More and more local students are now using Facebook to express their dissatisfaction with their lives, especially with their schools and teachers.

Recently, numerous Facebook pages with titles like “Group for people who hate teachers,” or “Group for people who can’t stand teacher A,” have sprouted as mushrooms after rain, attracting thousands of followers with tons of likes and comments.

The groups’ names describe their intentions: the pages are obviously not made to honor teachers.

“Although I have worked as a teacher for years, I was shocked to find that my students were saying bad things about me on Facebook,” a high school teacher in Hanoi shared.

“They used offensive words to talk about my personal life, and even the way I dress was mentioned. I later found out that some students whom I punished were responsible.”

Meanwhile, many teachers said they are becoming acquainted with defamation on the Internet.

“If we spend just a little time surfing the web, it’s not hard to find shocking statements from students about their teachers. Sometimes you have to pretend not to know anything to avoid being hurt,” Hong Mai, a high school teacher in the capital city, said.

On the other hand, students also expressed their discomfort knowing some teachers monitor their comments on Facebook.

“Sometimes our teacher scolds us for what we talked about on Facebook, sometimes for things she’s made up herself. I don’t think it’s a good idea. And the more students feel upset with their teachers, the more they badmouth them on social networks,” Huy Anh, an eleventh-grade student in the capital said.

“Students even give nicknames to teachers. Only students know who they are talking about and there’s no way for teachers to find out.”

Ban it or not?

It is obviously hard to manage the social network among students, but deciding whether or not to ban it is also difficult.

Cao Duc Khoa, principal of Vo Truong Toan Middle School in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1, recalled that the school’s leaders had to remind and request a seventh-grade student not to use social networks to speak ill of his teacher.

At the beginning of 2013, Luong The Vinh High School in Hanoi introduced a regulation forbidding its students from specific actions when using Facebook.

Associate Professor Van Nhu Cuong, principle of the school, said that students not only use Facebook to ridicule teachers, but also to write offensive things about their fellow students.

“Perhaps it began ‘just for fun,’ but making fun of other people on the Internet has led to unfortunate consequences. That’s why I decided to release the regulation. Although numerous students still don’t agree with the rules since they said social networking sites are the place they are free to talk, cyber badmouthing in the school has decreased remarkably,” Assoc. Prof. Cuong said.

However, Luong The Vinh has so far been the only school in Hanoi with official regulations for Facebook usage. In many places, not much attention has been paid to the situation. Some schools’ leaders do not agree that banning Facebook is the best idea.

“My school has also had a tough time with trouble caused by defamation on Facebook,” said Dr. Nguyen Tung Lam, principal of Dinh Tien Hoang High School, located in the capital.

“Although we do not ban them from using the social network, we held a talk to speak with students about what should and should not be done on Facebook. At their age, they cannot estimate the consequences, so our responsibility as adults is to advise them on how to use the Internet in order not to harm other people and even themselves.”

“There is currently no specific regulation on how students use social networks. Facebook is a personal activity of students, so the school can only supervise and help them to use it appropriately,” Tran Khac Huy, head of Student Affairs under the HCMC Department of Education and Training.

“Each school has its own rules to handle Internet defamation. If the case is serious, the department will come up with a solution.”

FACEBOOK TABOOS

(For students at Luong The Vinh High School only)

1. Do not swear or be foul-mouthed, even in short forms like dm, vcl, vl, bts [extremely obscene abbreviations related to the C- and F-words in Vietnamese], etc. Use pure and clear Vietnamese.

2. Do not use Facebook to speak ill of anybody.

3. Only like a status after you have read it carefully. If you like a Facebook status that has bad content, you will be held accountable. So, you should protest or express your viewpoint on those statuses that have bad or unhealthy content.

4. Never let your friends misunderstand your Facebook status. For that reason, write your Facebook status clearly.