It takes a village to protect student well-being in the digital age

Key points:

The school used to focus on the “Three Rs”: reading, writing and arithmetic. And while these remain fundamental to education, there is now a fourth pillar of knowledge that school districts must impart to their students: how to navigate today's connected, digitally enabled world.

Unfortunately, collectively, as a society, we are on the verge of failing the most vulnerable members of our communities: our children.

Our schools and communities need to increase the conversation about student well-being and embrace the fact that we are facing a deepening mental health crisis among children. Consider the following grim statistics:

• Suicide is the third leading cause of death among high school-aged youth ages 14 to 18. In 2021, the suicide rate for that age group was 9.0 per 100,000 residents, accounting for one in five deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
• In 2020, approximately 105,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 18 visited emergency departments for self-harm (CDC).
• In 2019, among children ages 6 to 12, there were 5,485 emergency room or inpatient visits for suicidal thoughts, a 115 percent increase from 2016 (Children's Hospital Association).
• In 2019, one in five (20.2 percent) students reported being bullied (National Center for Education Statistics).
• Between 2017 and 2022, money lost by young adults to scams grew more than 2,000 percent compared to 805 percent for older people, and scams included the influence of social media, online gaming and sextortion (Social Catfish).

Data from recent years is being analyzed. But, as an educator with 24 years of experience in a school district of over 13,000 students, coming out of the pandemic, the hard truth of the matter is that the situation is not improving; It's getting worse.

The double-edged sword of technology

The COVID-19 global pandemic accelerated the adoption of technology in K-12 schools, with most districts implementing a 1:1 technology model in which each student receives their own personal learning device. The new digital classroom has thrown open the doors to vast amounts of information and learning.

It also brought down the dangers of the digital world on children who simply do not have the coping skills developed through life experiences.

“Back then,” our lives as children were framed in the context of our families, our friends, our neighborhoods, and our towns. Remember how we were taught not to talk to strangers and to never, ever get in a car with a stranger?

Now, I'm willing to bet that almost everyone reading this article has used an app to call a stranger and arrange a ride in their car. The world has changed drastically and our children are not immune to it. Today, through connected devices, the entire world provides the contextual backdrop for our children.

Bullying, for example, used to be a fairly isolated situation. One or two bullies may have haunted the school hallways, lunchroom, and playground, but after school, the bullying tended to stop. Nowadays, in our 24/7/365 connected environment, bullying never stops. Plus, it's not just one or two bullies. Rather, the Internet exponentially magnifies bullies, and both children and bullies and adults“dog stacking” in the comment sections of social posts.

As of late 2023, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America reported that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting more than 40 million adults, or 19.1 percent of the population. . These are adults struggling to get ahead in today's world, where they are inundated with digital content 24 hours a day, and much of it is misinformation.

Now, imagine putting that heavy weight on the shoulders of an 11-year-old fifth grader. Adults, even with their life experiences, struggle to cope and many don't know where to turn. How are we helping the most vulnerable: our children?

When it comes to child safety, there may be a tendency to only think about horrific and tragic events like school shootings. But our problems are deeper and broader than that.

It will take a village

Protecting and educating our children is not just a school problem: it is a social problem. It begins at home with parents and guardians and expands to include schools, the community, and government.

Firstly, we should not be afraid to discuss the issues. It can no longer be acceptable for us to be so naïve as to think that mental health decline is unimportant, insignificant or a problem for some other community.

Secondly, parents and guardians must be involved and aware of the needs and well-being of their children. Being a child today is, without a doubt, not the same as being one just a generation ago. Parents need to quickly understand that it is very different.

Third, schools need to work more closely with parents. A new best practice is emerging in monthly technology meetings with parents, showing and educating them about the digital world in which their children live. Even the best-intentioned parents struggle to keep up with the ever-evolving digital environment. School IT professionals can help.

Additionally, schools should continue to integrate lessons into curricula that help students understand widespread risks and dangers and provide them with multiple avenues to seek help and assistance. It is good not to be good; We must eliminate the fear of asking for help.

Additionally, given the proliferation of technology and the deepening mental health crisis, schools must monitor online activity for signs of concern. The technology for student safety and well-being exists, and schools must overcome concerns about resources, workload, liability, and “what ifs”; Failure to do so borders on negligence and abandonment of your duty of care.

Finally, the coalition of school administrators, parents and guardians, and students must pressure local, state, and federal governments to take responsibility and act in creating programs that promote positive mental health. There is a tendency to take reactive measures in the face of problematic cases arising from mental health problems. It is time to adopt a more proactive stance.

taking a step forward

Coping with today's digital world can be difficult. Honestly, as a parent of a 13-year-old and a 7-year-old, there are times when I am terrified of what might happen within the walls of my own home.

As adults, we struggle to assimilate everything we see and hear. But we must remember that our children see and hear the same thing, and without the somewhat repetitive routine of professional work, perhaps even more so. The result is an unprecedented and almost unimaginable burden that until now we expected them to bear without help. Together we need to change that, and the good news is that we can!