The week my 7th graders turned into a mob over a missing Chromebook

Last Tuesday, one kid’s Chromebook went missing from class and within 20 minutes, half my students were accusing each other on social media. I called admin and we spent two days pulling hallway footage to find out another student had grabbed it by mistake after lunch. Turned out the kid who took it just tossed it in a random locker because he was running late. That whole week got derailed by gossip and false accusations. Has anyone else seen a small school rumor spiral way out of control like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

anthony7632d ago

Man I’ve been through almost this exact thing with my own students. After the third time some rumor about theft spiraled into a whole day of drama, I just started making kids check in their devices with me before lunch. Takes two minutes and saves me hours of pulling camera footage. Also had to sit my class down and explain that if you don't see someone take something yourself, keep your mouth shut about who did it.

paige1662d ago

Make kids check in their devices" feels like punishing everyone for one kid's mistake.

brooket432d ago

Kids can turn into a little mob faster than you'd think. A rumor like that spreads through the whole school before you even know what happened. That missing Chromebook story sounds like a lot of wasted time and hurt feelings for everyone involved.