6 posts tagged “teenagers”
Wanted to buy: We urgently require to purchase a money tree with an excellent harvest record. Teenage son already thinks we own one.
and therefore I have no free time and very little sleep.
Plus I think I might be going even more insane than I already was.
There is an excellent segment on Australia's Four Corners program tonight about bullying and cyber-bullying. This issue is starting to get a bit of media attention and it seems that it is about time. The incidence of cyber-bullying appears to be increasing and sadly bullying in schools still seems to be an issue and it appears that there are still some schools who are not dealing with this issue effectively.
The article below mentions how a child in pre-school had an issue with bullying. His story reminds me of my own son's experience in kindergarten when he was 4 years old. Ben couldn’t wait to start kindergarten and so I was very surprised to discover the day after he first started kindergarten that he didn’t want to go again. I realised that something had happened at kindergarten which had put him off, so with a fair bit of coaxing I was able to find out from him what had happeded to him at kindergarten. Two kids had targeted Ben, I sorted it out with the teachers but Ben was never as keen to go to kinda as he initially was.
At one stage during Ben's year at kinda there was a family night at the kinda, it was like a picnic. Hubby and I were sitting in the kinda's grounds just watching the kids playing and we spotted the two boys who had targeted Ben. It didn’t take us long to realise that these two brave little kids were now targeting another child and it was quite obvious. We wondered where were the parent's of these children and when were they going to step in and stop their children's bad behaviour. I knew one was the child of a local doctor and quite a nice doctor at that, so it was a puzzle to me as to why this child found it necessary to be such a bully. Anyway it was obvious that no other parent was going to step in, so I had to step in and let the children know that this kind of behaviour was not acceptable. The two boys then left the other child alone for the night.
I would be horrified to see one of my children targeting children in that manner and I would have thought that a parent has a responsibility to watch how their children behave with other children. As for Ben well I shifted his classes so that he wouldn't be in the same group as those two boys and thankfully they ended up at a different school when it came time to move up to primary school the following year.
I would thoroughly recommend the program being shown of Four Corners tonight. One of the experts is Dr Michael Carr-Gregg and he always has excellent views on adolescent health and psychological issues and generally has some very helpful advice for parents.
- Chezza
Australia's top adolescent mental health experts are calling for action to stem the tide of cyber-bullying and bullying in schools.
Adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg has told tonight's Four Corners program that someone needs to take the lead on what he considers "the most important public health issue impacting on adolescent mental health in Australia today".
"If you are bullied you're three times more likely to be depressed," says Dr Carr-Gregg.
"There are standard short, medium and long term impacts of bullying that we see over and over again and they would include really poor self-esteem, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, self-harm, eating disorders and in very rare cases, suicide."
Professor Donna Cross from Edith Cowan University tells Four Corners the effects of bullying go beyond mental health concerns.
"Probably the most significant are mental health problems, so, much higher levels of depression and anxiety, suicidal ideation, self-harming behaviours, but also there are physical harms," she says.
"Children are much more likely to have their physical health affected as a result of persistent bullying, and of course academic harms."
Studies suggest that almost one in five children are bullied by their peers, and that victims often feel unprotected and unsupported at school.
Filming at a school in Geelong, following a presentation by one of the students who recounted her own experience of bullying, Four Corners invited anyone who had been bullied to come forward and tell their story.
Out of a class of around 60, 12 children volunteered.
Children and their parents complain that teachers and principals either failed to recognise the bullying when it takes place - or failed to deal with it adequately.
Tori Matthews-Osman says teachers at her primary school had advised her to "act as if they don't exist".
"It was so hard because they did exist and they were always there and they were always in my classes, and there was nothing I could really do about it," she says.
"It was like primary school was my own personal hell, designed to torture me."
Tom Henderson was still in kindergarten when he told his mum he would rather be dead than go to school.
"For me this was out of the blue," his mother Sara Henderson says.
"I was so shocked because I didn't think that he had a concept of death. So for him to say that he wanted to be dead was absolutely devastating."
Tom was repeatedly attacked at different schools, and in one attack was concussed and nearly blinded in one eye. Because he had retaliated during this attack, he was punished.
After being diagnosed with childhood depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, his mother took him out of school altogether and now home-schools him at their home in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
Dr Carr-Gregg tells tonight's program that the failure of schools lies not in the absence of anti-bullying policies, but in their failure to implement them effectively.
"Most of the policies that schools come up with, basically they don't involve the young people in the drafting of those policies so there's no ownership by the young people," he said.
"Secondly, whatever policies they come up with, they're not backed up by the curriculum, so there's no reinforcement.
"Thirdly, you find there's very little professional staff development for the teachers so that they're not on board either.
"So you've actually got a failure, a fundamental failure right there in the implementation phase."
Cyberspace threat
Professor Cross tells Four Corners that 10 per cent of young people report they have been cyber-bullied recently.
"It's an interesting phenomenon because we think that many children don't tell that they're cyber-bullied for fear that they'll lose access to technology," she says.
"Their greatest fear is that if they tell their mum or dad, that their mum or dad will stop them from being online and not being online is like not being connected to their friends at all."
Dr Carr-Gregg says teenagers "come home and they disappear behind a sort of emotional firewall called MSN".
"The sorts of things that go on on Facebook and MSN are as bad - if not worse - than the schoolyard stuff," he says.
One girl featured on tonight's program received death threats on her home computer from a former friend.
"She told me that I should go suicide and jump off a bridge," the girl says. "And that if I didn't do it, she'd do it for me."
The father of a 17-year-old boy who recently committed suicide after receiving threats says he is angry he did not recognise the danger of cyber-bullying.
"This is the hardest thing for me to understand; it's like, he was home, and he was dealing with these people," the boy's father says.
"He was home and dealing with the conflict. We didn't see any physical being in front of us that was pushing him or antagonising him or infuriating him, we didn't see any of that and this is why I'm so, so angry with myself."
The boy's family and friends believe that his suicide was triggered by the bullying and threats he received.
Experts interviewed by Four Corners say cyber-bullying in Australia is on the increase, and that as Australian children get more access to technology, they will become more vulnerable.
Cyber-safety advisor and former Victorian police officer Susan McLean says:
"By virtue of technology the bully not only follows you home but is invited into your house, if you allow technology in your children's bedroom, into your child's bedroom, the one place that they should be safe," she says.
For more on this story, watch Four Corners, 8.30 pm tonight on ABC 1.
This post is another article about cyber-bullying and it really highlights the lengths teens in particular will go to spread this type of hate and some of the tragic consequences of this type of bullying..
If this type of bullying is not stopped it can not only lead to psychological damage to the victim but it has resulted in some teen suicides. It is certainly something which must be taken seriously by parents, teachers and the wider community.
The biggest threat to a child may no longer be a bully on the schoolyard but one out in cyberspace.
Youths at younger and younger ages are moving online with their taunts, ridicule, jokes and more. As they become more tech-savvy, they have more ways to reach out — cellphones, e-mail, chat rooms, and social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace — to mock classmates.
It’s called cyberbullying, or electronic bullying, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said it’s a growing problem, as the number of suicides of those taunted online rises nationwide.
Now a state senator wants it to stop.
Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, has filed a bill to add electronic bullying to the state bullying criteria to ensure that schools provide a measure of protection for victims.
"By passing this legislation," Zaffirini said, "we would send a clear message to students, parents and teachers that cyberbullying has no place in our schools."
Local school officials say they’re worried about cyberbullying.
"It very easily is a way for kids to be mean to each other and rapidly spread rumors," said Kathryn Everest, director of guidance and counseling for the Fort Worth school district. "It could so quickly be devastating to a kid.
"This could be an epidemic in a nanosecond if we are not prepared."
Electronic bullying
A recent study showed that cyberbullying incidents generally lasted two to four days, but about 30 percent said it has lasted a week or more. And 41 percent of those who reported cyberbullying say it came through instant messaging, blogs, sites such as Facebook or MySpace and chat rooms and 35 percent say it came through e-mail, according to the school technology Web site School CIO.
"Youths can use electronic media to embarrass, harass or threaten their peers," according to the CDC.
Researchers say the reason behind bullying, whether online or in person, hasn’t changed: A person with low self-esteem, or someone who has been bullied, picks on someone else to feel better.
But the electronic version affects as many as 1 in every 3 youths in cyberspace, recent studies show.
It even reaches teachers, making cybervictims of about 15 percent through text messages, e-mails, videos and photos posted online, a Teachers Support Network study shows.
Most school districts don’t have data showing how big a problem cyberbullying is, and many cases probably aren’t reported to school officials, police or parents.
That’s why some school officials say they need to try to teach students that bullying in any form is wrong.
"We have to be aware of the global connectedness of the world and what that can do," Everest said. "You can’t ignore the trends and possibilities."
Legislative impact
The first step, some say, is to add electronic bullying to the definition of bullying in the state code. Then Texas school districts can recognize and punish cyberbullies.
Zaffirini is carrying the bill, which has been referred to the Senate Education Committee, at the request of the Texas Association of School Administrators.
The one-page bill says that bullying includes "expression through electronic means."
Officials say they are glad to see this addressed, but they would also like to see counseling or guidance programs for students required.
The key is to reinforce a positive self-esteem throughout a child’s school career — and to make clear that any type of bullying is wrong.
"Every school has to deal with issues related to bullying," said Rene Moore, coordinator of Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities, a counseling department in the Fort Worth school district. "We have to provide education at a level that it’s reinforced as a young person moves up in grade levels to give them skills and knowledge to address the situation."
Deadly impact
Cyberbullying is dangerous, and could be deadly.
New York students created an online poll to find the biggest "ho" at their school; New Jersey students constantly updated a Web site mocking a classmate. In Fort Worth, a North Crowley High School student in 2004 told police her name was on a classmate-maintained Web site "hit list."
The story of Megan Meier, a 13-year-old Missouri girl who killed herself in 2006, captured headlines nationwide. She was upset because a 16-year-old boy who had seemed to like her humiliated her online. The "boy" turned out to be the mother of a former friend.
Ryan Patrick Halligan, a 13-year-old Vermont boy, killed himself after being bullied in person and online. Ryan had a crush on a girl who said online that she liked him, but later told him in person that she thought he was a "loser." She said she pretended to like him to get personal information about him to share online with classmates.
"We, as educators, need to be prepared for this," Everest said. "We can’t repress the world."
Electronic (or cyber) bullying
What is it? Harassing or bullying people in e-mails, text messages, instant messages, chat rooms, social networking sites and more.How is it done? Some people can pretend to be others online, pretend to be interested in a person to gain personal information they will share with others, spread rumors and more.
How it can hurt? It can cause depression and low self-esteem, problems that can lead to suicide.
Warning signs: Children might seem angry or uneasy, not want to use the computer or cellphone, sleep badly, become anti-social or have unusually strong mood swings.
How parents can help: Teach kids to respect other people, in person and online, and create consequences (such as losing access to cellphones or computers) if they are part of any bullying. Keep the computer in an easily viewable place in the house. Monitor your child’s cellphone and computer behavior, even regularly doing Google searches on your child’s name to see what might turn up. Talk to your child and explain that cyberbullying is wrong and hurtful. Encourage them to talk to you if someone posts something online about them. Consider putting parental controls on the computer.
Bill Watch: Bullying
Description: Senate Bill 29 by state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, would add electronic bullying to the definition of bullying of a child in public school. School districts are required to prohibit bullying, and victims may be able to transfer to other classrooms or schools.
Other measures include: House Bill 18, by state Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio, which would create an anti-bullying hot line; HB 1323, by state Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, which deals with bullying and harassment in public schools; HB 540, by state Rep. Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, which would let districts put bullies in a disciplinary alternative education program; and HB 484 by state Rep. Veronica Gonzales, D-McAllen, which would require districts to submit data on bullying to the Texas Education Agency.
How to track: Go to legis.state.tx.us and search for the bill number and status.
This article comes from Israel but I would say this issue is a world wide problem.
Students are forming hate groups on Facebook and the targets are actual individuals, fellow students and teachers. It is a form of web based bullying. A similar thing occurred when mobile phones became a teenager's must have item and students started bullying other students via text messages.
This new social networking phenomenon has taken bullying to a new disgusting level of hatred, where the victim is exposed to an even larger pool of potential abusers and the victim’s right to privacy and anonymity is totally violated. I can only imagine how devastated and violated a victim of this type of attack would feel.
Two weeks ago, a group of students from one
of Jerusalem's most prestigious junior high schools was called out of class,
before their classmates' stunned eyes.
One by one, the students gathered somberly in their school
library. Something in the severe face of their vice-principal hinted that this
was leading to a disciplinary measure. A glance around the room was enough to
see that these students were far from bring the rowdiest in the class.
Some of them bit their fingernails in anticipation, as potential reasons for their punishment raced through their heads. But not one expected to be accused of forming a hate group against a fellow student on the Facebook social networking site.
Each had responded to another classmate's invitation
on Facebook to join the group, but all said that they had never dreamed
it to be a real hate forum.
"We joined out of curiosity," they defended themselves. "It happened a long time ago. It wasn't for real."
"They didn't understand the severity of their actions," one mother
said. She added that the thought that her son joining a 'hate group'
shocked her to the core, as hearing those words inspired thoughts of
anti-Semitism and racism,. "I told him that in real life, groups like
that operate in Europe against Jews and immigrants. I asked him how he
would feel if he were to be ostracized simply for being Jewish. That's
when he understood."
While no threats of ostracism were found on the group's Web site -
aside from the group's insulting headline - mocking comments and taunts
hurled at that student's expense were posted in abundance.
The victimized student's father paid a visit to the local police
station, threatening to press charges against the children involved.
Then the school took action.
The students summoned to the library for apprehension were given a
light sentence of an in school suspension, and instantly became heroes
for the day. They were also ordered to speak to their classmates of the
various hazards of web surfing.
The student who established the group was suspended for a full day suspension.
Meanwhile, the school's administration said that it has uncovered other hate groups in the wake of that situation.
In another Jerusalem school, a similar event turned out quite
differently. This time the target was a member of the teaching staff,
and the Facebook content was much harsher.
As soon as that group was discovered, the targeted teacher gave a
lecture to the class in which the offending students belonged,
explaining the 'dos and don'ts' of Web surfing. Founding a hate group
is a libelous offense, she told them, one which could possibly entail
criminal consequences. The offending students told the teacher they
were underage and thus did not bear any criminal responsibility.
A mother of one of the students appeared at the classroom door not
long after the discussion began, demanding that her son be let outside.
Apparently, the student had contacted his mother via a text message
during the lecture.
The mother told both the teacher and the class adviser that she had
been aware of her son's group and saw nothing wrong with it.
Ultimately, the students at that school went unpunished. According to
the teacher, the staff "understood that if the parents were going to be
dismissive of the affair, there wasn't anything else we could do."
Such sentiments of hate are not uncommon in virtual juvenilia.
Wandering the mean Internet streets populated by teenagers quickly
brings up several hate groups directed at both teachers and fellow
classmates. In addition, many cases of Web-bullying have been reported,
with blogs and Facebook pages overrun by nasty comments.
The leading site Israblog alone contains more than 400 hate groups,
specifically designated to the expression of negative feelings against
a single person. A YouTube search of "Yaldei Kafot" (Beating kids)
brought out several video clips of student violence, as well as
pictures and videos displaying of both students and teachers showing
various expressions of disrepect. "Children have been known to upload
inappropriate pictures of teachers," one teacher said.
Concern is now growing that children - raising themselves behind
closed doors and in front of their computers ? may be turning into
unrestrained monsters. Pranks directed at schoolteachers and students
ostracized by their peers have always been common features of
school-life. What has changed, perhaps, is the breadth of hate
circulation.
"That's the power of the Web," says Tami Sa'ar, a senior ethics
instructor in the Ministry of Education. "If someone uploads a girl's
Photoshop-edited nude photos, the whole world can seen it. It?s the
same kind of violence, to the 10th power."
According to an Education Ministry poll of students in the fifth,
eighth, and twelfth grades taken last year shows, 30 percent of
teenagers reported hateful messages or offensive material being
distributed among their classmates. It is safe to assume that the
actual figures are higher. Additionally, one-third of respondents said
they saw no reason for alarm. 80 percent of respondents said they would
inform an adult in case of Internet abuse, while 70 percent claimed
their parents take no interest in their Web-surfing habits.
One student actually uncovered a hate group his brother after being
invited to join, his mother claimed. "I don't know anything about
social networks," she added. "We were all badly shaken."
While children have always been cruel to one another, in the past
they have tended to hide their worlds from adults. However, the
explosion of has made it harder for them to cover their tracks, and
more and more stories are leaking out.
"We deliberated the best way to respond," a victimized student's
mother said. "But I'm pleased we didn't tell him to just let it pass. I
think the school was forced to recognize what was going on as a result
by pressuring the school to act." According to her the school ought to
have known about the phenomenon sooner and initiate preventive actions.
"It's the violence of this generation. Geek violence."
Another mother, Nurit, claims her 12-year old daughter suffers from
Web-abuse instigated by her fellow classmates, adding that "they hate
everything these days. It's the single most common word in their
vocabulary. How could such a powerful word become so marginalized?"
"Children can't tell right from wrong, legal from illegal, as
schools look on," she added. According to the mother, one of her
daughter's classmates regularly left abusive comments on her daughter's
blog as she was approaching the seventh grade.
"Just as everyone was settling into their social niche, she began
being abused, something which had a profound effect on her social
status, so I decided to involve the school," said Nurit.
But instead of acting as educational authorities, said Nurit,
schools are passing the responsibility on to parents. "They encourage
computer-use, they provide the tools and should also provide rules of
behavior. Apply education in computer classes too."
The Education Ministry's information and ethics division of has a
slew of slideshows explaining the rights and wrongs of Internet use,
and also organizes workshops for teachers. But issue is far from being
a top priority, according to Dorit Bachar, chief supervisor for
Internet ethics in the ministry.
According to the Jerusalem teacher who targeted by a hate group,
however, that the problem lays much deeper than just priority-setting:
"Schools ignore the issue because they know that the students are much
more advanced than us in this virtual world. It's just too daunting.
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