CHILDREN as young as eight are being cyber-bullied and many are refusing to tell their parents, new research shows.
About 25 per cent of children between eight and 12 say nasty comments have been made about them or a friend online. Cyber-bullying becomes an even bigger issue as children grow, with 53 per cent of teens 13-17 being exposed to online cruelty.
The research, released yesterday by security technology company McAfee, shows that while 71 per cent of tweens told their parents about the cyber-bullying, only 38 per cent of teenagers did so.
As if life isn’t unfair enough for the alarming number of people who are bullied at work—or otherwise adversely affected by such behavior—recent research suggests that a lot of workplace bullies achieve high levels of career success. In fact, their bullying and on-the-job achievements might just be related.That’s according to a new study (“Political Skill and the Job Performance of Bullies”) in the most recent issue of the Journal of Managerial Psychology, the first attempt to examine the correlation between bullying and job performance. It’s an important next step in understanding what appears to be a growing problem—or at least one that’s being discussed more often and openly—not least because it provides a new framework for understanding a significant aspect of the bullying dynamic.
On May 18, 2013 San Diego Gay and Lesbian News reported on a shocking hate crime that was allegedly committed in a Vacaville high school. A lesbian teenager was reportedly attacked by bullies who cut off her ponytail, leaving her traumatized. The teen is not being named due to the nature of the crime and her age, but the school did file a police report on behalf of the victim.
The girl claims that she was lured to a remote area of the school when the bullies quickly cut off her ponytail “quicker than she could react.” The cut left a hairless gap, which had to be fixed by a hair stylist. The stylist confirmed that the teen was deeply traumatized by the attack.
(Check out this useful new resource. – Mike)
ConnectSafely is for parents, teens, educators, advocates, policy makers – everyone engaged in and interested in the impact of the social Web. The user-driven, all-media, multi-platform, fixed and mobile social Web is a big part of young people’s lives, and this is the central space – linked to from social networks across the Web – for perspective on safe, civil use of Web and mobile technology. For more on our philosophy and thoughts, see Online Safety 3.0 and please check out our new parents’ guides.
(This is an older article, but a relevant lead-in to the next two following postings. – Mike)
MONDAY, Dec. 31 (HealthDay News) — Since the advent of the federal government’s No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, some schools have been cutting or eliminating recess to spend more time teaching academics.
Now the American Academy of Pediatrics is urging schools not to cut recess, which the organization says is a much-needed break and helps children develop a healthy lifestyle.
Findings from an Experimental Evaluation of Playworks: Effects on Play, Physical Activity and Recess
Executive Summary
Recess periods often lack the structure needed to support physical activity and positive
social development (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2010). The Playworks program
places full-time coaches in low-income schools to provide opportunities for organized
play during recess and throughout the school day. Playworks activities are designed to
engage students in physical activity, foster social skills related to cooperation and conflict
resolution, improve students’ ability to focus on class work, decrease behavioral problems
and improve school climate.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) contracted with Mathematica Policy
Research and its subcontractor, the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their
Communities (JGC) at Stanford University, to conduct a rigorous evaluation of
Playworks.
Randomized controlled trial of popular recess program shows widespread benefits, including less bullying, more physical activity and more time for teaching.
A new study released from Mathematica Policy Research and the John W. Gardner Center at Stanford University suggests that there may be more to recess than just a break in the day.
The randomized controlled trial of Playworks found that the program reduced bullying, improved feelings of safety, increased physical activity, and provided more time for classroom teaching. The research raises the possibility that what happens at recess can affect a school’s learning environment in important ways, and that improving recess may enable schools to address a number of pressing issues at the same time.
(Thanks to Anne Collier of Net Family News. – Mike)
Likes in Facebook and Instagram, +1′s in Google+, (potentially) “HISCORE(s)” in Snapchat are fun to get (though there isn’t much evidence having a HISCORE is a big deal for Snapchat users yet). They’re a great example of gamification, a word that’s increasingly heard in pop culture as much as education. There’s nothing wrong with liking likes and other gamification forms (more on this in minute). What isn’t great is when they become an obsession or a much bigger reason for “playing” in a social app or social site than your friends. Why? Well, in effect, you’re letting the app or whatever play you.
This is just one way parents can help kids make sure they’re in control of their technology use and not the other way around. “I know you want to gain more and more followers … but amassing more and more followers is a never-ending pursuit,” blogs my friend Sameer Hinduja, professor, researcher and co-founder of the Cyberbullying Research Center, who blogs about a lot of things besides cyberbullying (this post isn’t about that).
Congressman Tim Ryan has been a force for the support of mindfulness in our military and schools and now he is expanding that support with the Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning Act. The act, co-sponsored by Congressman Dave Loebsack, Congressman Tom Petri and Congressman Matt Cartwright, amends the Elementary Education and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to allow funding for teacher and principal training and professional development to be used for social and emotional learning programming.
“I have already seen what teaching social and emotional learning skills can do for a student and their classroom,” said Congressman Ryan. “Teaching social and emotional learning skills is based on the latest science and research, and schools in my congressional district are already improving because of social and emotional learning programs. Social and emotional competencies are absolutely essential skills—the foundation for all the other skills young people need to be successful in school and in life.”
Abstract: In a per curiam decision a three-judge panel of the Florida District Court of Appeals, First District, has ruled that a college did not violate the state public records law by refusing to provide a professor with an unredacted copy of a student’s email complaining about the professor’s classroom behavior and teaching methods. The panel concluded that the email was an education record under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and thus the student’s identity was protected from disclosure.
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