Cyberbullying and the Modern School

Five years ago, most people did not know what cyberbullying was. Before social networking gained widespread popularity, bullying was mostly confined to the playground, but has now spread to spiteful and slanderous comments being left on blogs and social networking profiles  A few well-publicized cases of cyberbullying have resulted in suicide and even murder, causing this issue to become a matter of great public concern.


Although I have never had any experience with cyberbullying, I have observed it happen to other people, and know the emotional damage that it can cause. As time goes on and social networking is integrated into society, teachers will encounter more and more students who have been involved in cyberbullying in some way. Schools are now faced with the need to develop strategies and policies that will help teachers and administrators to deal with these issues.


The biggest obstacle that schools have to overcome when dealing with cyberbullying is that it usually takes place off school property. Because of this, questions arise as to whether or not schools have the authority to discipline students accused of harassing their peers online. Past court cases have set a precedent that compels schools to intervene only when cyberbullying becomes disruptive to the learning environment; other cases must be dealt with by the students' families. In some cases, it will be obvious that a student is the victim of cyberbullying: a student may approach a teacher and tell them outright that something is going on. Otherwise, teachers and administrators must pay attention to students' body language, their interactions with other students, and the content and tone of their writing to discern if something is wrong.


I agree with the courts: schools should intervene in cases of cyberbullying when it becomes disruptive in school. I believe that schools should focus on prevention, because the legal system will make it difficult for them to intervene unless they can prove that the incident was negatively impacting learning. Schools need to educate families and students on the negative impact of cyberbullying, and give students access to resources that they can turn to when they are being harassed online. I think that family education is particularly important because parents and other guardians can prevent cyberbullying from becoming an issue if they are monitoring their student's online activity.


In my classroom, I plan to deal with cyberbullying preemptively. One of my major overall goals is to make my class a safe place where students respect one another as fellow members of a community of learning. I plan on working to establish this environment through community-building activities beginning the first day of class. I hope that this will allow me to create a safe environment where my students will be able to discuss serious issues (like cyberbullying) honestly and openly. I also hope that by requiring students to treat each other with respect in my class, they will develop positive habits that will influence their behaviors outside of school. I would love to be a part of a school that would make community respect the standard of behavior in every classroom.