Cyberbullying

Bullying seems to be the worst in middle school, maybe because during middle school kids want to belong and be accepted, especially by their peers. When I was growing up most adults said either "turn the other cheek," or fight back, but today, with the threat of extreme violence more common, school and adults are working to stop bullying as soon as it starts.

More and more schools are working to create safe campuses. A safe environment is one where a person feels respected and respects others, which will not allow for bullying of any form. Zero tolerance is an expectation that anyone who witnesses any kind of bullying is expected to step in and stop it.

Bullying is the intentional use of power to harm or control someone. Bullying ranges from ignoring, social isolation, name calling and teasing, to threats, physical violence and when it goes online, cyberbullying. All bullying is hurtful to the victim, bystanders, and the bullies, and the scars can last a lifetime.

Bullying online is (sadly) becoming more common, and few schools and districts have cyberbullying policies, in part because the bullying usually takes place off campus. California does have legislation (Assembly Bill 86) that gives school administrators the leverage to suspend or expel students for bullying other students through any electronic device if the bullying occurs during school hours or a school-related activity!

A terrible example in my own community was that recently a group of high school students put up a "I hate ..." page on Facebook and within days there were more than 100 people who had joined this hateful page to demean a kid they had never met. The school learned of the site, asked Facebook to take it down, which happened, and called the parents of the ring leaders. This terrible event did start a lot of discussion, and I hope the school district does develop a policy that makes youth responsible for behavior 24/7, but for now, if it happens in homes - parents are responsible.