Kids and Creativity!!!! February 5, 2009
Posted by suptblog in : Environment , comments closedHaving his finger on the pulse of one of the founding philosophies of Song-CAMP, in a Tuesday,18nov08 Morning Edition interview on National Public Radio (NPR), Bill Ayers (author of a new book “City Kids City Teachers and To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher”) quoted a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks about a boy who vandalized a school: The boy says he wanted to create: ” ‘If not a note, then a hole, if not an overture, then a desecration. But I shall create.’ And that’s the aspiration of every human being — to create, to be seen, to be noticed, to make a difference, to leave your footprint in the sand. And if we don’t provide that for kids, if we don’t open that creative vent, then we for sure open the destructive vent.” http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97124808
Cyber Bullying August 28, 2008
Posted by suptblog in : Environment , comments closedI found this blog entry from another Superintendent and thought I would share it with our APS Family.
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Cyber-Bullying Hits Home
January 11, 2008
R-E-S-P-E-C-T….find out what it means to me, sang Aretha Franklin in her smash hit song four decades ago. The song is still as popular in 2008 as it was in 1967, when the chart topper was adopted as an anthem by the civil rights and feminist movements. Today we place an extremely high emphasis on students respecting and valuing themselves and others and have even incorporated the theme into our District’s Mission Statement and Strategic Plan. Our goal is to create a culture of tolerance, respect and positive personal relationships among ALL members of the school community. So you can only imagine my disappointment, frustration, and sadness this week regarding an incidence of “cyber-bullying” that occurred in both our High School and Middle School.
The situation was very complicated, but the scenario included a high school student protecting a middle school sibling who was being cyber-bullied by other classmates. The harassment occurred during online activities after school on the facebook.com website. Unfortunately, the more we investigated, the more we realized that this is not an isolated incident. Research shows that cyber-bullying is an increasing phenomenon as it provides children with an avenue for reaching peers anonymously where they can not be protected by teachers, parents or other adults. According to the article, Challenging Cyber-Bullying on the Media Awareness Network, “The anonymity of online communications means kids feel freer to do things online they would never do in the real world. Even if they can be identified online, young people can accuse someone else of using their screen name. They don’t have to own their actions, and if a person can’t be identified with an action, fear of punishment is diminished.”
One negative effect of technology, either through e-mails, instant messaging, text messaging or posting on websites (i.e. myspace.com), is that it enables children to engage in bullying behaviors such as put-downs, insults, spreading derogatory rumors or posting inappropriate pictures, with little or no consequences. “This lack of feedback minimizes feelings of empathy or remorse. Young people say things online that they would never say face-to-face because they feel removed from the action and the person on the receiving end,” says Nancy Willard, a tech lawyer and executive director for the Center for Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet. i-Safe America Inc., another organization promoting web safety, surveyed 1500 students ranging from fourth to eighth grade across the country and discovered a disturbing trend… 58% of students admitted someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online and likewise, 53% of students admitted having themselves said something mean or hurtful to another online. Approximately 42% of kids have been bullied while online. The days of “home as refuge from bullies on the school playground” are over.
Cyber-bullying is extremely challenging for school officials to deal with. Although this type of bullying occurs out of school, students are together on campus and it can’t help but effect the school climate or influence a student’s feeling of being safe. This complicates our ability to discipline cyber-bullies for offences that occur off campus, not to mention the risk of litigation from angry parents challenging their children’s right to freedom of speech, but the First Amendment also places restrictions on school administrators for formal disciplinary actions in regards to online speech used by students. “It is a delicate balance of free speech, child protection and parental supervision,” say Andrew Spano, Westchester County Executive.
It is also important for parents to know that they can be sued through civil litigation for financial damages for injuries to cyber-bully victims. Depending on the facts, legal actions may be brought for defamation of character, invasion of privacy, or intentional infliction of emotional distress. “If a school official notifies parents that their child is cyber-bullying another and the cyber-bullying continues, this can provide an enhanced ability to hold the parent’s financially liable,” says Nancy Willard. “Harassment by computer” is punishable with up to a year in jail or substantial fine.
It is clear to me that addressing the issue of cyber-bullying needs to be a collaborative effort by both the school and parents. During the month of February, we will be surveying our students to determine the scope and extent that both bullying and cyber-bullying occurs in our District. Under the leadership of Phyllis Conley, Director of Pupil Personnel, we will use this data to begin addressing on-campus and off-campus bullying and begin developing anti-bullying strategies to insure a safe environment for all students.
Parents need to be diligent about monitoring what their children are doing online and helping them to be responsible internet users. Be knowledgeable about the sites your child visits and what they are posting online. Know what your child’s social network profile (i.e. facebook or myspace) says and check with the major Internet Service Providers to see what they offer in the form of parental controls. Nancy Willard suggests that you develop an online agreement or contract for computer use that contains clear rules about what is ethical online behavior. Have consequences in place if your kids violate family rules on Internet use, especially cyber-bullying. If you find that your child is being bullied online talk to our schools’ counselors or administrators about it. If your child is being harassed or threatened online, report this to the police. Most importantly, tell your child to never respond to bullying messages.This is not a problem that is going to be solved overnight, but I am confident that if we work together and demonstrate a NO TOLERANCE policy for any kind of bullying, we can be proactive in ensuring our schools are a safe and nurturing environment for all students. It’s been 40 years since Aretha Franklin’s rendition of R-E-S-P-E-C-T and records and phonographs are long gone, but the song’s message is still a hit.If you are interested in finding out more about this subject you may want to read Nancy Willard’s new book, Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens.
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