Mrs.
Troiani
Grade 5
Southern
Cayuga Middle School
Introduction:
A bully is a quarrelsome child who
teases, threatens or torments another person. In other words bullies are
angry kids. Bullying in school has become an out of control problem in
our school and in many schools across the United States. Situations that
began with one student bullying another have often ended in suicide, murder and
of course kids going to jail.
Students have fully embraced the
Internet’s social networking sites such as Facebook, and other mobile
communication technologies, such as cell phones for communication with friends,
making new friends, seeking information, and creating their own web sites and
blogs. While most Internet use is fun
and beneficial, there are increasing problems of students using the Internet or
other mobile devices to send or post harmful or cruel text or images to bully
and harass others.
Cyber bullying has become an
increasing problem that can have harmful effects on children. Bullying, an
age-old problem on the school yard, has evolved as cyber bullies follow kids
into places that used to be safe havens, and many parents may not be aware of
attacks happening at home.
"One of the big problems is
parents didn't grow up with this because it wasn't there then,"
psychiatrist Dr. Heywood Zeidman told WBAL-TV 11's sister-station in San Diego,
KNSD-TV.
KEEPING KIDS SAFE ONLINE
With computers and cell phones, a
child can be bullied anywhere, and when a nasty rumor, picture or video makes
the rounds on a social-networking site, the psychological impact on kids can be
devastating.
"Kids think, 'My God, the whole
world knows. They've all seen it,'" Zeidman said.
Effects can range from low self-esteem,
missing class, dropping out of school or worse.
"We've certainly all heard the
news, things about kids who try to kill themselves or do kill themselves
because of cyber-bullying," Zeidman said.
Task:
You have been given an assignment in
your Character Education mini course-“SCMS is setting up a Grade 5 committee to
address the cyber bullying situation with classmates. It will be your task to
develop a Cyber-Bullying Action Plan.” The plan may be adopted by all of the
other grade levels in SCMS.
Based on your research you will
prepare a written plan and oral report in your mini course. The top action plan from each class will be
discussed during a faculty meeting to implement the plan this school year.
Consider the following newspaper articles
and how they apply to Southern Cayuga Middle School
New
Anti-Bullying Plan Includes Cell Phone Search
OAK
HARBOR, Wash. (AP) - Oak Harbor school principals may start looking through
student cell phones as a way to crack down on cyber-bullying. Some parents and
kids in the Snohomish County school district say the proposed new policy is an
invasion of privacy.
Assistant
superintendent Lance Gibbon told The Herald newspaper the idea is to keep kids
safe. The district wants principals to confiscate and search electronic devices
when they suspect students may be using their phones to harass others via
e-mail, text message or by sending photos.
The
policy would extend to messages and images sent outside of school hours if that
content was then shared during school.
The
Legislature has mandated that schools update their policies on bullying by
August 2011. OakHarbor's plan is based on suggestions from the Washington State
School Directors Association.
(Copyright
2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
NISD
fights back on cyber and schoolyard bullying
SAN
ANTONIO-- For some students, back to school means back to facing their enemies.
With technology, school bullying is at a whole new level.
Now
that the school bell has rung, parents need to do their part to keep their
children out of the fighting ring.
Research
shows more than half of students face some kind of bullying Words can hurt, and the pain lasts longer
than a bruise. A new bill has been introduced within the Texas Legislature to
allow districts to punish cyber bullies the same way they punish schoolyard
ones. help nip bully . Northside
Independent School District officials urge parents and students to call
397-SAFE.
For
more information, visit the website of the Stop Bullying Now! campaign to
help families deal with the issue.
Process:
Next you will complete the following
six steps: (Each step is linked to a worksheet that you will complete one by
one.)
Students will be divided into a
group of four students.
Use the 6-step Public Policy format
which we have discussed already. Complete the handouts given to collect
information for each step.
2.
GATHER EVIDENCE OF
THE PROBLEM
4.
EVALUATE THE EXISITNG PUBLIC POLICY
5.
DEVELOP
PUBLIC POLICY SOLUTIONS
6.
DETERMINE
THE BEST SOLUTION
Go to the PPA, complete the hard
copies of the worksheets that will be used for your action plan. You may use the websites listed in the
Resource section of this webquest:
1.
Identify and define the problem of
cyber-bullying in SCMS. Use the worksheet found at the website: Worksheet
1: Identify the
problem
2.
Gather evidence for this problem and
complete worksheets. Worksheet 2: Gather the evidence
for the problem
3.
Identify the causes and effects
cyber-bullying in SCMS by using the worksheet found at the website: Worksheet
3: Determine the
causes for the problem
4.
Examine
the existing policy which tries to address the problem of cyber-bullying at
SCMS using the worksheet: Worksheet 4: Evaluate an
existing public policy
5.
Create three of your own public policies
that will address the social problem of cyber-bullying in SCMS. Use the
worksheets found at: Worksheet 5: Develop solutions
for the problem
6.
Finally, evaluate the effectiveness of your
public policy solutions and select the best solution to solve the problem of
bullying in SCMS by using the worksheet found at the website: Worksheet
6: Choose the BEST
solution
After you have completed the six
steps you will:
·
Prepare your Cyber-Bullying Action Plan written report
independently using the groups PPA worksheets. (Use the writing process steps
and 6 Traits)
·
Share your written report within your group
·
Your group will select the best written report and share with
the class (oral report.)
·
Class will decide the best report that will be shared with the
faculty that will be considered as a school policy to protect the students
against cyber-bullying.
Evaluation:
|
GRADE: |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Written action plan report & Oral Presentation |
No knowledge of the uses of the PPA . Presents no data to support the proposed policy. Essay is incomplete and did not share with group. |
Little knowledge of the uses of PPA. Presents several sources of data in a logical format to support the
proposed policy. Essay is minimally completed and shared with group |
Acceptable amount of knowledge of the uses of PPA. Presents several sources of data in a logical and organized format
to support the proposed policy. Essay is completed and shared with group using good speaking skills. |
Superior knowledge of the uses of PPA. Presents an exceptional amount of data to support the proposed policy. Essay
is thoroughly written and shared with group and class with excellent public
speaking skills. |
|
Group Collaboration |
Students had difficulty working together to complete the assignment during
all steps of the process. |
Students had some difficulty working together to complete the assignment during
some steps of the process. |
Students worked together to complete the assignment during all steps of the process. |
Students worked diligently together to complete the assignment during all steps of
the process. |
|
Worksheets |
Incomplete worksheets
that did not use the conventions of standard written English. |
Minimally completed worksheets with some usage of the conventions of Standard Written
English. |
Acceptable completed worksheets with correct usage of the conventions of
Standard Written English. |
Superior completion of worksheets with correct usage of the conventions of
Standard Written English. |
Conclusion:
By completing this Webquest, you
have now learned how to identify cyber-bullying behavior and know strategies for
how to prevent it. As a Public Policy Analyst using the PPA model, you have
identified the causes of the problem, provided evidence, researched the current
policies, and created a student Cyber-Bullying Action Plan. As a result of this
assignment, you have been an active part in contributing solutions to the SCMS
community.
Standards:
New York State
Health
·
Standard 2: A Safe and Healthy Environment.
Students
will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and
healthy environment.
·
Standard 3: Resource Management.
Students
will understand and be able to manage their personal and community resources.
Social
Studies: Standard 5
Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Use a variety of intellectual skills
to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing
governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the U.S.
Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and
the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of
participation.
English
and Language Arts
·
Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for
information and understanding.
As
listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover
relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from
oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they
will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit
information.
·
Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for
critical analysis and evaluation.
As
listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information,
and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As
speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from
a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas,
information and issues.
·
Standard 4: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for
social interaction.
Students
will use oral and written language for effective social communication with a wide
variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social
communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their
views.
Resources:
·
Cyber
Bullying, A Parent’s Guide
·
NISD
Fights Back on Cyber and Schoolyard Bullying
·
Website
is new frontier in cyber bullying