I do believe that bullying is a big issue that we, as future teachers will be dealing with possibly on a daily basis. Yes, we can monitor the children in our classroom, then they are right in front of our eyes. Yes, we can monitor the kids to make sure they don't have cuts, bruises, burns etc. But how do you monitor what they do at home? How do we monitor how they are feeling on the inside? Cyber bullying is just as big of an issue as regular bullying and it is a lot harder to control and monitor.
Cyber bulling would allow the bully to be somebody they are not and act out of the ordinary, because in reality the chances of them being caught or getting reprimanded for what they are doing is very slim. It is difficult to trace the origination of a web chat or an email without the help of experts. If the victim is brave enough to speak up and say that they are being bullied online, is it easy to find out who the individual is that is doing the bullying? No. So how can we stop it? As teachers we need to look for signs that our students are being cyber bullied.
I think that it is going to be very important to bring this up in the classroom, and let the students know that it is ok to speak out about being bullied and not be embarrassed or scared to say anything. The more the students are aware of it, the more comfortable I would hope they are with myself as the teacher, their classmates, and the classroom environment. I do believe that it is important also to make the students aware of some of the outcomes of cyber bullying; and that it is not right! As future elementary school teachers we need to set a good example for our students because many of them do look up to us as role models.
Since most of the cyber bullying will be done while the child is at home on their computer we need to communicate with the parents too. It is their responsibility to monitor what type of websites their child is visiting and who it is they are talking to. I think that a newsletter should go home to the parents and make them aware of cyber bullying and let them know that you are concerned with their child's online use. With the communication and support from both the concerned teachers and involved parents, it will hopefully reduce bullying and cyber bullying in our schools.
SOME HELPFUL LINKS
http://www.kidpower.org/who-we-serve/how-to-stop-bullying.html?gclid=CM2PjLbwn6ACFQ8eDQodL09kbA
This is a website that may be helpful not only to students, but also to parents. It provides different ideas to help kids understand bullying and offer a variety of opportunities that will turn into fun learning experiences.
http://www.webwisekids.org/index.asp?page=webDangers
WebWise Kids makes kids aware of the dangers online and also did include a true life story about a girl named Katie; I think that these true stories will really get the kids attention. Also provided are a list of mind boggling statistics about cyber bullying and online dangers.
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
Stop Cyber Bullying is a user friendly website that offers prevention tips, parent roles, and most importantly gives a clear thorough definition of what cyber bullying is. It also gives explanations as to why kids or individuals chose to cyber bully.
http://www.connectsafely.org/?gclid=CMPtsYu8oKACFQQNDQodtQ6JZQ
Connect Safely provides many safety tips and waring signs for cyber bullying. It also provides Safety Advice and gives people the opportunities to become a member of the website and become part of their 'community'.
http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying
NCPC stands for National Crime Prevention Council and helps guide teens and young adults in the right direction. It provides information about why and how teens are cyber bullied, how to prevent the bullying, and what the outcome of cyber bullying is. There are also other links that are provided for further information about cyber bullying.
Cyber bulling would allow the bully to be somebody they are not and act out of the ordinary, because in reality the chances of them being caught or getting reprimanded for what they are doing is very slim. It is difficult to trace the origination of a web chat or an email without the help of experts. If the victim is brave enough to speak up and say that they are being bullied online, is it easy to find out who the individual is that is doing the bullying? No. So how can we stop it? As teachers we need to look for signs that our students are being cyber bullied.
I think that it is going to be very important to bring this up in the classroom, and let the students know that it is ok to speak out about being bullied and not be embarrassed or scared to say anything. The more the students are aware of it, the more comfortable I would hope they are with myself as the teacher, their classmates, and the classroom environment. I do believe that it is important also to make the students aware of some of the outcomes of cyber bullying; and that it is not right! As future elementary school teachers we need to set a good example for our students because many of them do look up to us as role models.
Since most of the cyber bullying will be done while the child is at home on their computer we need to communicate with the parents too. It is their responsibility to monitor what type of websites their child is visiting and who it is they are talking to. I think that a newsletter should go home to the parents and make them aware of cyber bullying and let them know that you are concerned with their child's online use. With the communication and support from both the concerned teachers and involved parents, it will hopefully reduce bullying and cyber bullying in our schools.
SOME HELPFUL LINKS
http://www.kidpower.org/who-we-serve/how-to-stop-bullying.html?gclid=CM2PjLbwn6ACFQ8eDQodL09kbA
This is a website that may be helpful not only to students, but also to parents. It provides different ideas to help kids understand bullying and offer a variety of opportunities that will turn into fun learning experiences.
http://www.webwisekids.org/index.asp?page=webDangers
WebWise Kids makes kids aware of the dangers online and also did include a true life story about a girl named Katie; I think that these true stories will really get the kids attention. Also provided are a list of mind boggling statistics about cyber bullying and online dangers.
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
Stop Cyber Bullying is a user friendly website that offers prevention tips, parent roles, and most importantly gives a clear thorough definition of what cyber bullying is. It also gives explanations as to why kids or individuals chose to cyber bully.
http://www.connectsafely.org/?gclid=CMPtsYu8oKACFQQNDQodtQ6JZQ
Connect Safely provides many safety tips and waring signs for cyber bullying. It also provides Safety Advice and gives people the opportunities to become a member of the website and become part of their 'community'.
http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying
NCPC stands for National Crime Prevention Council and helps guide teens and young adults in the right direction. It provides information about why and how teens are cyber bullied, how to prevent the bullying, and what the outcome of cyber bullying is. There are also other links that are provided for further information about cyber bullying.
Love Our Children is more than just a website about cyber bullying but about real life statistics about the Children of the USA. Throughout the table of contents there are different topics such as: parenting education, legislative updates, success stories, inspirational etc.
http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/adults/default.aspx
Stop Bullying now has helpful tips on what we can do as adults, educators, friends and even possible victims themselves. It also gives examples of what different parts of the country are doing to try and prevent any sort of bullying not just in the schools, but in the neighborhoods and communities we live in.
http://www.cyberbullyingprevention.com/
Cyber Bullying Prevention is an organization right out of our home state of Illinois and does provide free seminars and workshops to make individuals of our community aware of the issue. This website includes videos, workshops, and other detailed information about cyber bullying.
http://middle-school-life.suite101.com/article.cfm/cyberbullying_prevention_tips
This website is specifically geared towards the middle school age, which in my opinion may not even need it the most. Yes, the kids are at a difficult age, but they somehow got this way. This website gives examples of cyber bullying, some of which you wouldn't think even is considered cyber bullying, but it is.
http://www.cyberbullying.us/
Cyber Bullying Research Center has day to day updated information about cyber bullying and the children of our country. Most importantly it has a link for people like us to 'share your story', I do think that this will help children take the first step into talking about their troubles.
