The premier said on Monday that the responsibility of parents to model respectful behaviour was greater than ever after two years of the pandemic in which at-home learning triggered worsening student conduct.
Premier Dominic Perrottet and Education Minister Sarah Mitchel meet youth advisory council members Amelia Sedwell,Billy Bofinger and former member Shahim Shabbir (right).Kate Geraghty
“Parents,adults in our society,have an obligation to lead and treat people with respect and the reality is,social media becomes more and more of a cesspit,which is led by adults in the main,” he said.
“As adults we have a responsibility to lead by example. We can hardly expect our kids to respect others on social media when we don’t ourselves.”
Perrottet made the plea to parents as he announced to state,independent and Catholic schools to address poor student behaviour,which has ballooned on social media platforms.
It follows which also involved boys and girls from other schools,in an online private chat room that posted racist and homophobic videos,messages and rantings on violent misogyny.
However,the premier said the strategy to appoint a chief behaviour adviser and more than double the number of behaviour specialists supporting NSW public schools from 70 to 200 was not triggered by a single school or incident.
“This is statewide. We can hardly expect our kids to treat other kids with respect online when adults don’t either,” he said.
“We have an obligation as well,as parents … to set the highest standards possible when it comes to social media engagement.”
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell backed the premier’s comments,questioning the examples set by parents that leave children “thinking it’s OK to behave so appallingly online”.
“The number of teachers or principals who say to me,we can manage issues with devices on school sites but it’s what happens after 3pm and before 8am the next morning,that is actually the issue,” Mitchell said.
“We want parents to be a big part of this … it does come down to that respectful behaviour,giving parents the tools that they need,and actually all working collaboratively across all three school sectors.”
Premier Dominic Perrottet has called on parents and adults to set a better example on social media.Kate Geraghty
Geoff Newcombe,head of the Association of Independent Schools of NSW,said he did not believe student behaviour had worsened considerably in the past 10 years,but that it had been made more visible by social media.
Online platforms foster environments where students seek to “show off”,he said,which meant that schools were witnessing disrespectful or offensive behaviour more than they once did.
In response to scandals such as the Knox Grammar chat room,Newcombe said it was not for the association to defend schools. But he added that such conduct often took place off school grounds,highlighting the shared responsibility of schools and parents.
“We didn’t come out and try and defend our schools. That wasn’t appropriate. But I know there was an[online] firewall at one of the schools … so they’re doing this at home. So,that’s why this is not one sector. It’s all our sectors and our parents.”
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has pledged to ban mobile phone use in public high schools if he wins government at the March election.
On Monday,Minns said it was “the single best initiative” to improve discipline and communication at schools between students and teachers.
The premier said about 70 per cent of public schools already have bans on phones. He added that he does not agree with blanket bans,and that a more nuanced approach could achieve better outcomes.
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