Schools Act to Short-Circuit 'Cyberbullying'

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "So-called cyberbullying is a growing problem for school administrators, the Wall Street Journal reports. What may once have been snickers in the hallway can now be an excruciatingly public humiliation spread via email, text messaging and online teen forums. From the article: '"There's always the legal discussion of 'if it doesn't happen at school, can a district take action?'" says Joe Wehrli, policy-services director for the Oregon School Boards Association. "If a student is harassed for three hours at night on the Web and they come to school and have to sit in the same classroom with the student that's the bully, there is an effect on education, and in that way, there is a direct link to schools," he argues.'"

Comments

Re:A New Playground

[Profane MuthaFucka]

There's more than one way to skin a cat. Whoever said that never went to their bullies' house with a bowl of cat food, caught the little tabby fuck, slit it from the throat to the asshole, and skinned it.

Once you've done that, you'll realize that there really is only one way to get even with a bully. Online revenge just doesn't feel as real as actually skinning the kitty your bully loves.

Re:Well...

[computational super]

At least things changed when we hit high school. I went to a very diversely populated high school. Started playing football. I hate football. But I got to play against a LOT of my former tormentors. Offensive Tackle is a very good position I can tell you, and vengeance is sweet no matter what your mom says.

So, in other words, you did what people do when they grow up - you handled it. Learning to handle teasing (which is what we called "cyber-bullying" when I was a kid) is part of growing up.

Let me ask you a question - do you really think that you'd be the man you are today if, instead of being given a chance to work things out on the football field, the teachers had intervened every time a "dozen fucking assholes surrounded you and tormented you verbally" by telling them, "now, now, you twelve - don't hurt poor GeckoX's feelings, there - he's a fragile little thing and your words will ruin his life"?

I'm almost positive that I was picked on way worse than you, bro - I had Tourette's Syndrome (the kind that makes you twitch, not the kind that makes you swear) and I definitely didn't have any friends throughout primary and middle school. But I grew up. I learned to deal with adversity. I didn't even get bigger and stronger than everybody else, like you did - I'm still a bit on the small side (other than my midsection, unfortunately). However, I'm self confident and women even actually talk to me (even though I do occasionally suffer from odd twitches) - because I learned to deal with my own problems, the way men are supposed to.

Re:But yes

[inviolet]

Parents should teach children how to behave, peers have a lot of influence also, but its the parent's job to give the child a strong enough foundation to know what to accept from peers and what to reject.

Teachers on the other hand, have no moral authority at all, and knowing many of my fellow college students who became teachers, I would not trust them with rasing children.

Let's try inverting that sentence, and see how it sounds:

Parents on the other hand, have no moral authority at all, and knowing many of my fellow college students who became parents, I would not trust them with rasing children.

Whaddaya think? Is there such a thing as an objective standard of behavior that a "reasonable man" would agree that every child should be taught?

In other words, is there any behavior standard that is so ubiquitous that a child would suffer lifelong perils if he or she was not taught to abide it? How about "Do not initiate violence against other people."?

If there is such a standard, and if a child's parents have failed to teach it to him or her, then isn't the school obliged to perform the relevant mental programming?

I don't know if bullying and other emotional abuse qualifies as a universalizable taboo, but it is certainly an arguable border-case.

Re:fun turn around

[sammydee]

I'm still at school, and I can tell you that the common concept of what bullying is by adults is mostly wrong. Bullies aren't the big ugly stupid ones (at least they aren't anymore). Nearly everybody takes part in what most adults would call "bullying" at some point, and it is hardly ever physical. I have never seen anybody beaten up for their lunch money, but I have seen lots of people taunted for being different. If people differ from the norm, they don't always get taunted, but they will if they flaunt their difference. Posting on slashdot, it should be fairly obvious that I don't fit into the norm, plus I'm quite short which doesn't help, but I don't get bullied or taunted, because people respect me - I don't always strive to put my hand up first in class, I don't act like I'm a cut above the others, you just have to respect everyone else and you'll get on fine.

Trust me, if you get bullied at school now, you have brought it on yourself by making no effort to socialise.