cyberbullying

In her article “Cyberbulling: Is there anything schools can do?” Kelley Taylor defines cyberbullying as “the use of Internet technology to inflict emotional harm through repeated and deliberate harassment, threats, and intimidation.” (2008) I think that is a succinct yet comprehensive definition. Cyberbulling is, at bottom, identical to the bullying that children have suffered (and perpetrated) through the ages; the main difference lies in the vehicle used to deliver the message from bully to victim. Fortunately for me, I went through school before the internet and cell phones were in wide use; otherwise, the typical growing-up dramas could have been much more traumatic. It was one thing to have a falling out with a friend, but it would have been quite another to involve a larger group of students in each interpersonal conflict with a touch of a button. One thing the pre-instant-communication age had going for it was a natural cooling off period. Certainly, a kid could call his or her friends to organize a campaign against the new “enemy,” but that took far more time than posting a message in a chat room or sending a group text. Today, it takes almost no time at all to completely terrorize someone using just a cell phone or a computer, which allows children to indulge in their desire to inflict pain (out of retribution or just for “fun”) without having to give it a second thought.

Schools are then left to deal with the fallout. Cybervictims become disengaged, fearful, and possibly suicidal. Cyberbullies can cause disruption and pain with little fear of getting caught. Physical bullies and even emotional bullies who have to ply their trade in person at least have some risk of being discovered in the act by an adult. Cyberbullies are much harder to track because they can be anonymous, they can be numerous (spreading responsibility around a larger population) and they can attack from anywhere. It may be difficult to determine if a student is being cyberbullied unless the victim reports it or an astute teacher or administrator notices something is wrong. Even once a victim is identified, given freedom of speech laws and the limited jurisdiction of schools to enforce behavior, it can be difficult to hold cyberbullies accountable for their actions. Taylor suggests schools establish “a policy that specifically defines cyberbullying and sets forth specific disciplinary action that will result from such behavior could help a principal take action against a cyberbully. Such a policy should contain information about how students and teachers report cyberbulling and how school officials will investigate those reports.” (2008) Such a policy would provide guidance to teachers, administrators and students and assure that there would be remediation once a situation is reported.

In my own classroom, I plan to address cyberbulling in the larger context of class rules. Since my expectations of students include that they be respectful of their classmates, mindful of their speech, and constructive even when disagreeing, it is clear that bullying of any kind – within the classroom or outside of it – would be a violation of our class compact. I plan to discuss examples of inappropriate behavior with the class and be clear about my procedures for dealing with such behavior. Bullying of any kind, inside the classroom or outside the classroom, will be treated as a threat to the victim, the perpetrator(s) and the class as a whole and, as such, will be reported immediately to the school’s administration.

Reference:

Taylor, K.R. (2008) Cyberbulling: Is there anything schools can do? Principal Leadership (High Sch Ed) 8 no9 My 2008