Cyberbullying

Somewhat off topic, but we must remember that children come into the class room from another place and environment, sometimes after being exposed to a variety of stressors. Reading this article was like driving past a car wreck.

Despite how disturbing it is, I just had to keep reading. I am amazed and disappointed that children are granted the freedom to do whatever they please on the internet with no consideration for their maturity or readiness to exercise the power that comes with access to social networking and the online world in general.

On the one hand, the offending children certainly behaved reprehensibly. But, on the other hand, I found myself more shocked with the cavalier attitude that some of the parents displayed. Minimizing the incident is a natural response, but refusing to acknowledge that any harm was done seems tragic to me--tragic because a valuable learning opportunity, which came at the cost of another human being's health and safety, was lost in a sea of parental ambivalence.

When I visited the Waldorf school in Palm Harbor, I asked one of the senior teachers how they handle bullying. She told me that any students which are involved, whether bullied or bully, have to sit down face to face and discuss what is going on, why it's happening, and how it makes each person feel.

I was surprised that any school would make a victim suffer through such a process. But upon further consideration, I did wonder whether or not it was more effective than punishment or expulsion. Perhaps it taught the victim to be assertive and strong? Perhaps it taught the offender that he would be held accountable for his actions? Perhaps it is humiliating enough to have to explain yourself in front of your teachers and victim.

In any case, it seems no matter who they are or where they come from, kids today have more stress on their minds than ever before.