Warning: New Threats as Virtual Education Enters Homes
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a variety of adjustments in the way Americans now live, including the way we shop, dine out, work, and even educate our children. While most of us have had no choice but to adapt to these changes, they have not come without a variety of consequences. With regard to the way our children are educated, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that there are a host of unintended consequences that could adversely affect our children for many years to come.
When the school year began in cities and counties throughout the Commonwealth earlier this month, several of my friends shared with me how the first week of online school went for their kids. Needless to say, there was a lot of frustration for both the parents and the kids with the technological aspects of online schooling, but there were many other problems that school administrators and parents had seemingly not considered – some are beyond alarming.
Videos of Children Available To Anyone
Let me preface this by saying that I am the mother of a 26-year old daughter, and while she was growing up, like most parents, I taught her the importance of using the internet and social media with caution. I stressed that once something is posted onto an internet site, it is “out there” forever – even if it’s deleted, there’s always a way it can be found.
Given the importance that I placed on teaching my child about maintaining privacy while using the internet, I was stunned when I learned that the first assignment in a kindergarten class at a local public school was for the students to create a “Me Bag” with items that described who they were and what they liked. Each student was to make a video presenting the items in the bag to the class and then post the video on the class website. Seems innocent enough right?
Well, here’s the problem: When the videos are uploaded onto the site, all of the children in the class can view them, which means anyone in any of the students’ homes can also see these videos. Additionally, the links to these videos can be copied and sent to ANYONE in the world. Still sound like a harmless assignment?
Well, think about it this way – a five-year-old child is telling strangers all about him/herself including details of exactly what he or she likes most in the world. The vast majority of these videos are made in the homes of the children, which often provides the viewer with an idea as to where the child lives. For a predator, this is a dream come true. Not only can he learn how to entice the innocent child into his web, but he can also find clues to help find his next victim! Let me also add, that it is very dangerous to teach a child to be comfortable posting videos of themselves online, and we shouldn’t want our children developing their self-image by posting videos and selfies – as the saying goes, “In a world full of Kardashians, be a Diana.”
No Way To Screen Inappropriate Content
This brings me to the next potential problem with virtual schooling. When students upload their assignments to the virtual classroom, there is no filter or buffer that tests these posts to make certain the content is appropriate. In other words, anything that is posted can be viewed by the students in the class immediately. When I mentioned this to my 80-year old father, his response was, “So what?” So then I gave him the following scenario.
We have all heard stories of young girls and boys sending inappropriate pictures of themselves to others using their phones or computers. Often these pictures are sent between boyfriends and girlfriends, but sometimes they are sent as a joke to friends. Given the propensity of teenagers to share these types of images over the internet, often for no other reason than to shock the recipient or for the sender to garner attention, it is only a matter of time before the online classroom becomes a forum for this kind of mischief.
In fact, when school went online in March at the beginning of COVID, a security oversight in Fairfax County’s school system led to inappropriate remarks, pornographic images, and racist slurs blasting across the screens of unsuspecting students. During the first week of the 2020-2021 school year, students in Warren County posted pornographic videos to the virtual classroom, and once again, many innocent students opened these links. I highly doubt these were the only such incidents, and it’s only a matter of time until more students are subjected to this type of harassment.
Keep in mind, that once a photo like this is downloaded onto another student’s electronic device, based on the law in Virginia, that student is in possession of child pornography and can be charged with a class 6 felony. Now, I know many of you are thinking this is a stretch, but there are current cases in counties throughout the Shenandoah Valley where minors have been charged with this crime because they have sexually explicit pictures of their underage girlfriends. The majority of these cases allow the “offender” to enter a treatment program and, upon completion, the charges are dropped, but just think of the damage that this causes to everyone involved – emotionally, mentally, and financially. There has to be some way to have the posts checked before they can be viewed by the rest of the class. Otherwise, these schools are courting disaster.
Spying and Snooping
I’m sure there are some who think I am being an alarmist and that virtual schooling is benign. But keep in mind, the venue and method for teaching is now different, but the rules that govern each school district are still the same – or are they?
All schools have dress codes that delineate what attire is acceptable for students to wear TO SCHOOL each day. Since students are in their homes while attending school, does this mean they still have to abide by the same dress code? From what I’ve read and been told by friends, a lot of kids aren’t even getting out of their pajamas in the morning. So, what does this mean for the other rules that are listed in the school handbooks?
Last month, in Colorado Springs, a 12-year old boy, Isaiah Elliott, was suspended for being seen holding a TOY Nerf gun, which was painted black and green with “Zombie Hunter” on the side, during an online class. A spokesman for the school district said they handled the situation as though Isaiah had shown up at school with a real gun – even though this was completely within the confines of the Elliott home! It’s also interesting to note that this school district had footage of the incident because they were recording the virtual classes – without the knowledge of any of the parents. That’s right, folks, the schools have the ability to record your children in the privacy of your home, AND they don’t think you have the right to know about it, let alone object!
Sadly, what happened to Isaiah isn’t an isolated incident. In June, a fifth-grader from Baltimore County, Maryland got a visit from the police after his teacher reported that, while on a zoom call, she saw a “scary-looking gun” hanging from the boy’s bedroom wall. Turns out, what she saw was a Red Ryder BB gun and another BB gun – you read that right, the same scary BB gun from “You’ll shoot your eye out” A Christmas Story.
Security Breaches
Online schooling has also suffered hiccups due to an increase in ransomware attacks. Since the end of July, at least 16 school districts across the United States have been hit with a barrage of ransomware attacks. These security breaches have left school administrators and teachers without access to student information that was stored on their computers including schedules, email addresses, and phone numbers.
On September 11, Fairfax County Public Schools revealed that they had been the victim of a ransomware attack, and private information from the school district had been stolen and published by the offenders. The Athens Independent School District in East Texas was hit with a ransomware scam just days before classes were to start forcing school officials to delay the start of school for a week. The cyber-offenders demanded $50,000 in ransom to release the information. With students and teachers taking home school laptops, the introduction of malware by criminals becomes easier.
A Little Common Sense Goes A Long Way
When I reflect on issues like this, I often think about my mom who passed away in March 2008. She was truly a remarkable woman – strong, intelligent, kind, compassionate, and loving. One of her most notable traits, though, was her common sense. Not only did she exercise sound practical judgment and always strive to do the “right” thing, she also had a knack for always seeing things as they really were and not as we imagine they should be. As for online schooling, a little common sense could go a very long way.
It’s time for the schools to open their doors and allow students to receive the education that our tax dollars pay for. It’s time for teachers to decide whether they want to find a new profession or teach the kids in a real live classroom. It’s time for parents of adolescents to recognize the real and foreseeable dangers associated with having their kids posting pictures and videos of themselves online. It’s time for all of us to stand up to leftist radicals who target families like the Elliotts for simply allowing their kid to do what kids do, like owning a BB gun. If ever there was both a time and an opportunity for parents to take greater control over their children’s education, it is now.
