Cyberbullying - How much more can schools do?

Tackling Bullying and Cyberbullying

Recently, the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, announced that he would be writing to all school principals to urge them to stamp out bullying and keep students safe.

Malcolm Turnbull has written to school principals across the country urging them to stamp out bullying to keep children safe.
The prime minister is calling on schools to sign up to the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence, on March 16.
"We believe all students have the right to be safe at school. Bullying and violence has no place in Australia," Mr Turnbull said in his letter to schools.
"This is our chance to stand together. Together we can reduce the incidence of bullying, whether inside the school gate or online, and eliminate it wherever we can."
Mr Turnbull listed examples of schools holding conferences to help students support their peers, while others are holding poster competitions to help make their schools safe.
"While schools and educators have a key role to play in tackling bullying, we also know the important role parents and families play," the prime minister said.
Education minister Simon Birmingham said that as a father of two young daughters, stories of schoolyard bullying horrified him.
"We want to make sure that schools are better equipped in terms of their capabilities to deal with these issues," he told Nine News on Thursday.
The government's national day of action seeks to target both "old-fashioned schoolyard" bullying as well as cyberbullying.
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As an educator, we are continuously faced with accusations from parents that their child is being bullied. It seems, due to many well documented and horrific incidents resulting from bullying, many parents are becoming more hysterical when they believe that their child is being bullied, and with some reason. In most cases that I deal with, a child is being teased and needs strategies to cope with the minor incidences of teasing. Parents also need strategies to assist them to help their children deal with teasing. Many parents, and therefore their children, believe that any form of teasing or one of incidents are a form of bullying and are quick to use the term in the incorrect manner.

Technically, bullying is: an ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that causes physical and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power over one or more persons. Bullying can happen in person or online, and it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert).

One off incidents of teasing or physical misconduct does not constitute bullying and these are most of the behaviours witnessed by me.

Bullying becomes a real issue when a student is continually targeted by another student or group. Most often, the person being bullied is reluctant to speak out about the bullying and it usually has gotten much worse than it needed to had the victim spoke up earlier.

Schools are a great place in which to educate students about bullying and to build social skills within students to deal with one-off incidents. Most schools address bullying quite well in my experience though there are some that slip through the cracks when victims remain silent.

Parents Need to take Responsibility

I believe where the biggest impact can be had to address and reduce bullying is through parents and at home. Cyber-bullying is all too common in today's world, but can be addressed by parents if they are aware of what their kids are up to online.

Too often, parents want to be their kids friend and not a parent and allow them to do whatever they want. Sometimes parents are very absent in their parenting for a wide variety of reasons, and have no idea what their kids are up to. The best learning for kids happens at home. Parents have the most influence over their kids and what they do on a day to day basis. More emphasis and responsibility needs to go onto the shoulders of parents in addressing bullying and perhaps a community education program needs to be initiated rather than flogging schools to death over bullying.

The literacy and numeracy level of Australian students is gradually dropping and there is so much to teach students on a daily basis that we need to also look at outside of school hours for additional time to educate kids on a social basis. Kids found guilty of Cyberbullying should be made to attend a bullying education course along with their parents.

Come on parents of the citizens of tomorrow, step up and teach your kids what is wrong and what is right...... But if you are reading this and agreeing with what I am saying, then I am afraid you are not my target audience!