the TikTok Trend: Students Have the Power! In the lesson, Carly asks students to think about what is trending, how the trend impacts school communities, and what they would like to see trending. What is awesome about this is that it allows kids to empathize, as well as think positively and proactively about the power at their fingertips. Check out the modifiable template and lesson plan.
Design Thinking: Digital Leadership for Good
When I was the keynote speaker at a Digital Leadership Summit in Wisconsin a few years ago, teams of student leaders from across the District worked together using the Design Thinking model to address a concern they had in their school after listening to two keynotes and hearing students share about how they use tech to start not-for profits or make a difference in the world. Many of the students chose to address Fake accounts or cyberbullying and worked on creating a viable solution which they could implement in their schools. The idea was to be proactive and the day was organized around speakers, What I loved is that they approached the dilemmas with ideas like Kindness interventions and ideas for creating pride in the school. Here is the template I used.
Digital Citizenship Week (October 18-22nd)
Why not use Digital Citizenship week as an opportunity to really dive into what it means to be a citizen in online spaces. Common Sense Media has some great resources. Check them out here.
Also, the @GlobalEdSschat (of which I am an adult mentor) is tackling the topic of what it means to be a good citizen during our October 26th panel discussion at 1 pm ET. We are partnering with Media Smarts. Check out the details here.
The questions we are tackling this month are:
- What does digital citizenship mean to you?
- How can you be a positive digital citizen in today’s world?
- What does the hashtag #UseTech4Good mean to you? How do you #UseTech4Good?
- Who do you go to for advice about how to deal with digital dilemmas?
- What is something your school has done/ could have done to help teach and model digital citizenship?
What to share with parents:
I would share the TikTok challenges list and ask them to be aware that it exists, but not necessarily to mention it to their children. I would also invite parents to consider that there are legal implications for kids who do any of the challenges and to anonymously report anything they see that is damaging to their school’s reputation or to any of the staff that work so hard to make learning.
For conversation starters, invite them to follow @RaisingDigitalLeaders on Instagram as I will be sharing about this and other topics there. Also, check out either Social LEADia: Moving Students from Digital Citizenship to Digital Leadership or Raising Digital Leaders for more ideas for how to empower students to use tech for good!
Would love to hear what you are trying or what has been successful at your school!