Journal 5: Should schools be held responsible for cyberbullying? (NETS 4)

Bogacz, Renee, & Gomez Gordillo, Miguel. (2011). Should schools be held responsible for cyberbullying?. 38(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Point_Counterpoint_Should_Schools_Be_Held_Responsible_for_Cyberbullying.aspx  

Renee Bogacz, a Language Arts teacher, expressed her opinion by saying that cyberbullying has greatly affected our school environment. She called for teachers, administrators, parents, and students to work together to fight cyberbullying. She said that teachers should learn more about cyberbullying to be able to address it, and that administrators have to establish clear and enforceable consequences. She stressed on the parents role to be always involved in what their children are doing online or on their cell phones, and should monitor them constantly. The students were not ignored in her plan to fight cyberbullying, she encouraged them to learn more about it and to report any incidents.

On the other hand, Miguel Gomez Gordillo, an IT director, did not hold schools responsible for cyberbullying. He blamed the parents and the society for this problem. And said that the way to solve it is to take care of our children and show them parental love. And said that by close communication between schools and parents they can discover the educational plan to support our children.

Question 1: What are the real causes for cyberbullying in your opinion?

I think that schools should be held reliable for not educating our students and preparing them to deal with cyberbullying. But I also agree that parents should be held even more responsible because they are the primary educators. They should provide our children with more instruction on how to use the internet appropriately.

Question 2: How can we educate our students about cyberbullying?

We should explain to them what cyberbullying is, and how to fight it. We should also talk to them about assisting victims and reporting these incidents for a better social networking environment.