Journal #8: Should Schools Be Held Responsible for Cyberbullying (NETS-T IV, V)

Bogacz, R., & Gordillo, M.G. (2011). Should Schools be Held Responsible for Cyberbullying?. Learning and Leading with Technology, 38(6), 6-7

Summary:

          Renee Bogacz, a middle school English teacher with twenty years of experience, believes it is the school's responsibility to stop cyber bullying. According to Bogacz, it does not matter where cyber bullying takes place, it still disrupts the school environment, and therefore it is up to the school to interfere in cases of cyber bullying. To effectively deal with this problem, educators, administrators, parents and students must all work to eliminate cyber bullying. These groups must know how to recognize the signs of cyber bullying and must be equipped with tools to prevent the problem from going any further.

          On the other side of this argument is IT director, Miguel Gómez Gordillo.  According to Gordillo, parents have the biggest influence on children, and it is the parents who can prevent and stop cyber bullying. Cordillo believes cyber bullies are a product of loveless homes; therefore it is up to parents to provide their children with a loving home environment. Gordillo does however believe it is the school's responsibility to support the values that are instilled in children's homes.

Questions

Q1. Why might involving parents in cyber bullying prevention be problematic?

A2. Parents will have different levels of involvement in the cyber lives of children. As a result, some children will be more supervised than others. Some parents may be more computer savvy than others, making it easier for them to detect cyber bullying. Furthermore, parents who work full-time may have more difficulty monitoring their child’s online activity.  

Q2. Why might having the school be the main source of cyber bullying prevention be problematic?

A2. Schools cannot monitor children’s online activity as closely as parents can. Schools do not have access to controls that can detect what children are doing online.  Schools will discover cases of cyber bullying only if students chose to involve them in it. When schools are finally made aware of an instance of cyber bullying, often times large amounts of damage have already been done.