Cyberbullying

Scarlett Lewis, mother of a student killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, has developed a free program that seeks to promote social and emotional learning and safety in schools and reduce bullying. Lewis says the Choose Love Enrichment Program is designed to bolster resiliency and other skills in students.

Although Cyberbullying is a topic is written about extensively, it never hurts to review steps to protect your children. In a blog post on the Today Show’s parenting site, some basics are covered such as talking to your kids about cyberbullying, setting rules for and keeping track of your children’s online activities, finding reliable security software, reminding kids to save evidence of online harassment and reviewing the rules of netiquette.

Are students' personal cellphones and devices subject to searches at school? That's the question some states are beginning to address with legislation, writes Ariel Fox Johnson, senior counsel for policy and privacy at Common Sense Media, who urges school leaders to provide clarity on policies regarding students' devices. While the Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that police need a warrant to search a cell phone, there has been a little more leeway when it comes to schools. If a student, parent or teacher were to challenge a search, the court must consider why the search was undertaken and if the search’s scope was reasonably related to the circumstances that led to the search in the first place. For example, if a student has video of a disagreement between a student and a teacher in a classroom, it would not be reasonable for a search to be done of all the e-mails on the child’s phone, whereas a search of other videos might be warranted. Do you know what your state’s or district’s policies are on searching students’ digital devices?

The number of 12- to 18-year-olds who report being bullied has declined, according to the federal School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Data shows that 20.8% reported being bulled in 2015, down from 31.7% in 2007. The survey covers bullying that takes place in schools, on school property, on a school bus, or going to or from school, and it defines bullying by students who report:

• being made fun of, called names or insulted
• being the subject of rumors
• being threatened with harm
• being pushed, shoved, tripped or spit on
• being pressured into doing things they did not want to do
• being excluded from activities on purpose
• having had property destroyed on purpose

Students were also asked whether they're bullied based on their race, religion, ethnic background or national origin, disability, gender or sexual orientation, which researchers documented as hate-related speech. The reported drops come as schools have increased their focus on bullying prevention and focused more intentionally on what's known as social and emotional learning in an effort to improve school climate. It should be noted that this survey was done before the 2016 election and the bump in bullying that many educators have reported anecdotally.

Survivors of the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting are using their voices on Twitter to advocate for gun-control measures -- a move that has garnered some negative attention and criticism, including threats. In a recent interview in The Washington Post, the students share how they are coping with the spotlight and fighting back against "trolls." The interview is an interesting view into what your kids can come up against when online.

You probably think you know the different forms of cyberbullying that take place – including kids making comments on photos or tweets that shame and humiliate the poster, and even getting “friends” to gang up and do the same. But kids have gotten wise to the fact that these direct attacks are easy for parents, teachers and administrators to find and use as proof for disciplinary action. Now cyberbullies are getting more subtle.

Subtweeting (as it is called on Twitter) and vaguebooking (on Facebook) are the Internet equivalent of talking about people behind their backs in the digital world. In this new form of cyberbullying, teens reference a person or an issue without mentioning any names. Instead of being confrontational or direct with someone, subtweets and vaguebooking allow people to put nasty comments out there in a sneakier way. Their tweets and posts online are like the whispers in the school hallways that make up the rumor mill.

What makes this so dangerous is that everyone involved knows exactly whom the tweets and posts are referencing, yet no one outside of the school or a circle of friends would have any idea who they are about. Moreover, if confronted, the bullies can deny that the person being hurt was ever truly the recipient of the harsh words. This, of course, adds to the sticky situation that parents, teachers and administrators often find themselves in when dealing with cyberbullies in the first place.

There’s a debate happening around the country about whether schools should be required to tell parents about bullying. At least eight states already have laws requiring notification, however some LBGT advocates argue that schools could be put in the position of outing a student to their parents. In New York State, Jacobe’s Law is a bill that is being pushed by parents of a 12-year-old who committed suicide after repeated bullying, and is possibly close to passage.

About 77% of students between ages 9 and 11 said they have witnessed bullying, and 1 in 5 admits to being a bully, according to a survey commissioned by the Cartoon Network, and reported on by National Public Radio. Students overwhelmingly reported that the adults in their families model good behavior, while only 14 percent strongly agreed that our nation's leaders model how to treat people with kindness. While this survey’s findings are much in line with others on similar topics, it does stand out for drawing attention to the small positive acts that can make a powerful difference in a child's life. More than 8 out of 10 kids surveyed said it would help kids to be kinder if they all had a person in their lives who really cared and listened.

The latest online attacks against the teen survivors of the Parkland shooting is a good case study on how this happens and how quickly it occurs. An article in The Washington Post entitled We studied thousands of anonymous posts about the Parkland attack – and found a conspiracy in the making outlines the part that anonymous social media forums play in the process. It’s a primer on how misinformation is created on purpose, endures endlessly, and the havoc that it plays in lives of those who are targeted.

As an answer to the problem of technology addiction and not enough just plain old “face time,” school resource officers in the Hamilton Heights School Corporation in Indiana have created technology-free rooms in the middle and elementary schools.

The rooms were made available by the district following concerns about the social and emotional effect of screen time on young people and made available to students for 30 or 40 minutes during the day as a reward. Once they arrive at the room, kids have a chance to play board games, Jenga and foosball –all for some downtime with face time possibilities.