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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To 'guide' teacher towards better internet safety?

126 replies

musicmaiden · 17/10/2017 13:50

DS8 has a newly qualified teacher for his form this year. We have not met her properly yet – the parents' evening is this week. DS has been having ICT lessons, including a focus on internet safety, this half term. He came back from school recently and asked DH why he needed so many passwords for the internet, as 'X said she is a bit rubbish with passwords so has the same one for everything which is easier'.

Now, of course, this was a throwaway comment, probably meant to be a bit jokey and self-effacing, but clearly DS had picked up on it. DH works in the tech industry and is shit-hot at this stuff so wasn't too impressed. He is now planning to take a sheet of info on password protection into the parents' evening to give to her and explain why she needs to vary her passwords and why it's not great to say what she did.

DH is very lovely and kind, and won't be trying to make her feel bad or anything, but AIBU to be nervous that she'll probably still be embarrassed and it'll chalk us up as 'those parents'? Or am I being a wuss and it's actually just constructive feedback?

OP posts:
psychomath · 17/10/2017 17:46

One strong password - a long series of dictionary words like CorrectHorseBatteryStaple (Google it) is better than lots of different passwords.

If we're taking advice from xkcd, I prefer this one

Mimsy123 · 17/10/2017 17:51

Please tell him not to do that, the teacher could take it out on your son. She probably won't, but there are vindictive people in every type of job.

WineAndTiramisu · 17/10/2017 17:53

I'm surprised so many of you are ok with what the teacher said, if she says what your dc said, it is wrong and misleading to the children. They take what teachers say as correct, and it's dangerous to use the same passwords for everything. This shouldn't even be suggested as an option in a lesson on internet safety!

Appuskidu · 17/10/2017 17:57

Maybe if the NQT is lucky, there will also be a parent who is 'shit hot' at music and can sit her down at parents evening and give her a few tips at singing and another who is shit hot at english who can run through subordinate clauses with her.

In fact, lots of parents probably think they are amazingly good at something-so they can all grace this lucky teacher with their fonts of information!

What a lucky teacher she is-I am sure she will be so pleased.

PurpleMinionMummy · 17/10/2017 18:02

I think the fact she said she's a bit rubbish with passwords shows she wasn't teaching kids it's fine to have the same one for everything.

How many 8 year olds have passwords anyway? The only ones mine have are for school stuff where school generate and give them password anyway. Most accounts will be set up at home, with parents, who are the most effective people to start teaching about passwords.

KittyVonCatsington · 17/10/2017 18:08

I've never come across an ICT teacher with a qualification in the subject...

I'm very surprised that you know so many colleague's exact degrees. I do concur that there have been staff who didn't, as it was a reasonably new subject in the 1990s but unlikely that a new NQT currently teaching it doesn't (wouldn't be allowed to train without it) as it is no longer ICT but Computing now.

I have a degree in Computer Science by the way, so some of us do! Grin

Ttbb · 17/10/2017 18:12

That is just a twaty thing to do. If you want you you can casually mention that your DS has picked it up and that it teaches children bad habits so you don't want to hear that she's said Tay again but don't give her a lecture about it.

ProfessorCat · 17/10/2017 18:27

If she's an NQT, she will have had extensive, recent training in internet safety.

If a parent tried to Mansplain this to me, I'm afraid I would have to womansplain that 8 year olds say a lot of things that get skewed or haven't actually happened.

He is one of "those parents".

Gobbolinothewitchscat · 17/10/2017 18:40

The most we know is that she has stated a fact - she uses the same password. Nowhere in any of your posts does it say that she advised the class to do the same

PerfumeIsAMessage · 17/10/2017 18:48

LateDad- a formal letter? Give over you prat.

Papafran · 17/10/2017 18:54

Oh fgs surely if she has the same passwords for everything, that's her problem if she gets hacked or whatever you think will happen to her. It's hardly a matter of supreme importance is it?

TiesThatBindMe · 17/10/2017 18:55

Why are men such fucking eejits?

TiesThatBindMe · 17/10/2017 18:57

Basically OP, it sounds to me like your DH has one teeny tiny area of 'expertise'. Passwords. What a fucking load he shit. My sister is a teacher and I feel so so sorry for her.

Taylor22 · 17/10/2017 18:59

If your husband does this then he is a twat.

And I'd be so embarrassed to do the school pick up knowing that the teacher knows I'm married to a twat and that probably every other teacher in the school know I'm married to a twat.

HidingBehindTheWallpaper · 17/10/2017 18:59

Compare with "I am a bit rubbish looking both ways crossing the road, so I just march straight across."

Compare with writing a sentence on the board and forgetting the capital, misspelling something and leaving out a speech mark to allow the children to spot your mistakes.
Unless you were in the room you don’t know what was said.

I would hope that if the teacher did receive this document that she would grade it and send it back.

ProfessorCat · 17/10/2017 19:05

It often makes me wonder if parents consider what will be said about them when they do things like this. The staff room is a very enlightening (and often hilarious) place sometimes Grin

TiesThatBindMe · 17/10/2017 19:09

Does the twit actually think he is going to reform this 'newly qualified' teacher's behaviour? Like really? Does he think he's that important? Seriously? Like she will be enlightened by his informative sheet which she has probably read multiple versions of?

Calmanrose · 17/10/2017 19:11

Oh please do... it'll give the staffroom a right laugh.

I always always love it when some arse of a parent tries to tell me all about Shakespeare because they once watched a film. Or the ones who read a book once and it makes them an expert. 😑

TiesThatBindMe · 17/10/2017 19:11

And for the record I have a pretty much standard password I use to cover all bases. Nobody could guess it or hack it, so it doesn't actually matter that I use it across a few websites.

Mimsy123 · 17/10/2017 19:18

Nobody could guess it or hack it

That really is quite a claim.

Oysterbabe · 17/10/2017 19:20

Yeah he'd look like a massive bellend.

TiesThatBindMe · 17/10/2017 19:38

You want to try to guess or hack it Mimsy ? Knock yourself out.

TiesThatBindMe · 17/10/2017 19:40

My bank account has two levels of authentication. My email account that receives password resets has a different password to the one I use on everything else. I'm pretty safe I think.

chugging · 17/10/2017 19:42

Omg. Blush I'm embarrassed for you. Imagine taking a factsheet in to lecture a teacher based on a throwaway comment, interpreted and repeated by a child.

Also LOL at parents evenings being used to educate the teacher.

Good luck OP!

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