This document discusses cyberbullying on school grounds and ways to stop it. It defines cyberbullying and explains that both online and in-person harassment can negatively impact student safety. Examples are given of cyberbullying behaviors. Motivations for cyberbullying are explored, as well as the impact on students' education and mental health. Efforts by government, schools, and courts to address cyberbullying through policies, Internet monitoring, and legal precedents are summarized.
2. Introduction to Cyber-Bullying
⢠âwhen a child, preteen or teen is tormented,
threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed
or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen
or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital
technologies or mobile phonesâ. (Wiredkids,
Inc)
3. Why is This Important?
⢠Children and teens are harassed
in school on a daily basis with the
use of technology and physical harm
⢠âPersonal interactions between the bully(ies)
and target(s)are occurring at school. It is this
combination of online harm and on-campus
interactions that presents significant concerns
and risks for the safety of the students.â (Willard
2007)
4. Background
⢠Cyber bullying is occurring both within the school environment and
off-campus.
⢠Sometimes students are using the district Internet system â during
school, during afterschool activities, or at home if the district has a
laptop program or allows students to access the district system from
home. Students may also use personal digital devices while at
school, such as cell phones, digital cameras, PDAs, and personal
computers while to engage in cyber bullying.
⢠More frequently, students are engaging in the cyber bullying
activities off-campus â but the harmful impact is being felt at
school.
⢠(Willard 2007)
5. ⢠Safety is a key issue that presents significant
concerns and risks for the safety of the students.
⢠âBecause the original harm is being inflicted off-
campus, responding to the harmful speech
necessarily raises questions about the ability and
responsibility of school officials to address this
concern, as well as issues related to the free
speech rights of students.â (Willard 2007)
6. Example:
⢠Some high school students created a âWe hate
Ashleyâ profile on a popular social networking
profile.
⢠On this âslam bookâ profile, they have posted
cruel andvicious comments about Ashley.
⢠They invite students to send Ashley email
messages telling her how ugly she is and how no
one likes her. (Willard 2007)
7.
8. Why Cyber-Bully
⢠Children and teens who cyber-bully are
motivated by anger, frustration, and revenge.
(Wired Kids Inc)
⢠Entertainment- Get enjoyment from other
peoples pain.
⢠Bordem- causes children and teens to have to
much time on their hands.
9. Impact on K-12 Education
⢠Follows children home
⢠Cause children and teens to develop a low self-
esteem
⢠What kinds of things are going on to stop it
10. Impact on K-12 Education
Impact on Children Impact on Teens
⢠Seclude themselves ⢠Drop out
from others
⢠Suicide
⢠Future juvenile
delinquents
⢠Violent Behaviors
such as:
⢠Do not pay attention in
class ď§ Fighting
ď§ Yelling
⢠Can result in killings ď§ Kill people
11. What is the government doing to stop
cyber-bullying?
12. Dark blue- Law prohibits bullying of students based on sexual orientation and gender identity
Blue- Law prohibits bullying of students based on sexual orientation
Light Blue- School regulation or ethical code for teachers that address bullying of students based
on sexual orientation
Yellow- Law prohibits bullying in school but lists no categories of protection
Red- No statewide law that specifically prohibits bullying in schools
13. The Board of Education expressly prohibits acts of cyber-
bullying at any time by school district pupils that may
impede education through the use of any school district
owned, operated, and supervised technologies. These acts
include:
A. Sending or posting cruel messages or images;
B. Threatening others;
C. Excluding or attempting to exclude others from activities
or organizations;
E. Harassing or intimidating others;
F. Sending angry, rude, or vulgar messages directed at a
person or persons privately or to an online group;
14. G. Sending or posting harmful, untrue, or cruel
statements about a person or persons to others;
H. Pretending to be someone else and sending or
posting material that makes that person look bad or
places that person in potential danger;
I. Sending or posting material about a person that
contains sensitive, private, or embarrassing
information, including forwarding private messages or
images.
(Elizabeth 2008)
15. Court Cases
⢠Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.
- standard allows schools to impose educationally
based restrictions on student speech.
⢠Tinker
16. Conclusion
⢠As educators we need to look for signs of
children in distress.
⢠School systems need to block ways
for students to cyber-bully e.g.:
ď§ Restricted access to the internet
ď§ Monitoring of internet usage
ď§ No cell phones allowed in school
18. References
Elizabeth Public Schools February 21,2008
http://www.elizabeth.k12.nj.us/boardpolicies/Cyber-Bullying%20Policy.pdf
Author: Campagne . 3 May 2009
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:School_bullying_laws_in_the_United_States.svg
Author: Eddie S.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bully_Free_Zone.jpg
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