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.