New Age Bullying…

 By Meredith Frey, Carole Gilfedder, Bryan Knipfing, and Lisa Rankin

 

 

Why do people have a need or desire to act superior to others?  This desire is usually driven by a subconscious need to make ourselves feel more important and generally displays weakness in our own character.  It has found its way into our families, school yards, and even places of work.  There are many definitions that can be used for this unpleasant and unwarranted behavior but the one that best suits the purpose of this article is: “the intimidation of a weaker person: the process of intimidating or mistreating someone weaker or in a more vulnerable situation”.  Bullying has been a long standing “tradition” in society but it has spiraled into more danger than we once believed. Recent bullying statistics show that half of all traditional bullying incidents go unreported. Statistics regarding cyberbullying indicate even less of these type are reported. Traditionally, a schoolyard bully is the child who is the biggest, strongest, and stereotypically the meanest.  The ability to intimidate others out of toys, friends, and of course lunch money belonged to the ill mannered boy or girl that could most easily intimidate the other children.  A cyberbully on the other hand can remain nameless through technology.  This means that the general character of the intimidator no longer needs to be the biggest or the meanest because behind a screen name or a blog no one can truly depict who the initiator is.  This makes cyberbullying more of a threat because more students can participate without the fear of retaliation.

Today, more than any other school safety problem, bullying affects students’ sense of security.  Once thought of as a relatively harmless behavior that helps to build young people’s character, bullying is now known to have long-lasting harmful effects, for both the victim and the bully.  In a study of 210 college students, University of Florida researchers discovered a link between what psychologists call relational victimization in adolescence and depression and anxiety in early adulthood.  Being victimized by someone you know can lead a child to suffer from angst and apprehension throughout their life. 

Cyberbullying is said to be far worse than traditional bullying mainly because of the speed and reach of today’s technology. In the past, bullying was done through aggressive behavior, such as hitting, spitting, kicking, and physically harming the victim. Verbal abuse like name calling, teasing, sarcastic remarks, and ridiculing was a common method of bullying. Both were generally repeated quite often and without the victim doing anything to provoke the offender.

Many kids utilize instant messaging and email as a means of harassment when they “ping” enemies with profanities and violent threats using fake screen names. Social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc., creates a means for posting embarrassing photos, comments, and hosting mean spirited online polls. Experts believe that they will soon overtake chat rooms as the top source of cyberbullying problems worldwide.  A common act of cyberbullying can be altering photos of a victim in a detrimental way, which is easily accomplished with photo editing software available to everyone. Often cell phones cameras are used to take risqué photos unbeknownst to the victim. These photos are then posted online available for the world to view. Blogs, created anonymously, often encourage others to posts intimidations and threats with little accountability on the bully. Recent bullying statistics show that half of all traditional bullying incidents go unreported. Statistics regarding cyberbullying indicate even less of these type are reported.  

There are some disturbing statistics about cyberbullying that demonstrate how widespread this trend is becoming. Unfortunately, no place is safe from cyberbullying, however, there are some areas where it is worse than others. School bullying statistics and cyberbullying statistics in 2007 say that the five worst states to be bullied in grades K thru 12 were, in ascending order, Washington, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, and California.

Cyberbullying is an issue that affects many students and a topic that all teachers must directly confront.  Primarily, it is important for teachers to understand the profile of the bully and victim. Bullies have a high level of perceived respect from adults and peers alike and “tend to be at the top of the school social hierarchy.” On the other hand, victims of bullying, regardless of whether it occurs in school or on the Internet, are more likely to have social anxiety and distress.

Knowing this, teachers must become aware of the bullying that takes place between students, regardless of the fact that some of it may take place outside of school.  Even bullying that takes place over the Internet still has an impact on the classroom environment and students’ learning.  First, it is essential for teachers to do their best to prevent cyberbullying. Teachers must create an atmosphere of mutual respect, where all students’ characteristics and dignity are honored and valued.  Also, teachers must face the issue of bullying head-on and allow for discussions regarding the negative effects of bullying.  Finally, it may be helpful for all educators to create a school-wide character education and peer-mediation program where values such as cooperation and tolerance are strengthened. 

Lessons plans can be developed to allow students to identify different types of bullying and to engage in role playing situations in which bullying may occur and how to avoid or confront cyber bullying.  Also, according to www.how-to-stop-bullying.com, lesson plans should be developed to help students build social skills, such as expressing how they feel in certain situations and how to compromise with other people.

As an educator, how do YOU combat such harassment among your students in this technological society?

 

References:

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/e12011405.pdf

http://www.Cyberbullyalert.com

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=5http://www.cyberbullyalert.com/blog/2008/08/top-5-technologies-used-to-cyberbully/

http://www.education.com/special-edition/bullying/cyberbullying/

http://www.how-to-stop-bullying.com/61563440

http:// www.Sciencedaily.com

Juvonen, Jaana & Gross, Elisheva F.  (2008).  Extending the School Grounds?-Bullying Expereinces in Cyberspace [Electronic Version].  The Journal of School Health, 78(9), 496-505.

Langdon, Susan W. & Prebele, William. (2008).  The Relationship between Levels of Perceived Respect and Bullying in 5^th through 12^th Graders [Electronic Version].  Adolescence, 43(1), 485-503.

Diversity in Schools…How will your classroom be affected? By, Erin O’Hara, Alyssa Biel, Jessica Tornatore, Dan Heller

 

  As populations become more ethnically diverse, so do our public school systems. This reality generates a lot of challenges for our schools. Schools are faced with getting all of their students to pass standardized tests.  Statistically, schools in low socio-economic areas score lower than higher income areas. Ethnically diverse communities in low income areas are challenged even greater. There is a consensus amongst some that the communities should merge.

According to an article in USA Today, there are programs in the United States that strive to make schools more ethnically diverse. Their methods are very controversial. Traditionally, students go to school based on where they reside. This initiative strategically manipulates the demographics of schools. In an effort to make districts more evenly (ethnically diverse), they are sending students to the schools that need that particular demographic.  This issue is now before the Supreme Court, as some believe it may restrict constitutional freedoms. 

This particular issue of manipulating the demographics is a form of reverse segregation.  This creates a multitude of issues. One might consider, if Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregation is unconstitutional, then why would it in reverse be anymore so?  The need for diverse population in schools is explicable.  As society continues to become increasingly diverse, then schools should arguably mirror that reality.  Students learn how to co-exist peacefully in a diverse community.  It sets them up for success in life outside the classroom. It is additionally beneficial to expose children at an early age to diverse populations. The benefits appear to outweigh the potential risks, however it is a very controversial topic. 

In terms of education, it presents challenges to the students, as well as teachers. Teaching diverse populations are more challenging since there is a necessity to accommodate the students’ culture.  In Dewey’s article, My Pedagogic Creed, he writes about the importance of school as an extension of the student’s social environment.  A student, he believed, only truly learns when the information is made socially relevant. This is a difficult task to achieve in an ethnically, and socio-economically diverse population.

In an article, Diversity and Complexity in the Classroom, it states that since the 1960’s, (the rise of the civil rights movement) colleges have been struggling to find a way to educate students from different groups/cultures. The demographics in classes have become more diverse. The article also states that students of different cultural backgrounds such as African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and immigrants feel unwelcome in colleges. These students feel that there needs to be a social change against discrimination, as well as respect and appreciation for their ideas and thoughts in the classroom. Just like colleges, high schools and elementary schools deals with the same issues. This article includes strategies in handling diverse classrooms for educators. Some helpful tips include but are not limited to:

•   Become more informed about the history and culture of groups other than your own.
•   Treat each student as an individual, and respect each student for whom he/she is.
•   Do not try to protect and group of students.
•   Acknowledge all students good work.
•   Monitor your own behavior in responding to students.
•   Make it clear that you value all opinions.
•   Provide opportunities for all students to get to know each other.

 As we read some of the helpful tips, it should encourage us to educate every student the same with understanding who they are and the backgrounds they come from. As prospective educators, we will be challenged with much diversity  in  schools and even more challenging in our classrooms. No matter what age, race, gender, culture or ethnic background a student is, they all want to learn and can learn as long as they are respected as an individual.

Sources:

Biskupic, Joan. (2006, November 14). Justices to weigh school diversity. Retrieved November 5, 2009, from  USA Today: http://usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2006-11-14-deseg_x.htm

Davis, Barbara Gross. (1999). Diversity and Complexity in the Classroom.  Tools of Teaching, Retrieved November 5, 2009 from, http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/facdevcom/guidebk/teachtip/divers/htm

Dewey, John.(1929). My Pedagogic Creed. Journal of the National Education Association, 18(9), 291-295

Video Games for Enrichment By: Melissa Pfeffer, and Meredith Prisco

Video Games for Enrichment

By: Melissa Pfeffer , and  Meredith Prisco

Video games and gaming systems have become a part of almost every child’s life. There are countless games that are designed to target children of all ages, and intellectual levels. The designers of most of the games center there programs around either education or entertainment.  Typically the games that are the most popular are the ones that were designed for entertainment purposes.

In recent years game designers have taken into consideration how much time is being spent playing video games, “Among all kid gamers, approximately half are light users (5 hours per week or less) and the other half are medium, heavy or super users (6 to 16 or more hours per week)” www.consumeraffairs.com. With this in mind the games that are being designed now are starting to focus more on getting the children active or educating them in some way.  The goal in games centered on education, is to help the child develop their problem solving skills, and the use critical of thinking. www.nytimes.com.   Leapster, Leap frog, and Vsmile are popular handheld educational gaming systems for children that are similar to Gameboy.  Being that they are handheld they can use them in a variety of different places, whereas before, those games could only be played at home. There are also educational games you can play on the internet and gaming systems that connect to the internet while you play, allowing you to play with others on the system. “The difference in many today’s educational games is that they are online and social, allowing children to interact and collaborate to achieve common goals” www.nytimes.com.

“To Play or Not to Play?”

By: Heather Bloom, Justin Lomagistro, Petrina Vicchio

School systems around the world carefully select subjects to mandate in their schools. However, how do we determine what is beneficial and what is not? We can argue that the core subjects, Math, Science, Social Studies, English and Physical Education are essential for developmental growth. What about recess? Sure, you may not consider this to be a subject but according to Pellegrini and Smith, recess is a necessary “break period.” Just like other periods in the day, recess is an essential time block to aid in developmental well-being in a child’s growth.

In 1989, school districts had at least one recess period during the day. Since 1989, many schools have abolished recess. Recess was viewed as safety risks, liability concerns, and fears that recess will disrupt work patterns. Teachers as well as teachers feel an increased pressure to complete more work and raise state test scores all within a limited amount of time. Recess is viewed as impeding on valuable instructional time.

Sex Education: How Should We Be Teaching Our Children?

By: Kristin O’Brien, Jeffrey Rosbash and Kathryn FitzPatrick

For years, the debate about Sex Education has been one motivated by religious and moral beliefs. In today’s society children need to know and understand sex; the risks and the consequences of what can happen to them as result of sex. According to the Heath Guide in the New York Times, “younger adolescents (12-14 years) are more likely to have unplanned sexual intercourse and more likely to be coerced into sex.” This implies a lack of education and a complete ignorance on behalf of educators. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2006, there were 435,427 births to mothers ages 15-19 years. “Hispanic and non-Hispanic black teen pregnancy rates are three times higher than white teen pregnancy.” And there are 1.1 million Americans living with HIV. The problem is most teens do not want to ask the embarrassing questions about sex and adults tend to avoid the topic altogether, even denigrate teens for wanting to know such information, so technology has stepped in to help eliminate all the embarrassing, face blushing, moments they may have during health class, to answer some of these questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Child’s Play

By: Grace Thornton, Jean Marie Kempster, and Emily Sternfeld

When watching children play with blocks, many adults wonder what is going on in the child’s head, and if actual learning is taking place. In the Education Digest article, “The Powerful Effect of Play in a Child’s Education,” by Miquela Rivera, the author discusses how children playing simple games are actually very important to a child’s development and learning.  Rivera also addresses the issue that there are many cultural differences between how students play, especially when there is parental involvement.

Leaving The Classroom and Test Scores Improve By: Tara Powers, Taylor Saul, Alyssa Tesoriero and Amanda Zack

Is it more beneficial to teach for a test, or to teach for the knowledge of learning? Since the standards have changed in education, teachers are now focusing less on the grade level curriculum and more on the questions being asked on standardized tests.  Today, standardized tests are critically used to make decisions about a student, such as for graduation or acceptance to a school. Testing appears to override all other information and can cause damage to a student’s education. When a student is evaluated based on a set of scores, all other academic accomplishments and talents are omitted.

What… more school?? By: Ashley Antonacci, Scott Robinson, Shahira Asadi, and Tamara McAtamney

What…more school??

A recent article in Newsday discussed the issue of whether or not to extend school days and the calendar year.  This idea was promoted in the “Nation at Risk” report during the Reagan administration.  In 2009, President Obama is reconsidering the advice.  Some charter schools have a school day that lasts nearly ten hours. There are educators and school reformers who believe that extending the amount of time in class is the only way to be competitive with other nations and to meet the global challenges of the 21^st century.  They also believe that the large amount of time spent out of school during summer vacation causes students to lose much of what they learned.

Stimulants: Friend or Foe?

By Beth Stephens, Debra Ali, Jacquelyn Kildale and Diane Fiorito

Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a medical condition that is relatively common among children today. It is estimated that there are currently between 3 -7% of school-age children diagnosed with this disorder and these numbers could be rising. This disorder appears to be more prevalent in boys than in girls. Boys seem to be diagnosed with ADHD three to four times more often than girls (Kurtz, 2002). Some of the characteristic symptoms of ADHD may include concentration difficulties, short attention span and distractibility (Manuzza, 2009). These symptoms often make it difficult for these children to follow instructions, stay organized, and effectively participate in the school environment. The features of this condition can create stumbling blocks in a child’s path to learning and school achievement.

Does Physical Education Influence a Students Development and Overall Education?

 

By: Shane Flanagan

Educators, administrators and law makers very often overlook the importance of physical education to a student’s development. They are very often too concerned about proficiency tests, exams and the academic performance of their students. This article is going to highlight the importance of physical education class and how students can not only benefit physically from participation in a well organized PE program, but also benefit academically and affectively. Physical education plays a critical role in educating the whole student (Philips 2001).