When a student videotaped an onfield fight at a football game between John F. Kennedy and Wheaton high schools and posted it on Facebook this month, the recording instantly wreaked havoc on those involved in the skirmish, as well as on school officials, concerned parents and Kennedy's image as a whole.
"Whoever posted this, that kid didn't know the kind of hell storm that was going to come down," said Kennedy journalism teacher Joanna Greer. "They just thought it was funny."
The incident proves that many students don't realize the consequences of posting their lives — and other's — on Facebook, MySpace and other popular social-media sites, say educators.
But is it up to the school to teach them? That's what's undecided.
Some educators like Greer say yes, the social-media craze must be tackled head-on in countywide curriculum.
"They need to know what the inherent dangers are: that anybody can find that, that anybody can make a bootleg of you. They need to know all of this stuff," Greer said.
But officially, the county school system keeps a hands-off policy when it comes to social-media sites Facebook and MySpace. School computers block the sites, which are seen as something that would "interfere with the school day," said Chris Cram, the Montgomery County Public Schools' operations manager for the Office of Communications and Family Outreach. Social-networking site Twitter and video site YouTube remain accessible, but teachers prohibit their use during class time.
Despite the controls, principals say they battle the effects of social media on the school almost daily.
"If there's two Montgomery County resident students, and there's a problem outside the neighborhood, it's sure to come into your school," said Cedric Boatman, Northwood High School's team leader for security.
Fighting among students is nothing new, but the problem with today's conflicts is that they're exacerbated by postings on Facebook or MySpace, Boatman said. This creates what principals call "a buzz" in the building, distracting students from the school day and in some cases leading to fights or hurt feelings because of what was posted on the Internet.
Many educators have started to dip their toes into the murky waters of addressing social-networking safety .
Last year, Northwood High held an Internet-safety forum in which students broke into groups of 15 to 20 to discuss everything from cyber bullying to social media. They tackled such topics as how to choose what information to put about themselves on the web, and they also pointed out the surprising ease with which a stranger can access that information. They also talked about how using the Web to bully someone can be just as hurtful as doing it in person, said Northwood Principal Intern Myriam Rogers.
Springbrook High School teaches the dangers of cyber bullying and the risks of sending inappropriate information through texting in its computer-science classes. Curriculum in those classes also touches on the peril of e-mail, focusing on how any e-mail a student writes can easily be forwarded to anyone in cyberspace, said Springbrook Principal Debra Mugge.
And Wheaton High opens every school year with an assembly, part of which warns students not to put "anything out there that you might regret later being a part of your history," said Principal Kevin Lowndes.
The new-year assembly doesn't specifically address social media, but the theme is touched on in college visits later in the year, when recruiters warn students to "clean up their Facebook accounts," Lowndes said.
The county also has a department dedicated to cyber bullying. On the department's Web site, various videos illustrate how easy it is to track down information about someone via a harmless web chat room. They also focus on how a teen can get in trouble quickly after meeting someone online and how rumors can be spread just as easily online as in school hallways.
But none of the videos addresses the more popular outlet of social media. And principals differ on how exactly, if at all, they should handle the topic.
Rogers said she'd like to see more standardized curriculum in the form of a year- or semester-long class that's appropriate for each age level, from middle to high school.
Muggee said she's unsure if there is enough curriculum to warrant an entire class. By emphasizing social media and cyber safety in computer-science classes and by informing parents in PTA meetings what the warning signs are of improper Internet use, the school has done its job, she said.
But Kennedy's principal, Thomas Anderson, disagrees. Like others, he addresses social-media safety on a case-by-case basis when two or more students come into his office for allegations of improper postings. But he thinks there needs to be some sort of a comprehensive curriculum instead. Just what, though, is unclear.
"Blocking the sites, it just isn't the answer," he said. "It's really about teaching them on all sides."
Lowndes said creating a social-media policy is difficult, because just defining social media is a challenge. Technology morphs much faster than school policy, he added.
"I don't think anyone anticipated Twitter," he said. "I don't know how we can stay on top of what it's going to be [tomorrow]."
Greer suggested the county form a pilot program in several schools to find the best way to teach it.
For the most part, students agree with their principals and county officials that Facebook and MySpace should be blocked at school. Where someof them differ is on whether they actually need to be taught proper use in school.
"I understand why it's blocked," said 17-year-old Temperance Maupin, who was the one attacked at the football game this month and who says she's very disturbed by the subsequent reaction to the fight circulating on Facebook. "There's so much dirt on it."
Maupin and her journalism classmates at Kennedy High agreed that the student who posted the video needed some education on the consequences of Facebook. School officials can't prove who the culprit is but have had conversations with the suspected students involved, Anderson said.
But not all students are hopeless, the students said.
"We have the common sense to know how to use computers properly," said junior Nimat Traore.
For more on Montgomery county Public School's Internet policy, visit http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd
.org/info/cybersafety/.
