As a teacher at a high school, I see first-hand the seriousness of trying to address our students’ cyber-bullying and sexting issues. I find that some students do not have compassion for others. It is like we are living in a world where it is every man for themselves. Students find it too convenient to sit behind a screen and say horrible things about one another or to share a text or picture that was only meant for one person. They think that by simply making a fake account to attack another student is funny and nobody will ever find out that they created the account. They show no empathy towards anyone else’s feelings, which I find scary.
This week’s assignment hit home to me. Although I did not grow up in a time with cyber-bullying, I have three teenagers, which one has special needs, that I constantly worry about. I try to be a positive role model for them and monitor their accounts, but I know I will not find it all. All I can do is hope that if my kids begin having issues, I am quick to catch it and start intervention to stop it before it gets to the point of Ryan Halligan. Ryan Halligan was a thirteen-year-old boy who was not only being bullied in person at school, but being cyber-bullied too. Unfortunately, he did not feel as if he had any other options except to take his own life. My heart aches for him and his family. His father has taken this horrible situation and is trying to prevent the same fate to happening to others. He is an advocate on bullying and has been one of the biggest pushers for the Vermont Bullying Prevention Bill and has also led the law’s passage on mandatory suicide prevention education in public schools. You can read more about Ryan’s Story by clicking the link provided.
I know schools are doing what they can to help with all types of bullying, but I cannot help but feel more can be done. I believe staff should be trained on how to properly recognize signs of bullying early on and try to intervene at the earliest stages. Schools can make safe spaces to help students feel safe in reporting bullying issues either for themselves or others. Schools can have a hotline, an intervention box, or an online form that can be filled out and if a student wants to remain anonymous, they can. I also feel that if we can begin a Digital Citizen Class that is required for all students, this may help. We can teach them how to be responsible and positive citizens in the digital world. Teach them that although they think their digital words are harmless, they are effecting others in negative ways. I also believe that administrators should come together and develop a discipline ladder for offenders.
After this week, I have learned that we need to work with implementing a better system for cyber-bullying. No child should ever feel that the only way out is to take their own life. My heart is breaking for these families that have lost their children and my heart also breaks for those families currently going through these issues.
My Journey with Digital Learning and Leading 