Bullying is a major problem in today's schools. With technology becoming such a big part of our youth's lives, bullying is moving outside of the classroom, onto the streets, and into social networks. As mentioned in this article, students are creating fake facebook pages, twitter accounts, and so on to make their peers look bad. One case stated in this article also shows that students have impersonated school faculty members and posted offensive messages via social networks. As teachers, we have a responsibility to minimize bullying and encourage students to respect each other and ourselves by modeling how they should behave. But how do we monitor their behavior outside of the classroom? When is it OK to limit the use of technology? This is a concern I have as a future teacher.
It is not true to say that technology causes these behaviors; people are responsible for bullying. However, it is true that bullying has become a larger problem throughout the years and the availability of technology and social networking has added onto that. The internet is very high speed and many youngsters have access to it. Messages, whether good or bad, circulate much faster. Social Networking applications are readily available on smartphones and students can have access to them in a matter of seconds. As teachers, I believe it is important to be aware of these conditions and restrict the use of cellular devices and computers for social purposes. These devices should only be used to complete assignments and engage in educational games. It is up to you how to handle it but by making students aware of the cruelty of bullying is a start. We would hope they would instill your anti-bullying values outside of the classroom as well. How would you encourage your students to use technology as a way of doing something positive for their community?
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