Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying Reflection

 

            In the school environment throughout time, bullying has always reared its ugly head. Like it or not most people at some point have either bullied or been bullied. It happens and hopefully you can move on. In society today, cyberbullying is the newest form of torment.  Cyberbullying can include harassing, threatening, and intimidating to name a few, using Internet technology to carry out the act.  Surprising to me, this is a major issue taking place involving our children, which in turn is affecting the overall climate at schools.  This topic is new to me because I don’t really have any cyberbullying experience, given or received.  I am a little older than the kids in this technologically advanced generation.  We used computers, but teasing or bullying took place at school by words or in-person actions.  The only time I can recall any sort of incident; my buddy got into my email account and sent me a message from an ex-girlfriend. I did some investigating and found out it wasn’t real and he did it. Let’s just say it hasn’t happened again.

            One of the major issues schools are facing is where the cyberbullying takes place.  Because a lot of the reported incidents take place from off site or off campus computers or the accounts weren’t created at school, legally they are limited in what they can do.  Individual state laws and school districts anti harassment policies are being re-written to catch up with this newer form of bullying.  If the incident takes place on school grounds or is done using school computers, then the school can punish the perpetrator.  Punishment could include no use of electronic devices, detention, suspension, or even expulsion.  

            Teachers need to be aware and alert to problems arising from cyberbullying and that events could boil over into the classrooms or campuses.  Some signs to look for regarding someone who has experienced bullying could include depression or withdrawal from their group of friends, low self -esteem, and anxiousness.  An example from the “Is There Anything Schools Can Do?” article said a possible sign might be a student receiving a text or email and right after getting very upset or angry.  Some signs may be harder to pin point.  I think what schools can do is re-write their current anti-harassment policies to include in clear terms what Cyberbullying is and what the repercussions are if they take place.  Discuss openly with individuals and classes as a whole what the expectations are regarding school policies and the use of technology in classes can be taken away if positive behavior isn’t present. 

Unfortunately teachers and schools aren’t with these kids 24/7, so no matter what is written into law, educators still are limited at times on what they can do.  Schools can’t regulate all off site technology use.  They don’t have the time, budget, or staff.  We have to encourage not displaying this sort of behavior at school or away, encourage students to tell someone if it happens, save the evidence, and get parents involved.  The parents are the ones who need to be monitoring this even more than the teachers considering the majority of accounts, etc. are created away from school.  Educating parents to know the signs to look for and what steps to take if found could be very helpful.  Then the schools and communities would be working together and hopefully put a stop to these types of acts before someone really gets hurt or worse…