Parenting highlighted after porn in online classes

Tobago East MP Ayanna Webster-Roy  -
Tobago East MP Ayanna Webster-Roy -

KINNESHA GEORGE-HARRY

The THA Education Division and the Tobago division of the police Child Protection Unit (CPU) are investigating an incident in which pornographic material was allegedly shared during an online class.

In a press release on Friday, the division strongly condemned the behaviour of students who disrupt online classes.

The release said that from reports received and information posted on social media, it appears students have been interrupting e-learning sessions by posting pornographic pictures and playing offensive music, distracting teachers and other students.

“The commendable and tireless efforts of our teachers, who ensure that our students continue to be taught during this unprecedented period of the covid19 pandemic, must be supported with strong parental supervision and guidance. Parents and guardians must exercise their responsibility and do all in their power to minimise opportunities for students to access undesirable websites,” it read.

The release added that through the School Supervision Unit, the division is investigating these matters, and will provide the appropriate guidance and counselling to students who share inappropriate content, as well as to students who were exposed.

Newsday was told that on Thursday, an online class facilitated by a Bishop’s High School teacher came to a premature end, having been interrupted after pornographic material was allegedly shared while the class was in progress.

The issue was first raised by Tobago East MP Ayanna Webster-Roy, who took to social media to express her frustration over the incident, as her daughter was part of the class.

“Some parents need to get a grip of their children," she wrote. "My daughters have both experienced interrupted online classes because some child either putting up pornography on the shared screen or playing hard porn movies in the background so that the entire classroom is disrupted! I don't know about some of you all parents, but you see me, I want my children to learn eh! For goodness sake, teach your children that the rights some of them demand have equally important and corresponding responsibilities! Please check up yuh pickney dem!”

Newsday was told that a female Bishop’s High School teacher was conducting an online math class using Zoom, with some 25-30 students from various second-form classes, when the incident happened 30 minutes in.

The source said one of the participants, using the screen name “Child of God,” reportedly began playing pornography. The teacher stopped the lesson and muted all microphones and cameras before appealing to the individual to be “respectful.”

It is understood that after the student allegedly shared the pornographic material, the teacher then tried to resume the math class. But the student allegedly repeated the act and began cussing the teacher. This led to the teacher ending the session abruptly.

In response, TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Tobago officer Bradon Roberts described the incident as unfortunate. He empathised with the teacher as well as the students and their parents who were left “distraught.”

“TTUTA would have advised teachers and would have sent out guidelines on how you can operate on these platforms and safety measures.

"However, parents and students need to have guidelines set at home as to how you can manage these sessions from your home. It is not that it is expected that children would be left with their tablet or their laptops unsupervised for a period of time where such things could be happening,” he said admitting that he had seen some of the clips.

Roberts said incidents like this have been going on for some time and the teacher could not be blamed.

“When you are sharing a screen, you do not have full control or cannot guarantee full control on these platforms...Teachers are supposed to maintain classroom management and it is very difficult to manage a classroom on such platforms,” he said as he called on the parents to provide some kind of supervision to their children.

Webster-Roy said she was disappointed by the incident as she was getting ready to leave home to head to the office for the online Cabinet meeting.

“As usual, I was checking in with my children, who were doing classes online, and I saw my daughter’s face change and I asked her, 'What’s happening?' and then she conveyed what was happening in the classroom.

"I got upset, because that was not the first time that this was happening. It would have happened with one of my other daughters, in one of her private classes. I thought it was my duty, first as a parent and secondly as minister with responsibility for gender and child affairs, to call out parents on the issue,” she said.

The MP said the action highlighted that some parents are not been very vigilant in the home, in terms of observing what was happening with their children while online classes were going on.

“Also, it raised the question about what conversations parents are having with their children, in terms of honesty. What conversations are we having with our children in terms of their rights and responsibility? We say that children have a right to education, and we need to provide education for them even during this pandemic time, but are we communicating with our children on the fact that they also have a responsibility?

"While we must provide opportunities for them to learn, they have a responsibility to learn and to ensure that they create an environment that is conducive not only for themselves but for their other colleagues in the classroom."

She said she had seen a clip of the video.

Webster-Roy said at no time during her social media rant did she call into question the integrity of the institution, the teacher or even the platform used.

“From my discussion with my daughters and with other parents who would have heard what happened, who would have seen what happened, and other persons around, it became evident that it is something that children are doing. It's not something that is being hacked, but children within communities doing it.

“It was only after the incident was posted and the media blew it out in the way they did, that I realised that it happened in other schools, and then when I posted it, other parents started commenting from other schools about what was happening.”

Bishop’s High principal Cindy Ramnarine could not be reached for comment on Friday, as calls to her cellphone went straight to voicemail.

Head of the CPU Dexter Miller said the unit was aware of the incident and had started an investigation.

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