CYBERBULLYING IN I.S. 62

Sarah Shimkus

I.S. 62

Introduction: I am sure you have all heard of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These can be enjoyable and positive websites where you can share pictures and chat with your friends, but these websites can also lead to negative acts, such as bullying. The act of bullying has been occurring for generations, but just recently, adolescents have been able to utilize technology to bully. This form of bullying through the use of technology is called cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites. Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles. Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying. Cyberbullying occurs all over the world, but it is also occurring right in your own school, I.S. 62. Situations that involve cyberbullying often result in suicide, murder or children in jail.

Below you will find a survey depicting how students view their schools’ involvement with cyberbullying: “Lastly, in this cyber bullying survey, the respondents were asked whether they felt schools were doing enough to fight cyber bullying, 69% said they didn’t believe schools are even remotely close to helping out when cyber bullying happens.”

http://nobullying.com/cyberbullying-survey/

Task:

1.) You will work independently to distribute the “Cyberbullying survey” to at least 10 other students in Ditmas.

2.) You will then analyze the surveys and the websites provided.

3.) You will use the information obtained to write a two-paged (typed double-spaced, size 12-font) letter to your dean, assistant principal or principal regarding possible solutions to prevent cyberbullying. Your letter will include all of the six Public Policy Analyst steps in your letter, but the majority of your letter will focus on step 6 (selecting the best solution).

4.) You will submit both your 10 surveys and your letter to me.

Process/Resources:

1.) You will read about cyberbullying by clicking on the links provided:

a.) Cyberbullying Fact Sheet

b.) Stop Cyberbullying

c.) Specific Cyberbullying Cases

2.) You will watch these videos about cyberbullying cases. Record notes in your notebook.

a.) Cyberbullying

b.) Cyberbullied by Bestfriend

c.) You can't take it back

3.) You will use the following survey to survey 10 students in Ditmas. (Pick 10 people that you do not know to ensure more reliable data.)

Flamed: abusive message at (someone) by posting on the internet or sending an email

Your age: _____________________________ Your gender: (M)_____ (F)______

Questions (Place a check in the box that bests answers the question.)	More than once a day	Daily	3 or 4 times per week	Seldom	Never
Do you use the internet at home?
Do you use a cell phone at school?
How often have you been flamed?
How often do you think students in this school are flamed?
How often you have been harassed online or through text messaging?
How often have you been cyberstalked?
How often do you think students in your school are cyberstalked?
How often have you been denigratedonline?
How often do you think students at your school have been denigrated online at home?
How often have you had someone send or post sensitive personal information about you online?
How often do you think students at your school have had someone send or post sensitive information about them online at home?
Have you been cyberbullied by a student who attends your school?
Have you cyberbullied or harassed someone online at your school?
How often does cyberbullying that involves students attending your school occur outside of school?
How often have you been a witness to cyberbullying incidents?
If someone was cyberbullying you at school or if a student from your school was cyberbullying you at home, would you report the incident to the school counselor, teacher, or administrator?
If someone was cyberbullying you at home, would you tell your parent/guardian?
Would you violate the school internet policy to cyberbully someone or another student?
Would you report your friend If he/she was involved in cyberbullying?

4.) You will write a two-page letter to your dean, assistant principal or principal and you will use the six- step Public Policy Analyst to structure your letter.

a.) Define the Problem

b.) Gather Evidence

c.) Identify Causes

d.) Evaluate Existing Policies

e.) Develop Solutions

f.) Select Best Solution

Evaluation:

Teacher Name: Ms. Shimkus
Student Name: ________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Ideas	Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the letter was about.	Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organization could have been better.	Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the letter was about.	The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about.
Surveys	All 10 surveys were completed.	Most of the surveys were completed.	Many surveys were missing.	None of the surveys were completed.
Content	The letter contained all six steps of the PPA and focused mainly on selecting the best solution.	The letter contained most of the steps of the PPA and focused mainly on selecting the best solution.	The letter was missing many of the PPA steps and did not focus mainly on selecting the best solution.	The letter did not contain any of the PPA steps.
Neatness	Letter is typed, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with pride.	Letter is neatly hand-written, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with care.	Letter is typed and is crumpled or slightly stained. It may have 1-2 distracting error corrections. It was done with some care.	Letter is typed and looks like it had been shoved in a pocket or locker. It may have several distracting error corrections. It looks like it was done in a hurry or stored improperly.

Conclusion:

You should have learned from the WebQuest that cyberbullying is a major issue even in our own school. You may not have thought that some negative things that you said online or some negative things that have been said to you online were that serious, but you never know how someone else might be suffering from cyberbullying. You should have examined this issue and created possible solutions that the dean, assistant principal or principal could enforce to help prevent cyberbullying. Congratulations on completing your project and helping our school become safer from bullies!!

Standards:

English Language Arts

Standard 1: Information and Understanding: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. Students will:

· collect data, facts, and ideas

· discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations

· use knowledge generated from written, and electronically produced texts

Standard 2: Literary Response and Expression: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for literary response and expression. Students will:

· develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions of the texts

Standard 3: Critical Analysis and Evaluation: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. Students will:

· analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria.

· use written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Technology:

Standard 1: Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.