Image 1.
This week hit me HARD!!! The videos, articles, and pictures in this weeks module were often hard to digest. Just as Faucher, Cassidy, and Jackson pointed out in their article "From the Sand Box to the Inbox," the face of bullying has changed drastically. As a kid of the 80's and 90's, bullying was name calling and 'yo mama' jokes. Now our children are bombarded with innocent social media posts that make them feel less than as well as down right vicious cyber attacks from peers and even random unknown people. We are fueling the fire on mental illness and pushing our precious youth right over the edge and it breaks my heart.
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If you have been a classroom teacher before, you understand the connection you make with your students. They become 'your kids.' I was always looking out for my classroom students as if they were my own. Now with my sights set on being a librarian, I'll have 500+ students. I have no doubt that I wil make that connection with most of them! I know I will become a mama bear and things like cyberbullying will anger me even more because it will be multiplied by 500!
The one thing that stood out the most to me this week is the ease at which people can cyberbully. There are numerous platforms that make bullying a sport. They hide your identiy to embolden people to be mean. We see it all of the time with adults on Facebook. By putting a screen in between the bully and the victim, the bully looses the human connection that initates the remorse response. These young victims sit alone while dealing with their hurt and pain.
Just as librarians need to teach information literacy, we also need to be educating our students about technology edicate and cyberbullying. We cannot assume that these lessons will be taught at home. Anti cyberbullying lessons need to be taught at school. Our local school dedicates a week to the anti bullying compaign. In addition to lessons, librarains, teachers, parents, and administrators, need to constantly reinforce anti cyberbullying lessons and create a daily dialog about how we should be treating others in person and online.
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Part of the solution to end cyberbullying is to teach children, and adults, to build each other up. If we are constantly pointing out the good in each other we will leave little time to focus on tearing each other down. I loved the video Digital4Good Smile Cards! Cards like this could be given out when students check out library books. The students would be encouraged to keep passing these little cards around to people. You never know when a card will land in the hands of someone who really needs it. Librarians could also use the Snapchat, instagram, and twitter accounts are raise awareness to cyberbullying and give shoutouts to amazing students at school. Creating a school climate of kindness, respect, and inclusiveness will set the tone for students to notice when their cyber activity has become hurtful. This amosphere will also be helpful when the victims of cyber bullying reach out of help. Librarians, teachers, and other school staff must be in tune with their student body and their mental health.
Refrences
Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts,
impacts, and solutions of bullying in K-12, higher education, and the workplace. Journal of Education
And Training Studies, 3(6), 11-125.
Image 1. https://schoolessentials.com.au/Product/8261942/DON%27T%20BE%20MEAN%20POP%20
CHART%20%20%20%20%20%20%20/#.YWhySS2cZQI Retrieved: October 2021.
Image 2. https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it Retrieved: October 2021.
Image 3.https://web.archive.org/web/20181129151348/http://www.edudemic.com/teachers-guide-digital
-citizenship/
Great ideas, Crystal, and I really like the poster images you share here. Another thought, not only could you include a card with book check outs, students could suggest kind messages to write on them. Maybe have a drop-box for kind thought suggestions? I'm thinking of the messages on the inside of the Dove chocolate wrappers now, ha! It would provide an extra opportunity for kids to give as well as receive and I think they would really love seeing their message passed around on a kind card.
ReplyDelete-DeAnna Owens
Greetings Crystal! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree that this week's material was particularly challenging. Your mention of platforms that "make bullying a sport" reminded me that one of the most egregious offenders in that department - the anonymous social media app Yik Yak -- relaunched earlier this year after being taken offline in 2017. Having experienced the rise of Yik Yak during my first year working in schools, I'm more than a little nervous to see if/how it might be received and utilized by the students of 2021. Regarding creating a climate of kindness -- a Richmond woman created and distributed painted Be Kind that are in our school, all around town, and maybe the world (perhaps you've seen one) and as predisposed as I am to discounting this sort of thing I think it really does work as a reminder to be, well, kind. Here's a link to a news report on these signs: https://www.nbc12.com/2019/01/08/richmond-woman-spreads-kindness-across-world-with-special-signs/
ReplyDeleteEven though I can intellectualize how much social media has changed our world, it is still hard for me to grasp the intensity of impact it has on this generation. I am a big mama bear personality as well and it absolutely tears at me to hear any child carry the weight of hurt from any form of bullying. I appreciate the intention behind kindness campaigns, but I also have concerns that sometimes they only reach the surface level and may make kids dealing with struggle even more isolated. The messaging has to be backed with in the school environment with programs and polices that teach kids how to respond when these situations arise and how to find help with teachers without the fear of more social repercussions. I totally agree the libraries are the perfect place to model inclusiveness as we teach digital citizenship and social responsibility.
ReplyDeleteCrystal thanks for sharing this post! I also found the topic to be challenging but incredibly insightful and something worth learning about. Cyberbullying is such a real and painful experience for so many that it is something that must be taught. I like how you said that schools must teach about cyberbullying and how to report it because it will not necessarily be taught at home. Too often behavior and attitudes are modeled after those closest to us and in the case of our students--their families. I know I am not the first teacher to come across a nasty Facebook post about me from a parent and I won't be the last. When students see their parents posting negative content it gives them the chance to do the same. I really like the think graphic you shared and have thought those same things to myself many times when commenting or replying to something. I also liked the idea of the Smile Cards and would love to share those at my school. I am on the Sunshine Committee for my school and thought that these would be great to pass along to teachers as well as students. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete--Cassie Kemmerlin
Crystal, I also found this week's readings very tough and close to home. As educators (whether teacher or librarian), we build relationships with our students and care for them as our own. Your words really hit me when you stated how our "kids" become every student in the school when we are the school librarian. We want to create a safe place for them all, and I love your idea of the Digital4Good Smile cards. I agree that the only way to help end bullying is to educate our students on kindness and respect!
ReplyDeleteMeagan Hooks Boyd
Crystal,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post for this week. I agree that cyberbullying is a very tough subject. Watching the videos this week was particularly challenging for me. As teachers and parents, we want to shield our kids from all hurt of the world. It is heartbreaking that many students suffer in silence from the effects of cyberbullying. I love your ideas for using the smile cards in the library. I think that would definitely help to promote a positive school environment!
-Alexandria
I love your ideas about ending cyberbullying. We should build each other up all the time. Find your tribe and support them. I agree with you about becoming momma bear to my students and once I become a librarian I will feel protective over the school population. I didn’t think about the connection between mental health and cyberbullying, thank you for bringing that up.
ReplyDeleteCrystal,
ReplyDeleteI am also so floored at the incredible amounts of opportunities children have to engage in cyberbullying. Not just the amount, but the ease of engaging. Like you said, it's so easy to hide behind a screen. I remember at one point teenagers around where I am from were posting on snapchat using an app called anonymous that allowed them to send each other whatever they wanted by simply typing into their Snapchat story for everyone to read! My immediate thought as I read some of the posts was cyberbullying. As a mom, it broke my heart and made me furious that children had the ease of doing this. It's more important now that ever to students on cyberbullying!
Crystal,
ReplyDeleteThe meme you shared about being careful what is shared...is it true, is it helpful, etc. Those thoughts (very similar) have been around for a long time and used to refer to gossip. I found out the quote originated with Socrates. This idea was relevant then and it is relevant now. Social media is a blessing and a curse. I like the ideas you shared about teaching students to be responsible when using social media and building others up!