LESSON

S.T.A.N.D. Up to Support Others

How can we support others when they experience online harm?

When friends swear them to secrecy in a cyberbullying situation, students face an impossible choice: keep their trust or keep them safe. Help students explore the critical balance between keeping friends' confidence and knowing when to involve trusted adults. Through the STAND framework, students develop practical strategies for offering meaningful support while learning that sometimes true friendship means making difficult choices to ensure safety—even at the risk of temporary friendship strain.

Objectives

Identify signs that a friend might be experiencing cyberbullying or online harm
Understand how to apply the STAND approach to support friends
Practice making decisions about when to alert trusted adults about cyberbullying situations

Vocabulary

Upstander · Trusted Adult · Online Harms

Upstander – someone who takes action to help when they see another person being treated unfairly or unkindly

Trusted Adult – a responsible grown-up you can talk to when you or someone else needs help

Online Harms – negative experiences that can happen to you with technology, like cyberbullying, seeing inappropriate content, or someone sharing your personal information