United Front Against Abuse and Bullying

Above, you can see a cartoon depiction of children and friends uniting no matter what differences in race, sexual orientation, status, disability, etc. Spreading kindness and respect is the fastest and easiest method used to combat against bullying. 

Welcome back everyone! 

Now I know last week's discussion was quite heavy, however this week we will also be facing another challenging topic. Bullying, and more specifically the bullying that is orchestrated via the internet: cyberbullying. Many kids and students fall victim to this epidemic and we as a society must attempt to learn from these hardships and proceed with more knowledge and awareness on how to combat it. 

This week we watched a video entitled, "Dark Cloud: the High Cost of Cyberbullying," that I will include a reference to so you can check it out; it was very sad however, it spoke about positive change that could come from the loss. One story was that of Amanda Todd's; it was one of inexplicable loss and tragedy. She died by suicide on October 10th of 2012. She is survived by her mother named, Carol Todd who became the founder of the Amanda Todd Legacy Society. She felt that there was a lack of awareness in our society regarding mental health, online extortion, bullying and everything that Amanda endured in her twelve years on this earth. The growing epidemic of bullying, or "dark cloud" if you will, affects our youth more than we could imagine. The "Dark Cloud," noted that "41 % of young internet users who experienced cyberbullying reported an emotional, psychological, or mental health condition," and that "60% of Canadian youth report seeing cyberbullying or online abusive behavior within the last four weeks" (Statistics Canada). Within the video and hearing the expertise from Carol Todd herself, we can recognize that there are vast improvements in our nation surrounding the importance of mental health, bullying prevention, and so much more, however there are still questions that need some clarification. Where exactly does one go when seeking help with these issues? How can we help someone facing peer abuse? What tools can we provide for easy access and quick help? These are all things to consider as we try to navigate ways best to help our youth deter difficult and upsetting situations. I do believe that similar to life, we can always be better or do something to improve ourselves; just like the fight against cyberbullying and bullying in general, I think our jobs are never quite finished and we can always find ways to enhance and better the atmosphere surrounding our students and children.   

Just like the challenging questions in "Dark Cloud," there are endless things to consider when dealing with tricky and hurtful situations. In the article, "Teachers' Essential Guide to Cyberbullying Prevention," it helps to scaffold answers to these often wondered questions, especially from the educators' perspective. As a teacher, it is crucial that we are constantly aware of our own emotions and to avoid ever letting our "bad days" infringe upon our students. These kids come to school with the intention to learn, find themselves, and make friends. Although for some, the socialization part of school is very challenging. That's why educators must always hold themselves to a standard in which they put on a happy and positively supporting face, regardless of their own issues. Adults have a better time compartmentalizing their issues than children in K-12 tend to have. Everything to them seems much bigger than it is. These students grow up in a bubble with the same kids they knew from elementary school and they lack a greater understanding of this crazy world. For students that struggle with fitting with their peers, they do not get a break or get to meet and experience different people. Oftentimes, they fall into a negative space and do not know how to seek them help and support that they need. A few quick things that teachers can do are, promoting a positive and safe classroom culture, embracing teachable moments related to cyberbullying, incorporating lessons on cyberbullying into existing curriculum, and advocating for a school-or district-wide digital citizenship program (Wilkey, 2019). Other tips you can do are encouraging peer involvement in prevention strategies, developing activities that enhance self-reflection, asking children to identify and express what they think and feel, and to consider the thoughts and feelings of others (Tips for Teachers, 2021). Essentially, bullying is the root cause of students feeling ostracized, excluded, sad, and lonely so helping them to realize how amazing they truly are, can go a long way. 

In my own research I can across ten ways to prevent cyberbullying:

1. Educate yourself,

2. Protect your passwords,

3. Always keep photos and pictures "PG,"

4. Never open unidentified or unsolicited messages,

5. Log out of online accounts,  

6. Pause before you post,

7. Raise awareness,

8. Setup privacy controls,

9. "Google" yourself,

10. Don't cyberbully others (Preventing Cyberbullying, 2021)

From this particular article, I thought back to my days in high school. We would have a sequence of assemblies that would express the importance of protecting your social media accounts. There was an initiative called, "Don't Press Send." I remember hearing about Amanda Cobb's tragic story for the first time as this assembly was geared toward the phone-using population of the student body. The impact it left on me was deep and lasting. Watching the "Dark Cloud" and hearing about her story again encouraged me to actively think of ways I can prevent these issues from arising in my own classroom one day. Overall, I do think we as a nation have made strides in bullying prevention since, however I feel that we still have a ways to go. Something as serious as bullying and protecting the well-being of our students and children should never cease to exist and we must guard against becoming complacent when we begin to see some positive change. We must always strive to do better and cultivate safe spaces. 

References:

Tips for Teachers: Warning Signs a Child is Being Cyberbullied or is Cyberbullying. (2021, May 21). stopbullying.gov. https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/tips-for-teachersLinks to an external site. 

Wilkey Oh, E. (2019, March 25). Teachers' Essential Guide to Cyberbullying Prevention. Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/teachers-essential-guide-to-cyberbullying-prevention

Dupej, H. & Embry, M. (2020). Dark cloud: The high cost of cyberbullying. TELUS Wise. 

Cyberbullying Research Center. “Preventing Cyberbullying - Top Ten Tips for Parents.” Cyberbullying

Research Center, https://cyberbullying.org/preventing-cyberbullying-top-ten-tips-for-teens.