As Bullies Go Digital, Parents Play Catch-Up
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/us/05bully.html?_r=1
This is an article about cyber bullying. The kids set up a fake facebook page with the name of one of the students they were in school with and made him say all this mean stuff about other students in his school. It was really difficult to figure out who was doing this. The poor student (who wasn't on facebook) was being ostracized for this page.
What can we do to prevent cyber bullying as teachers?
What should be done to the students who are bullying?
Bullying is a tough topic and with the addition and changes in technology it allows bullying to happen almost anonymously. As teachers we need to be available for the students and help talk them through these issues. As to prevent these matters, teachers can educate students on the dangers of bullying and the consequences. When students are caught bullying they should be punished. I think that the punishment should depend on the situation and the severity of the physical or verbal bullying. The students who are doing the bullying should understand the difficulty they have put others through.
ReplyDeleteCyber bullying is very difficult to deal with. I think it's important for us as teachers to always have the students feel that they can talk to us about anything. Sometimes we are the only adult figure they see throughout the day, therefore to an extent we have to act like a parent. I don't think there is a way to "end" bullying especially cyber bullying. With the advancements in technology this makes it extremely difficult to do. As far as what should be done, I feel that of course a punishment should happen. I think that the bully should have to feel some sort of hurt like the kid that was being bullied did. I think it is the only way students understand the harm that they do emotionally to innocent children.
ReplyDeleteCyber bullying is not like the typical bullying and sometimes it's hard to know who the actual bully is. What teachers and schools should do is that teach students about the consequences of cyber bullying. It might not be easy at first but with technology anything is possible even to track the cyber bully. The punishment should be based on how severe the bullying was and what effect did it have on the student being bullied.
ReplyDeleteCyber bullying is a very serious issue in the fact that students who do it can remain utterly anonymous. Preventing it is almost impossible. However, it is an issue that should be addressed in schools. Perhaps it is something that should be addressed school-wide at the start of every year and reinforced throughout the year. If need be, students can be warned about the legal issues of falsifying accounts in another person's name or publicly bashing other students. This comes along with the issue of informing students about being careful about what they put online. They need to know that once they put something on the internet, many people have access to it and can do what they want with it. The question of what should be done to students who cyber bully is a difficult one. While something is done out of school, legally it may not be the school's issue, even though they may feel morally obligated to address it. There is a fine line between what schools can and cannot do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tim that it is a school-wide issue to address cyberbullying. The state of NJ produced a film we showed at the beginning of the year which told the story of a nerdy boy who is cyberbullied and eventually commits suicide. After viewing the film, we held a discussion in homeroom with discussion points provided by the school social worker. It seemed to have a strong affect on the students.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I also witnessed cyberbullying firsthand when I taught 6-8th graders. Three students made a fake MySpace page pretending to be another student. They made it seem as if he was saying racist and anti-semitic things. When the parents of the victim found out, they contacted the Orangeburg Police who confiscated the students' computers and brought the students and the parents to the police station. (The victim's dad was an Orangeburg fire fighter and friendly w/police). The students had to attend a "kiddie court" and were sentenced to community service. I thought that was a very fitting punishment and I bet those kids aren't cyberbullying any more!