Criminal charges for cyberbullying minors has long been possible, but now we have signs of a trend. Example: Two Florida teens, 15 and 16, received felony charges for creating a fake profile and posting "lewd comments and obscene pictures" of a fellow student, a local TV station reported. They were charged with aggravated stalking of a minor under 16. Of course "most of these laws don't use the … [Read more...] about Teens criminally charged for cyberbullying
bullying
Notes from a conference on bullying
The only way really to change a school culture to one that's respectful and safe is to get everybody involved, and everybody has to include students, of course, because it's their school, their workplace and they represent the vast majority of the people there. "So how do we involve them?" I asked Stan Davis of the Youth Voice Project on a panel I was moderating at the International Bullying … [Read more...] about Notes from a conference on bullying
Tolerance training: Schools on tightropes
It certainly complicates the public discussion about dealing with bullying and cyberbullying: In an effort to tackle bullying and cyberbullying with empathy- or at least tolerance-training, schools around the US are finding themselves caught in culture wars, the New York Times reports. With national news coverage of cyberbullying-related suicides and growing evidence that gay and lesbian youth are … [Read more...] about Tolerance training: Schools on tightropes
The freedom to *not* fit in
...and to be oneself is something every young person deserves, President Obama said this week, when he spoke of his sadness over the suicides of gay youth. "We've got to dispel this myth that bullying is a rite of passage, some inevitable part of growing up. It's not. We have the job of ensuring our schools are safe for all of our kids." Ensuring that every child not only has that freedom but is … [Read more...] about The freedom to *not* fit in
Cyberbullying and … second chances?
I was pleased and relieved to see some thoughtful and thought-provoking coverage of bullying, cyberbullying, and teen suicides since I posted on Friday. For example, Newsweek asks an important question: "Bullied to death is the crime of the moment, the blanket explanation slapped on suicide cases from Texas to California... But ... is the notion of being bullied to death valid?" Bullying is … [Read more...] about Cyberbullying and … second chances?