Should Schools Be Responsible for Cyberbullying?

In this article, one author, Renee Bogacz, take the side that schools should be held responsible for cyberbullying conducted by their students.  Author, Miguel Gomez Gordillo, takes the opposite point of view and argues that this is a family issue and not the responsibility of the schools.

Bogacz’s argues that technology has created the means for kids to harass and bully each other in very harmful ways and regardless if the bullying is conducted on school grounds or not, it effects the school environment and thus a child’s ability to learn.  If a child cannot feel safe or comfortable in school, they cannot learn effectively, and therefore it becomes an issue that the school must confront and deal with.

She states that cyberbullying needs to met head on and must involve all educational stakeholders; teachers, administrators, parents and students. Teachers must learn about what cyberbullying is and how to address it.  They must be open to students who report that they are being bullied in this way.  Additionally, they need to know the rules and laws regarding cyberbullying and what resources are available to assist in dealing with the problem. In addition to these requirements, administrators must also set clear and enforceable rules regarding cyberbullying and must be willing to act on instances of cyberbullying.

She goes on to state that parents must play an active role in what their children are doing online and with their online tools.  They need to monitor their children’s activity closely and when they see inappropriate behavior, they need to talk about it with their kids and remove it from their websites.  Students need to be able to stand up against those who are cyberbullying others.  They need to feel that they can be assertive and report any instances of cyberbullying that they encounter.

She concludes by saying “victims of cyberbullying should never be expected to just deal the problems on their own. Rather, they should expect their harassment to be taken seriously and see that it is dealt with.” (2011)

Gordillo contends that schools cannot be held responsible.  Schools today are full of children with serious behavioral problems that formed outside the school and cannot be solved by the school system.  He believes that the responsibility lies with the parents and family. He states that the high number of bullying cases is a direct result of the weakening of the family.  If children are taken care of from the start and shown lots of love, they will not become bullies.

Because of the current condition of family dynamics, many children are not getting the support they need at home.  So many children now live in homes with only one parent or two parents that work full time and they are not getting the emotional foundations that they need.

He feels that while schools should not be responsible for cyberbullying, they can help by pointing parent in the direction they need to education themselves and their children. But that ultimately, “a healthy family is the basis for a healthy society, and schools can only support that role.” (2011)

I personally tend to side more with Bogacz’s point of view.  I do not think we can blame bullying on the lack of traditional family values.  Bullying has been around for centuries, even when the divorce rate was low and the majority of families had married parents where only one parent worked.  Cyberbullying is here, and it is very damaging.  We as a society need to be more proactive in dealing with it, just as we have been on other rights issues.  As Bogacz implied, if a student can’t feel safe, they are not going to learn.

Reference:

Bogacz, R. & Gordillo, M. (2011). Point/Counterpoint: Should Schools Be Held Responsible for Cyberbullying?  Learning and Leading with Technology, 38, 6-7.

Scaffolding Math Learning with Spreadsheets

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, NCTM, is challenging mathematics teachers to investigate technological tools to aid in teaching math.  These tools would also assist teachers in meeting the ISTEs NETS for students. However, many teachers complain because they have to then teach the student basic operation and concepts of the technology they are going to have to use, thus taking away time from learning math. Margaret Niess suggests that mathematics and the technology skills can be taught simultaneously with the right lesson plans (2005).

In her article, she suggests using spreadsheets as the technology tool, and having teachers scaffolding the students learning about spreadsheets while they are also learning mathematics. She goes on to provide five example problems that teachers could use to teach both the use of spreadsheets and lessons in mathematics.  Through these examples the students are learning how to write formulas using cell names, using more advanced methods to copy formulas through rows and columns, or making charts to explore patterns in data.  The options are endless.

The key to scaffolding the technology learning to the mathematics lessons is for students to gain spreadsheet skills in a piecemeal fashion, keeping the activity’s focus on mathematics.  Each of her examples has the students learning only one or two new skills on the spreadsheet application. She says that teachers must first identify the spreadsheet skills students need to work on, and then find a place in your curriculum that would support the technology lesson. This kind of planning results in students who are comfortable in using spreadsheets to solve mathematical problems, a tool many adults use on a daily basis, because it teaches them from the start how to do mathematics with the tool.

Reference:

Niess, M. (2005). Scaffolding Math Learning with Spreadsheets.  Learning and Leading with Technology, 32, 24-25, 48.

Incorporating Computer Science into the K-12 Curriculum

The United States has fallen behind in it's integration of computer science concepts in the K-12 curriculum. Many other countries worldwide have developed and/or integrated computer science into their K-12 curriculum.  In an effort to jump-start the movement here in the United States, the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) has produced a report, A Model Curriculum for K-12 Computer Science, which assists in providing a framework for school districts to develop their computer science programs.

Currently, very few K-12 schools offer computer science as part of their curriculum.  Two of the largest factors preventing computer science from being established as part of the standard curriculum are budgetary restraints and the need to improve the level of public understanding of computer science as an academic and professional field.

ACM proposes a four-level framework for computer science education.  The first level would be introduced in grades K-8, and would involve integrating basic skills in technology with simple ideas about algorithmic thinking. These tasks could easily be integrated into existing lessons in math, science and social science. Level II would be offered as part of a year course for 9th or 10th grade students. This level would include a coherent and broad understanding of the principles, methodologies, and applications of computer science in the modern world.

Levels III and IV, would be offered to 10th through 12th graders as semester electives for those students who wanted to expand on their knowledge of computer science.  A level II course would be required as a pre-requisite for these courses. In a level III course, students would explore in more depth the scientific and engineering aspects of computer science, such as mathematical principles, algorithmic problem solving, software and hardware design, and networks. A level IV course would provide a depth of study in one particular area of computer science and may include earning a professional certification or AP credit.

While ACM has provided a framework to begin the process of including computer science in K-12 schools, there are still many obstacles that most be overcome to implement a computer science curriculum.  They recognize that this is not going to be an overnight fix, but hope their recommendations can initiate a long-term evolution of computer science curriculum in K-12 schools.  In order to get this process started, state agencies must recognize the discipline of computer science so appropriate standards for teacher certification can be established. Additionally, state standards must be designed so that they ensure a distinction between teaching IT skills and computer science.  Once state standards are established, then teachers, university faculty and professional organizations can come together to design an appropriate curriculum.

Computer science is a discipline used across the world and it is vital that it be integrated into our school's curriculum here in the United States. The ACM report provides the framework K-12 schools need to implement the programs into their schools.  It is time, now, that our schools take the initiative to put these plans into action and make computer science available to our students.

Reference:

Tucker, A. (2004). A New K-12 Computer Science Curriculum.  Learning and Leading with Technology, 31, 16-19.