Cyber bullying: a new way to hurt kids
By: Melissa Hamelin
Editor
Although it could be said that bullying has been around as long as organized education, the options for modern-day bullies have changed dramatically.
“Bullying happens more and more now. With a simple text message you can bully someone, and it takes under five seconds to send a text message,” said Robert Frenette.
Frenette is the co-founder of bullyingcanada.ca and said that he was bullied for over 11 years while in school because he has Cerebral Palsy and walks with a limp.
“I first became a Anti-Bullying Activist back in 2006 when I began to speak up about bullying,” he explained, adding that he personally had been subject to name calling, pushing, shoving, and was even burnt in the back of his neck with a lighter.
Frenette said that he believes that anti-bullying organizations have helped to lessen instances of bullying have improved since he was in school, but the emergence of new technology has allowed bullies to practice outside of the schoolyard.
Sangudo Principal Leonard Oates said that he has held workshops for his teaching staff that look at the issue of bullying, and is considering also holding a session that will look specifically at cyber-bullying.
“If it is (originating) from the school, than we have a lot of control over it,” Oates explained. “In Northern Gateway, the students access to things like Facebook (a social networking site) is limited. [Students] can’t get into those sites from the school computers. If it were originating from here we would have some control over it, but if it is coming from home it is a matter for other authorities.”
Rob Nickel, a former14-year Veteran of the Ontario Provincial Police, visited Mayerthorpe High School April 21st to talk to local students about the impacts of what they post online.
“I think one of the things that parents and kids need to understand is that the more information that you put out there, the more ammunition that a predator has to use against you,” He said. “Whether it is cyber bullying, or a predator that wants to gather information to arrange a meeting or build a bond.”
Nickel stressed the importance of not putting personal information online in areas such as Facebook. He explained that the amount of information available on personal pages and blogs can allow predators to form a bond with a child by pretending to have the same interests, know the same people, even go to the same school.
"Just because you see them and they don't look creepy does not mean they are not a creep," explained Nickel. "If Paul Bernardo (serial killer and rapist of young women) was out today, he would love the Internet. He wouldn't have had to leave the house to stalk his victims.
It is not only predators that are hurting people online. Nickel pointed out that many people can get pretty brave behind a computer screen and often say things that they would never say to a person's face.
"Think before you post anything, would I say this to someone in person?" He suggested, adding that a lot of kids take insults very personally and there have been a lot of cases of young children committing suicide because of something written online.
"I know that nobody here would feel very good knowing that somebody killed themselves because of something that was said online."
Although Oates said that anyone caught bullying inside his school grounds can be given a punishment ranging from detention to suspension, depending on the severity of the incident. Individuals who are found to be bullying outside of school grounds could face criminal charges.
“I think that this needs to be more brought to light; that if you bully someone enough it could lead to harassment charges,” commented Frenette.
Another area where bullying can be prominent is with cell phones. Nickel said that parents, (or the person who signed the cell phone agreement) have the ability to get a report of each text message sent through most providers and that any messages received of a threatening nature should be taken to the police.
"Threatening someone through text messages is still a criminal act," explained Nickel, adding that it is also important to notify your provider of the messages. "If you get caught, you could end up in handcuffs."
Unfortunately many young children are also often the targets of bullies. Elmer Elson Elementary School Principal Sheila Ranslam said that her staff try to dissuade bullying behavior by encouraging positive character traits.
“We try to deal with the whole problem of bullying in positive ways to try to build character in the kids and help them to realize why it is not proper to bully others,” she said.
Elmer Elson runs a “kids with character” program and each month a group of staff members present a trait, such as honesty or respect, to the students to work on for the month.
Ranslam explained that the school also runs a recess behavioral tracking system. In the system the homeroom teacher is advised of any bullying incidents that involved one of his/her students.
“Then we do a lot of counseling with the student,” Ranslam explained. “If it happens again, we most likely get the parents involved, either through a phone call or through a note in the agenda book. We work on ways to try to get the students to realize that bullying is not something that can occur here. There are sometimes consequences [such as] missing recesses, or there are letters of apology written by the students.”
Students are also protected on their way home. Both Ranslam and Oates noted that the school deals with incidents that happen after school.
“ When that is reported, the students are talked to,” explained Ranslam. “If it happens again, I keep the students here for about half an hour beyond the time that the others get dismissed to go home, leaving the other students a chance to get home without it happening again. It also gives the bully a chance to reflect on what they have done.”
Ranslam said that she appreciates the community involvement in helping to deal with this serious issue by calling in any incidents that they may see. Both Ranslam and Oates say that they encourage their students to come to them if they are being bullied, as well as not participate in bullying in any way.
“One thing that we always tell the kids is if you are a bystander and you are laughing or entertained by a bully situation you are really no better than the person that is bullying, because you are encouraging it rather than trying to discourage it,” said Ranslam. “I find now that we do have some students that will step forward and say, you know that isn't the type of thing that you should be doing. Fortunately we have a good student body here.”
For more information on how to stop bullying you can visit www.bullyingcanada.ca.
