OK so I didnt over-react .pls make sure y'r kids are safe on the net

[EweSheep]

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[TinyChickenLady]

mom'sfolly :

Most schools have policies against this. This teacher was a blockhead, the vp was ineffectual, and the principal not proactive enough.

I think I would let the other parents in the class know what is going on. They will also make their displeasure known.

At my kid's schools, and in fact for the entire district, ANYONE entering the school must sign in, and wear a badge. Every volunteer must undergo a minimal background check. There is no unsupervised interaction with children. The kids can use school approved links, but the school doesn't use allow computer access with full names. You must opt-in to allow your child's personal information to go out, or even photos. These rules are the norm in public schools.

Do not make a single school's error, or a single teacher's utter boneheadedness into a blanket indictment of public education. Sorry, it just doesn't work that way.

Our school here is similar. The visited websites are limited and supervised. They must have an account also and it does not include their full names, just initals and numbers.
Everyone must sign in at the office when entering the school and visitors usually aren't allowed past the office and main lobby.

What this teacher did was a bonehead move. It should not have happened at all. I believe it could have been an isolated incident and that maybe this teacher was new. I'm not defending her, but merely suggesting that she was undertrained.​

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Our school here is similar. The visited websites are limited and supervised. They must have an account also and it does not include their full names, just initals and numbers.
Everyone must sign in at the office when entering the school and visitors usually aren't allowed past the office and main lobby.

What this teacher did was a bonehead move. It should not have happened at all. I believe it could have been an isolated incident and that maybe this teacher was new. I'm not defending her, but merely suggesting that she was undertrained.

Schools here require parental permssion to access the internet at school, and they have a very explicit and detailed policy for internet security that they provide. A parent MUST give permission or the child is not allowed internet access. User IDs and passwords are a randomly generated jumble of letters and numbers. Cannot get past the office without signing in and wearing a badge. Elementary and middle schools require that you sign out also; high school does not require sign out. School directories require opt-in permission--that is, unless a parent gives permission, NOTHING about the child is listed in the directory.

I agree that the actions of a single teacher, or even a single school should not be an indictment or endorsement for public education. That is the same as saying that a homeschool family who does nothing to educate their children shows that all homeschooling is bad. There are good and bad and everywhere in between public, private and homeschools. I will say that if the administration--vice principal and principal--had supported the parent and not dismissed their concerns, it could simply be an ignorant or inexperienced teacher. BUT, since they showed no concern, and despite the police visit did NOTHING to remove the child's identifying information, the problem in this case is at least school-wide.

Most states, and even the federal government have privacy laws. Chances are pretty high that they were broken in the OP's case, and demanding proscecution or bringing suit might well be the way to get the schools attention. At the very least getting a court order requiring that all identifying student information be removed immediately will grab their attention.

As to whether the other parents know and don't care? Yes, there may be some, but chances are that there are a lot more who simply do not know, and WOULD care.

 

[Dar]

well an update this morning...

I left a voice mail on the superintendent of schools answering service last night and so did the police... the police are still standing behind me 100% the principal has changed her tune a little bit.. she said she spoke with the teacher and was reassured that the children's names were NOT used... I flat out called her a liar and in front of the supt AND the principal, the police officer and the teacher. I called my daughter out of gym and asked her to tell us what her user name and password were to log into this site.... and then I asked her to go get her agenda... there is a piece of paper glued into the front page of her agenda in the teachers handwriting listing the website.. username and password .. the teacher got caught in a lie!.. she claims thats just a user name and nothing more the account is not in the children's names.... (duhhhhh!!!!! whatever)

the police officer informed her (the teacher) that by giving the website my daughters name and school's name to an unknown and unauthorized web site she broke the privacy law AND she could possibly face charges of child endangerment.

I highly doubt she will be charged criminally... there has to be an intent of endangering the child and I know there was not... but this will serve as a strong warning never to enter a childs name into a web page again.

the school is now playing catch up and learning fast about internet safety...

the board is also scrambling to make sure there is in "in-service" training class about internet safety and user names

 

[TinyChickenLady]

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Good for you for not backing down!! They need to be taught these things since they obviously don't have a clue.
I'm glad you're standing your ground and doing what's right.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Good grief. It astonishes me that the school has to have an in-service to teach teachers about internet safety. Where exactly is Guelph, and how big is the rock you live under? My kids get this stuff all the time at school. When I took my kiddo to an internet safety class that the school put on for the parents, he was very unhappy. He said "god mom, they talk about this stuff all the time at school, how stupid do you think I am?"

I have to say, this surprises me. IDIOTS!!

 

[Dar]

let me be clear by saying......

I did NOT do this to make a point.... I did it to show a glaring and dangerous situation the schools are putting these children in everyday by the teachers and administrators NOT knowing squat about internet safety.

last year my son's school did the same sort of thing... he was graduating grade 8 and the school guidance department found out about this great site where a child can enter in their career goals and then the site would tell them what they need to do in order to follow that career path.. fantastic idea... it allows for reflection and career tracking... the problem I had was the school admin used my sons full first and last name to register him... I called the owners of the site and was quickly transferred to the CEO of the company

I told the CEO my concerns and asked if ALL of his staff have had a criminal background check?... I also explained that I am aware that a check will only find the people that have been caught... but thats eh best we can do right now there is no blood test to check for a sexual predator... he agreed we chit chatted for a bit... and ended the call... I called my sons school and asked the school to remove my sons information... a few weeks later.. (about 6 weeks) I got a phone call from the CEO of that company and he informed me that he was really curious with the idea of background checks.. so he made it a reality, the company paid for 150~ checks.. out of the 150, 1 person came back with a charge.. he could not disclose the charge or the person due to privacy issues but he thanked me for opening his eyes...

now FF>> 8 months and I am dealing with the same security issues but with my daughter and another school.... this tells me a few things...

1) WE as parents need to be proactive ALL the time about our child's internet usage... dont just assume that because they are at school they are being safe.

2) parents and school staff alike need to make sure they are educated about internet safety... and I dont mean the 20 minute quick reads online or in womens world mag.

3) We need to be aware of hackers... but we also need to be aware of who's on the INSIDE of these companies/game playing sites... who works there and has full legal access to the information we or the schools give them about our children.

4) just because the company that is in question is on the other side of the country or in my case in ANOTHER country we need to remember that more and more people are working remotely from home... so in reality it could be our friendly guy on the corner who works for this site.. but is also a sexual predator .. we can never allow ourselves or those who we trust to become complacent

 

[StevenW.]

So sorry you are going through this, again.

Almost the same thing happened at my school last year. The teacher wasn't fired because she has been there for more than 10 years so shes a Tenure.

They did get the police involved, but the School board made sure that it wouldn't happen ever again do they got off the hook with a warning. Its also in the Handbook that parents need notice before the teachers sign the students up for anything on the internet.

That same teacher is still at the same school teaching. Makes you wonder sometimes, doesn't it?

 

[redhen]

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[yomama]

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My children have to have a library card to use our local libraries computers. As minors, I have to sign off on that card, and there is an option as to whether I can allow them internet access. I declined that option. I thought it was illegal for people to access porn in public library computers. I'll have to check that out.