Students need to know that threats against someone’s life have to be taken seriously; that using the words “die” or “kill” is not a joking matter.

I’ve seen kids in face to face interactions make the verbal statement, “I’m going to kill you.” But, I could also tell by their non-verbal behavior; the tone of their voice, their facial expression, their posture, that they were just kidding and it wasn’t a serious threat to someone’s life.

When someone makes this threat online, it’s a different story. It could be real or maybe not…

Six girls were arrested, in January 2011, for their connection with a Facebook invitation to take part in “Attack a Teacher Day” at two schools in Nevada. Students responded to the invite with online threats against specific teachers.Although the six students insisted it was a joke, there was no way to be sure that the 100 students who accepted the invitation wouldn’t take it seriously.

This becomes even more frightening and serious after the recent, January 5, 2011, school shooting in Omaha, Nebraska, where a 17 year old shot the assistant principal and principal before taking his own life.

School violence does happen! Threats cannot be taken lightly!

Many online comments have been protected by the 1st amendment, freedom of speech, but true threats are not protected under the constitution.

We need to use these incidences as teachable moments for our kids about responsible online behavior.