Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a growing epidemic in our society. Cyberbullying is bullying using technology, cell phones, computer and the internet. This can be done in numerous ways, text messaging, instant messaging, or through social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook. Cyberbullying was not present when I was going through middle school or high school. Even though I only graduated six years ago not everyone in my high school had cell phones or computers. I group up in a small rural community with only dial up internet so most kids did not spend much time online.

Cyberbullying is something that I have only been aware of for the last three years or so. The first time I was presented with it was when my mother, a teacher, had a student post inappropriate pictures on her MySpace page. This turned into a problem in the classroom because students could not stop talking about it and making fun of her. Before this scenario I did not realize the amount of social networking that was happening with students at home on the internet.

In this situation it became a school problem because there were behavioral issues that were happening in the classroom. So, my mother, the teacher, had to deal with face to face bullying but she had a limited impact on the amount of cyberbullying that occurred through MySpace after that posting. The problem of cyberbullying is an incredibly difficult problem for schools to address. Usually cyberbullying occurs in the home after school an hours, which technically means that it is no longer a problem that the school must address. However, now cyberbullying gets brought into the school to be finished. Verbal and physical fights occur in schools because of something that was said online or texted the night before.

Teachers can address cyberbullying when it is presented to them. Many students will show visible signs of emotion and they will possibly confide in the teacher. Teachers that are aware that cyberbullying is happening must address the problem, by speaking to the administration and parents. I think teachers are limited in what they can prevent in the homes, however if it enters the classroom they have every right to address the issues, even if it is only occurring at home after school hours.

As a future Health teacher I plan on having a cyberbullying unit in my classroom. I would like the opportunity to address this issue in the classroom and hear what students are dealing with. I would present hypothetically situations to the group, however I would address actual situation with the individuals that were involved. I believe that the school should take a stand on all types of bullying. The school should have bullying awareness weeks and set discipline standards for bullying.