Professional Reading #8

Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray by Jan Hoffman

Schools have always seen bullying and worked to stop it. But now bullying can be taken to a higher level with social network site like Facebook or through email or even texting. Schools are hard pressed to know what their role in all of this is. Online bullying brings up a number of questions for schools, such as; if the bullying occurs off campus and/or not during school hours should the school be involved? And how can/should schools find the balance between bullying and freedom of speech?

But it is not just the schools that are confused. “Judges are flummoxed, too, as they wrestle with new questions about protections on student speech and school searches. Can a student be suspended for posting a video on YouTube that cruelly demeans another student? Can a principal search a cellphone, much like a locker or a backpack?” The rulings that have occurred thus far have been contradictory. This is an issue that is just starting to be explored and patrolled by law.

Junior High is a tough time to be relying so much on only words – email, Facebook, texting. “Because students prefer to use their phones for texting rather than talking, they often miss cues about tone of voice. Misunderstandings proliferate: a crass joke can read as a withering attack; did that text have a buried subtext?” Conversations solely taking place through the written word can be very difficult and now add to the fact that these conversations are taking place between tweens or teenagers where communicating appropriately is already difficult and it is a recipe for trouble.

Bullying can be very damaging to a young person’s self image, but online bullying is so much worse. The bullying is written down where it can be viewed again and again. Online bullying can also reach more people at a much faster speed. In an ideal world, people would be kind and compassionate with each other. Until then schools are stuck in a difficult position.