This is an important post about cyberbullying for all parents and educators to read. It contains many useful links. Thanks Jacqui Murray.
In October 2006, thirteen-year-old Megan Meier hung herself in her bedroom closet after suffering months of cyberbullying. She believed her tormentors’ horrid insults, never thought she could find a way to stop them, and killed herself. She’s not the only one. In fact, according to the anti-bullying website NoBullying.com, 52 percent of young people report being cyberbullied and over half of them don’t report it to their parents.
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, a great time to think about how you can be part of the solution to this insidious destructive problem.
What is cyberbullying?
The image of bullying is the big kid pushing the little kid on the playground. Today, that taunting and pushing is more likely to happen online than in person:
Cyberbullying is any online post, blog, article, or even a show of support for writing that insults one person (or a group) who thinks/acts differently than what…
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I’ve lived through ‘it’ before ‘it’ had a name. I like that some schools make it a point to have information assemblies saying no one should be bullied. There is enough challenges in growing up, being bullied shouldn’t add to that grief.
There are schools that have benches for children who don’t have friends. If someone sits there the other children know that that person needs to be asked to play. A Buddy Bench. My grandson tells me that he has seen children in older grades with frowns sitting on the bench waiting for friends… but he seems to think his grade just used the bench for resting.
One would hope adults could learn from this and not be bullied by our political system.
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I’m sorry you experienced bullying, Jules. But I’m pleased you were/are a tough survivor. I agree with you that life is tough enough without adding bullying into the mix.
I’ve heard people mention the friendship bench before. Maybe it was you. I think it’s a good idea, as long as it’s respected and doesn’t become the ‘losers’ bench. I think resting on the bench is a good idea.
If only we could all learn. What a wonderful world it would be.
Thanks, Jules. Sending smiles and hugs your way.
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Important post, Norah. Thanks for sharing.
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It was good of Jacqui to write it. 🙂
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🙂
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Important share Norah. I’m heading over to Jacqui’s 😉
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Thanks, Debby. 🙂
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Thank you so much for sharing this, Norah. Bullying–and cyberbullying–is so important. I just talked with a student in one of my grad school classes, about a cyberbullying incident at her school. It just breaks my heart.
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I thought it too important a post to not share, Jacqui. Thank you for writing it. We all need to do what we can to prevent bullying of any kind. Too many tragic stories.
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Such an important issue!
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Thanks, Anne. It is.
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Thanks Norah – I read it this morning on Jacqui’s blog. Scary – it starts with the parents to set an example and teach their children- and educators have a huge responsibility as well.
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We as adults can lead by example first and second, address the issue when it happens. Empower our kids to feel there is a solution.
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Definitely!
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It is both scary and sad for our future, Susan. There are now so many more ways for people to hurt each other.
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Thank you, Norah, for sharing this. It is a huge problem. xxx
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Yes. It is. It’s incredibly sad. I don’t understand why people go out of their way to hurt others.
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❤
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