It Takes a Village

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In trying to respond to the question“Whose responsibility is it to teach students to be safe online?” (course two of the ISB Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy), I have surfed and read heart-rendering accounts of cruelty, pain, and death related to cyberbullying.

It would be hard to refute that cyberbullying is a significant social problem. Some of my colleagues assert that it is silly to think cyberbullying is something new—bullying has been around forever. However, if the statistics are to be believed, cyberbullying is different in that it is having a much greater impact on lives and society because the power of the communication tools accessible to our students is exponentially greater than anything we could have imagined when growing up.

As Wikipedia states, “Cyber-bullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.” Yes, bullying has always existed, but cyberbullying has magnified impact due to the perceived anonymity of the bully and its almost instantaneous spread like a killer virus.

We, as a society, need to put our collaborative hearts and minds together to tackle cyberbullying around the world. When researching how various groups are dealing with cyberbullying, I was a disappointed to see that much of what is out there deals with punishment. I agree that there need to be consequences for inflicting harm, but researchers have found that the threat of punishment rarely works well as a deterrent for individuals. Secondly, many of such proposed punishments clearly cross constitutional rights in regards to freedom of speech. Take a look at the proposed Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act:

Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

Even though we can sympathize with the mother who proposed the Act (her daughter committed suicide directly linked to cyberbullying), most people can quickly see the risk such an act has for our freedom of speech. (See Eugene Volokh’s reaction, professor of law at UCLA School of Law). As throughout the history of communities trying to create a just society, there is the ongoing tension and challenge of balancing individual rights and the common good. (Click here for a more in depth discussion about cyberbullying and the tension of rights and responsibilities in schools.)

So what to do? My proposal in addressing cyberbullying is threefold:

1. We all take responsibility: that means, parents, friends, colleagues, students, adults, citizens—everyone. I was shocked at all the finger pointing and blaming that happens with these cases. Yes, schools have a role, but it isn’t solitary. Yes, parents have a role, but they can’t do it alone. In order for us to make the world a safer and more equitable place, we all need to step up to the plate. Here are a couple of examples where communities are taking a "village" approach:

• In the UK, BeatBullying, a nonprofit organization, believes in a community approach to this issue. They have trained 700 teens to mentor bullying victims in both face-to-face meetings and through a new Web service called CyberMentors.
• Look here to see how one Kentucky community has established a partnership between the police department and students at the high school to tackle the problem of cyberbullying.
• This episode of Adina's deck of teens tackling cyberbullying looks promising as a way of teens taking action.
  

2. Embed the teaching of online safety in the discussion and study of the bigger questions with which society struggles in order for the understanding of the students to be more enduring and more widely applicable. Unless we teach kids to wrestle with the enduring questions of humanity, they will not know how to address them in this ever-changing landscape.

• I haven’t found anything at the primary or secondary level yet. I guess that is an area that needs tackling. If you know if any, please send them my way.
  

3. Look at the root cause of cyberbullying rather than only trying to address the symptoms? At the heart of the issue come the questions: What need is being met for the bully? How can we help kids get those needs met in a healthier, more constructive manner? What are the interpersonal relationships at play and how do we work with improving those? Here are a couple of promising options in this vein:

• CAPSULE, Creating a Peaceful School Learning Environment, a “school-wide intervention focusing on empathy and power dynamics.”
• Childnet International video: This could serve as a good discussion starter analyzing what is happening and why--relating to what students see in their own lives.
  

Does our ES AUP address this problem? Only minimally, in the beginning part about “Respect others”. I think for it to be effective, the AUP needs to be put into kid language and have some very concrete, age appropriate ideas for kids. More importantly, I feel all of this needs to be embedded and woven throughout students’ learning opportunities. Simply signing a sheet won’t solve the problem. It will take each one of us in our global village taking a role to enjoy the power of today's communication tools while simultaneously keeping users safe.

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."