Tortilla Challenge - Behavioral Challenges

Social Media is Contributing to Behavioral Issues in Schools

Everyday all across the country teachers are faced with bad behavior from a few select students. While the vast majority present no significant challenges, a select few are creating issues. Here’s a recent email sent to parents from a teacher at Lakeshore Middle School.

Have you heard of the Tortilla Challenge on Tik Tok? This is where you fill your mouth with water, play Rock-Paper-Scissors and the winner hits the loser in the face with a tortilla. I’m not kidding. Watch this video. 

In recent years Grand Haven High School students were told to take down student-created Instagram accounts that were creating problems at school. The GHHS Bad Parking account featured photos of vehicles that were parked badly. In an attempt to be featured on the page, some students intentionally parked very badly. Another account called GHHS Bathroom Shoes featured photos of student’s feet taken under bathroom stalls. A final noteworthy Instagram account called GHHS Slumped featured photos of kids sleeping in class.

Another recent trend on Tik Tok was called “Diabolical Licks.” This Nationwide Challenge encouraged students to steal items from their schools. Paper towel and soap dispensers were known as commonly stolen items and have been reported to have been taken from Grand Haven. A mirror was allegedly stolen from West Michigan Christian and an entire urinal was allegedly stolen from another west Michigan school.

Danny Duncan is a teenage hero. He sells t-shirts and sweatshirts with phrases like, “I love hot moms”, “I Pee in Pools”, and “Big Dick is Back in Town.”

Danny creates unique content videos which he posts on YouTube. He has over 6 million subscribers and his videos walk the line between practical joke, vandalism, and criminal activity. Here are the titles of a few of his recent videos, “Blindfold Paintball in My House”, “Crashing Golf Carts!”, and “He Wanted to Fight”…. And an example video…. Warning---Language----and entertaining, undesirable behavior.

I guarantee your kids have heard of these accounts and challenges if they attend a public high school. Consuming this type of media is a popular activity on hand-held devices.

The problem is that the more of this type of media they consume, the more difficult time they have discerning the difference between right and wrong. All of these ideas are being presented as entertainment. Where is the line between practical joke, bad idea, vandalism, and crime?

Around 2019, cement was poured into some toilets in the Grand Haven High School. This act of vandalism resulted in long-term bathroom closures and extreme monitoring of bathrooms. More recently, bathrooms at Coastal Community Church in Grand Haven were vandalized during driver’s ed.

Kids are naturally curious and accepting of new ideas. Given these examples it is plausible that there is a direct correlation between social media pranks and the increase in delinquent behavior seen in classrooms.

Teachers are having a difficult time dealing with these behaviors, so schools have added training programs typically recommended and sometimes funded by the state. In Grand Haven, Social Emotional Learning and Trauma Training are two programs that have been introduced as ways to help teachers address these behaviors. Unfortunately, these programs are teaching that students are no longer responsible for their individual actions because their actions are supposedly caused by the ways these students were treated by society.  How can teachers be expected to maintain classroom discipline when SEL techniques validate disruptive student behavior?

Here is a video clip showing Trauma Training that is being implemented in Grand Haven.

Here is a Social Emotional Learning Guide for Parents, from Mom’s for Liberty.

There is no question student behavior issues are on the rise and there is no question that teachers need help addressing these problems. Parents should help by monitoring their children’s media viewing habits and talking with them about it. They should also talk to their children about the differences between right and wrong/pranks, practical jokes, vandalism, and crime. Meanwhile GHAPS should do a thorough evaluation of available programs and select one that has a proven statistical record of success.