Nov
28

Abusive internet post leaves B.C. teen ‘disgusted’ (CA)

Mike Tully on November 28th, 2011

A B.C. teenager says she can’t get the owners of a U.S. website to take down allegedly libellous and hurtful comments someone has posted about her.

Jordin Steele, 19, of Kamloops, says that although her reputation is at stake, she’s been told there’s not much she can do to force the California-based website to comply.

The website openly solicits readers to “submit dirt” about other people.

Steele said she felt sick to her stomach when she saw the nasty comments someone posted about her online.

“I was appalled and disgusted by all the stuff that was written on there,” she said, after being notified of the posting by a friend.

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Cyberbullying No comments »
Nov
28

Jacksonville Sports Team Teams Up Against Bullying

Mike Tully on November 28th, 2011

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Bullies, the city’s new pro lacrosse team, is taking a stand against bullying.

This week the campaign called, “Bullies Against Bullying” made a stop at Fort Caroline Elementary School. The team is rewarding students for good behavior and for reporting bullying on campus with lacrosse tickets.

Mental health counselor Denise Marzullo also is working with the Bullies and spoke to students along with players.

“Most bullying actually goes unreported. So most kids who are bullied actually don’t tell anybody,” said Marzullo, the executive director of Mental Health America of Northeast Florida.

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Bullying No comments »
Nov
24

Facebook feud erupts at Coon Rapids High

Mike Tully on November 24th, 2011

10 Coon Rapids students suspended after stairway shouting match. Ten students were disciplined after a shouting match led school officials to a series of slurs and threats made on Facebook .

Ten Coon Rapids High School students have been suspended after a volley of harassing comments and threats on Facebook, the latest in a string of incidents that have jolted the Anoka-Hennepin School District over the past couple of years.

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Cyberbullying No comments »
Nov
18

Understanding Evidence

Mike Tully on November 18th, 2011

Increasing emphasis has been placed on the importance of evidence-informed prevention strategies and evidence-based decision making.  Definitions of what constitutes “evidence” have been debated, but most agree that evidence is extremely important for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers charged with the task of making decisions around the funding and implementation of violence prevention strategies.

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Research No comments »
Nov
16

How safe are you online? Now you can find out

Mike Tully on November 16th, 2011

Is your computer set to automatically check for software and security updates? Do you type your name in search engines to see what personal information is online? Have you customized your security and personal information settings on social networks?

These are all ways to own your online presence by controlling privacy and security settings.

But according to a new Microsoft study, Americans aren’t doing all that they can to protect themselves and their families when they go online.

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Bullying, Cyberbullying, Research No comments »
Nov
11

Sua Sponte: NSBA files amicus brief urging Supreme Court to provide guidance on off-campus online speech

Mike Tully on November 11th, 2011

(NOTE:  This probably falls under the “no harm in asking” rule.  While Supreme Court guidance is definitely needed, I expect that SCOTUS will decline jurisdiction, especially after their embarrassing Morse v Frederick “bong hits for Jesus” opinion.  – Mike)

The National School Boards Association, along with other education groups, has asked the Supreme Court of the United States to hear a much-publicized case involving student off-campus online speech. Citing confusion among federal courts regarding the standard that applies to public schools’ regulation of student speech that originates off campus, and often online, NSBA said, “This Court’s guidance is critical to assisting school officials in understanding how they may regulate the student expression that now pervades social networking forums without contravening the time-honored principles of the First Amendment.”

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Cyberbullying, Laws, Speech No comments »
Nov
11

Judge: Facebook post should cost job of NJ teacher

Mike Tully on November 11th, 2011

(NOTE:  Based on this article, and the one that follows, it seems there’s a need for a national “teach in” on First Amendment law.  Both results are facially unconstitutional.  – Mike)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey administrative law judge has ruled that a first-grade teacher who wrote that she was a “warden for future criminals” on Facebook earlier this year should lose her tenured job.

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Cyberbullying, Speech No comments »
Nov
11

Student’s careless Facebook post nearly leads to expulsion (VA)

Mike Tully on November 11th, 2011

(NOTE:  This discipline might have been overturned in court, had the student and parents fought it.  How does the school’s discipline jurisdiction reach Facebook?  Has local jurisdiction gone global, or is this school simply over-reaching?  Or have they decided the First Amendment no longer applies to Virginia?

I’m not endorsing the student’ juvenile and careless comments, only pointing out that students (and adults) make such comments and that those expressions,whatever you might think of them, are protected by the First Amendment.  I think the school over-reached here, but got lucky when the students and parents accepted the discipline.  The school and school district might not be as lucky next time.  – Mike

A Virginia high school senior won’t be expelled for making a thoughtless, off-color joke about her English teacher on Facebook—but her father says other students can learn from his daughter’s mistake.

The Chesapeake school division on Nov. 9 dropped its recommendation to expel Hickory High School senior Michelle Edwards. Instead, she will be suspended out of school for 90 days but will be able to graduate with her class, said her father, John Edwards.

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Cyberbullying No comments »
Nov
8

Over-Parenting

Mike Tully on November 8th, 2011

Abstract:     
Today the child is king. Child rearing practices have changed significantly over the last two decades. Contemporary parents engage in Intensive Parenting. Parents devote their time to actively enriching the child, ensuring the child’s individual needs are addressed and he is able to reach his full potential. They also keep abreast of the newest child rearing knowledge and consistently monitor the child’s progress and whereabouts. Parents are expected to be cultivating, informed and monitoring. To satisfy these high standards, parents utilize a broad array of technological devices, such as the cellular phone and the Internet, making Intensive Parenting a socio-technological trend.

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Research No comments »
Nov
6

Michigan GOP Gives Anti-Bullying Bill A Loophole

Mike Tully on November 6th, 2011

Michigan Dems say the Republican Senate gutted an anti-bullying bill when they added a clause that allows bullying based on “moral convictions.”

SB 137, also called “Matt’s Safe School Law” after 14-year old Matt Eppling who committed suicide in 2002 after being bullied, was approved in the state Senate by a 26-11 party line vote, and will now head to the House.

The bill lays out what exactly constitutes bullying, but in one key part it says that the legislation does not prohibit First Amendment rights, and “does not prohibit a statement of a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, school volunteer, pupil, or a pupil’s parent or guardian.”

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Bullying, Laws No comments »