According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 90 percent of children and young people in Germany use WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. In many schools, a chat group is set up for the entire class right at the beginning of the school year. At the Veitshöchheim high school, people have had mixed experiences with the messenger groups.
Lively exchange in the class chat
The chats are not just about homework or sports appointments, says Gunnar Leuner, deputy headmaster at the Veitshöchheim high school. Often it’s just “Hello, how are you?” or “What are you doing?” written in the chat group. This can quickly get out of hand. “There are 500 or 600 reports every day,” says Leuner, sometimes even at three in the morning.
Daniel Wolff, media educator from Grafrath in Upper Bavaria, knows: “Children use WhatsApp for a different reason than adults, namely for fun. One of the most common dialogues in the class chat is: ‘I’m bored’ and then the immediate answer is: ‘Me too ‘Me too, me too.’ And then there is the first funny sticker, and five children are no longer bored.”
Bullying and exclusion in the class chat
The storm of news in the chat groups doesn’t just destroy any concentration. Sometimes the class chat can also turn into a platform for bullying and exclusion.
Gunnar Leuner has already experienced this at the Veitshöchheim high school: “If the children are emotionally stressed or if they have problems with someone, they write it in the group: ‘I have trouble with XY’ or ‘He’s an idiot’. And that’s it Of course, a completely different quality, because this can then lead to exclusion of individual students, to bullying and to discrimination.”
Parents and teachers are clueless
Such escalations can be very stressful for those affected, and the dynamics in a class chat can be difficult to control. Parents and teachers are usually unaware of such incidents. Those affected fear even more insults, others don’t want to be seen as “snitches”. And everyone wants to avoid one thing at all costs: “The biggest concern of all children and young people is: cell phone bans,” says digital coach Daniel Wolff.
Most parents would also trust that their children would confide in them if there were problems in a chat group. “That is a total fallacy,” says Wolff. Most people “fall backwards out of their chair when they look into a class chat for the first time.”
Media scouts as confidants
Gunnar Leuner from Veitshöchheim High School is therefore proud of a special institution at his school: “media scouts” have been trained here for seven years. Leuner had observed that children and young people often turn to classmates who are slightly older than them when they have problems. Pupils were given special training in digital communication and then sent straight to class.
“They usually do a double lesson and try to get into position in a playful way. This gives the children a connection to the media scouts and if there are problems, they can address them directly,” explains Leuner. The media scouts can also involve teachers in critical cases.
Large toolbox “Media Education”
But the media scouts are only part of a comprehensive media education concept at the Veitshöchheim high school. From the fifth grade onwards, there are special school lessons on media education, additional class projects lasting several days on digital topics are carried out, there are clear rules about cell phone use in school, and class chats are moderated.
Regular contact with parents is also part of the program.
