School SafetyProject

Cyberbullying:“The Bully in the Backpack”

Cheryl Lambert

• Now it is a pervasive problem in schools.

• The law has not caught up with the swiftly moving technology.

The term “Cyberbully” did not even exist 10 years ago.

The Issues:• Cyberbullying is becoming a problem at

our school.– Students have not been informed

about respectful digital citizenship.

• Students have not been educated on how to safe guard their own internet activity.

–The school does not have a protocol to handle cyberbullying.

THE VICIOUS CYCLE• Students are reporting cyber-

bullying….• STUDENTS ARE TOLD THAT THE SCHOOL

CANNOT DO ANYTHING AND THEY NEED TO CONTACT THE POLICE• STUDENTS ARE USUALLY TOO AFRAID TO

INVOLVE THE POLICE OR THEIR PARENTS• THERE ARE NO CONSEQUENCES FOR THE

CYBERBULLY AT THE SCHOOL• THE BULLYING CONTINUES AND THEN THE

VICTIM LASHES OUT AT SCHOOL THROUGH PHYSICAL VIOLENCE or TAKES OTHER DRASTIC MEASURES.

How did this happen? MLTI 1-t0-1 Laptop Initiative

• Maine instituted a 1-to-1 laptop program for all students starting in 6th grade.

• This gave students access to their

own laptops with very little training.

• Teachers also have not been trained to help students with their laptops.

Current School Procedures

• Counsel student to block the Cyber-Bully

(do not show how)• Counsel student

to file a report with the police.

Maine State Laws

• There are currently no laws against Cyber-Harassment (Bullying) in the state of Maine although a bill has been “proposed”.

• Legally schools must have a policy in place to prevent harassment (2005) but there is no mention of cyber-harassment, bullying etc.

("National conference of," 2012)

A PROBLEM…

…OF EPIC PROPORTIONS

• “Teens spend on average more than 53 hours a week--or seven hours and 38 minutes a day--on their computers, cell phones, iPods, and video games.”

• “…A 2010 Nielsen report finds that teens on average swap 3,339 texts a month.”

• (Whelan, 2011)

• “42 percent of teens ages 13 to l7 experienced cyberbullying in the previous year.”

• “ Incidents of cyberbullying are higher among females than males and the highest incidences occur in 15and 16-year-old children.”

• “Eighty-one percent of those surveyed state that children cyberbully because they think it is funny, 64 percent don't like the person, 45 percent view the victim as a loser and 46 percent don't think there are consequences for their actions or believe that they will get caught.”

(Lopez, 2011)

Why Not Just Report it?• Why Students do not report incidents:

– Fear that parents will take away computer privileges or stop them from texting and using social networking sites.

– Embarrassed to be victims.

– Try to manage the bullying by themselves “and then find that the situation quickly snowballs, burying them under an avalanche of messages.”

(Lopez, 2011)

They Can’t Escape it…MYTH: Cyberbullying isn't as bad as face-to-face

bullying.

TRUTH: It's possibly worse. When someone bullies you in person, the bullying stops when you're no longer around that person. With cyberbullying, even if you turn off your computer or cell phone, the hurtful messages will be waiting when you turn the device back on.

Cyberbullying victims may experience anxiety, fear, self-esteem issues, or physical symptoms like headaches, stomachaches, or trouble sleeping," O'Keeffe says. Some teens, she adds, feel so hopeless they think they have to take drastic steps to end their pain. (Reece, 2012)

A Not So Easy Solution…

• Mike Donlin, a co-creator of one of the nations first school-wide Anti-Cyberbullying program explains:

“A student can be a victim, a bystander, and a bully in

different moments…Maybe a child was bullied at school this morning, but gets online later and bullies back. Roles shift. Technology gives them tremendous freedom and power to reach out and touch in nearly

every moment, for good or evil.”(Holladay, 2011)

Initial Steps a Student Can Take

1. Most effective way – Ask them to stop!

2. Change Passwords, screen names, email addresses, cell phone numbers.(Anonymous, 2011)

Help & Support at School• We need to educate students on how to

deal with Cyberbullying.• The School and Community needs to

take a united front against Cyberbullying.

• We cannot expect adolescents to deal with this problem on their own.

• Students need to know that school is a safe place and there are people to help them when it comes to ANY form of Harassment including Cyberbullying.

Stepping in the Right Direction

• Protocols need to be created for dealing with Cyberbullying.

• All staff needs to be trained about Cyberbullying.

• A reporting system needs to be instituted for students and staff.

Learn from other schools. “Unlike many programs that address cyberbullying

piecemeal - focusing only on Internet safety skills, for example - the Seattle curriculum attacked the entire problem by using the four most promising prevention practices:* Debunking misperceptions about digital behavior,* Building empathy and understanding,* Teaching online safety skills, and* Equipping young people with strategies to reject digital abuse in their lives.

The Seattle curriculum also recognizes the importance of parental engagement by offering take-home letters and activities. (Holladay, 2011)

We need to do something before one of our

students takes drastic measures to end the cyberbullying in their

life.

We need to do something before it is too late.

You can’t take it back video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy7Tgt0N76A

ReferencesAnonymous, . Cyberbullying Crackdown. (2011, October). Current Events, 111(5), S1. Retrieved

April 6, 2012, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2518553291).

Holladay, J.. (2011, January). CYBERBULLYING. The Education Digest, 76(5), 4-9. Retrieved April 6, 2012, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2218970061).

Whelan, D. . (2011, October). The Bully in the Backpack. School Library Journal, 57(10), 29. Retrieved April 6, 2012, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2471535861).

Lopez, J.. (2011, November). Has the Internet Unleashed: Digital Drama? Momentum, 42(4), 20-23. Retrieved April 6, 2012, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2569017041).

National conference of state legislatures. (2012, March 23). Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/telecom/cyberstalking-and-cyberharassment-laws.aspx

Reece, T.. (2012, January). Cyberbullying 411. Current Health Teens, 38(5), 7-9. Retrieved April 6, 2012, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2549536161).

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