The Daughter brought home a bunch of anti-bullying material from school one day this past semester. Much of it came from StopBullying.gov, which defines the behavior as “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.”
At around the same time, I attended a symposium sponsored by some library students that featured, among many others, the ITS Enterprise Information Security Office (EISO), formerly the NYS Office of Cyber Security. It’s a terrible name for an important task. One of its tasks involves fighting cyberbullying, which is “the repeated use of information technology, including e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, chat rooms, pagers, cell phones, and gaming systems, to deliberately harass, threaten or intimidate others. Unlike physical bullying, where the victim can walk away, technology now allows for continuous harassment, from any distance, in a variety of ways.”
The Daughter turned me on to this video, Never Ever (The Bully Project) by Keenan West, a self-described anti-bullying activist from Cincinnati, Ohio. Here are some of the lyrics:
When the going gets tough
And the tough get going
And you feel like you are all alone
When you’re in trouble
Can’t see your way
And you can’t make it
Another day
Through the rain and through the fire
Even in your toughest day
I’ll be right here by your side
I’ll be with you all the way
Through the ups and through the downs
I’ll be here until the end
Keep in mind no matter what
Through it all you’ve got a friend
I was a victim of bullying in the workplace and to this day I still feel the effects all those years ago.
Denise ABC Team
Interesting article.
How sad that all this wonderful technology is in some cases used to harrass and bully – I guess that everything is on a larger scale now, – the good and the bad.
It’s always so upsetting to see bullying take place.
It gives me hope that more people are taking bullying seriously and actively trying to reduce it. I think it’s encouraging that your daughter’s school and your state are actively involved in the effort!
I was bullied by my father and my brother–not physically, but psychologically, which leaves it mark for a long time. One thing it did for me was make sure I’m not going to be bullied in my everyday life. I usually fight back– graciously but firmly — and sometimes prematurely.
I taught adolescents for 30 years, grades 7-12 in a school that had a very low student-teacher ratio. Overt bullying is easy to spot and swiftly remedied but the difficulty lies in the subtle forms of bullying. Kids can and should be helped before the issue escalates.
A very pertinent post, Roger.
Bullying is unfortunate and can cause severe problems.
Hope there’s no bullying.
Lovely poem.
That is really sad, wish that act and word never existed.
Happy ABCW!
We have the same problem in the schools in Europe ! Fortunately it never happened to my son or to myself, we both have a big mouth !
Any type of bullying is wrong. Kudos to companies that make effort to stop it.
Catching up with BLUE
Have a great Wednesday
Rose
I’m glad I was a kid before the internet era. I was sort-of bullied in school (though more commonly, it took the form of being excluded: not being invited to birthday parties [and being told by the inviter that I wasn’t], no one sitting with me at lunch….). But I can see some of the mean girls from my grade school using cyberbullying as a tool.
The way I was treated in school had various effects on me. I actually think it drove me to become a more compassionate person than I might otherwise be. But on the bad side, I have an extreme fear of rejection to this day, so much that I don’t do certain things that I might otherwise (like ask guys out on dates….)
Similar problems exist in high schools and colleges in India, especially in the so-called elite schools where there often are children/families with huge socio-economic diversities adding another layer to the problem. Sad, really.
I too was bullied in the work place,(noting Denise’s comments) and also by a teacher in my last year at Junior school, which resulted in me failing the eleven plus when, I was expected to pass with flying colours.
My headmaster couldn’t understand it, and I was too frightened to tell him or my parents.
I redeemed myself by passing the 13+ which gave me a place in a very good school.
Good article and most interesting Roger.
Oh how I would love to meet that BULLY now!
Best Wishes,
Di,
ABCW team.
B
Argghhhh it is of all ages…… many more people than we can imagine are truly hurt for life by it…
But a solution….not even around the world…. is found yet… sadly enough.
I like how this young man chose to handle it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIHtuKc3Gjg
There are such sad stories of cyberbullying. It is good when schools take a stance.
A hot topic for sure…education is key♪ http://lauriekazmierczak.com/bank-shot/
bullying is not nice, I have students whose parents take them out of school and transfer.
I sent a message to your facebook, because I couldn’t comment.
The problem with bullying is not the kids, it’s the adults who deliberately turn a blind eye to it, thus effectively condoning it. As for “cyberbullying,” passing legislation to “outlaw” it is just an excuse to promote online censorship without even pretending to address the real problems.