With today's students having more access to technology in their everyday lives we have encountered a new problem with our children, cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is the new-age form of bullying. This not only is occurring in our schools but it is present in the media where you may hear that some celebrity is suing a company or person for posting inappropriate photos or videos of them. This act of cruelty can wreck havoc on an individuals self-esteem or damage their reputation with their peers. When I was in school I never experienced any sort of cyberbullying or witnessed any of my classmates being affected by this issue. Students at my school said things face-to-face or in the worst case scenario wrote about a person on the bathroom stalls.
This becomes a tricky issue for schools to address. As educators you don't have the ability to monitor what a student does at their home on their own time. Disciplining a student for cyberbullying could be a violation of their rights of speech. If this act is not taking place on school grounds or violating school activities, then this is in the hands of the parents. After reading "Should Schools Regulate Off-Site Online Behavior" I agree with the counterpoint. We shouldn't be expected to control what goes on beyond the walls of the classroom. I agree there must be a reasonable approach to this issue. As teachers we can discuss with our students what appropriate use of technology is and talk about the effects that sites such as Myspace and Facebook can have on others and yourself. We need to focus our attention on learning strategies, after-school programs, and student safety in schools. I believe that this is more of the parents jobs to monitor their child's behavior on the Internet.
As a educator I will pay close attention to any signs of bullying that I see and address it accordingly. I also will make sure that I'm in contact with parents of both parties so they can keep a close watch on their child's behavior and provide what discipline they see fit. If bullying enters the school and affects a students learning then it is up to the teachers and administrators to make sure the problem is resolved. I feel that all parents should be aware of this issue so that they too can protect their child from the cruelty of cyberbullying.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you, that although there is the high chance of bullying being out there and we want to (as teachers and almost as their guardians) to stop it and to protect them, we can only do so much. With this in mind, I do think that although we are with the children for most of the day, most of the year, it is still the parents' responsibility to look after the rules they put on their children at home when it comes to their computers and what is and is not appropriate. Telling them that they can't write something might begin a feud of us inpending on their rights, which is also something I agree with, we don't want to step on any toes or to say something that some kid in class can take to the ehad of the school in stating we were taking way their rights.
ReplyDeleteMaking parents aware is a good strategy to use, because there is only so much we as educators can do. Thanks for the thoughts here.
ReplyDelete