As you know, today is the 10th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre.  It was a horribly tragic but markedly defining event in the history of American public schooling.  You can research it on your own, but evidence pointed to school administrators condoning bullying and harassment among students rather than dealing with it strictly and severely.  It is plausible that such bullying victimization contributed at least partially to the perpetrators’ murderous actions.  While we have not seen a school shooting resulting directly from cyberbullying, the possibility becomes increasingly real with the stories we are hearing from school administrators across the nation.  Without using scare tactics and promoting unsubstantiated fear, I think it’s critically important for school personnel to recognize that peer harassment – offline and online – can and does lead to devastating consequences, and to create a climate that actively counters such behavior.

Related posts:

1. Cyberbullying is the Future of School Violence
2. Formal Rules for Students and their Devices at School
3. Reducing Cyberbullying: Is Your School On Track?
4. Cyberbullying and the Right to Feel Safe at School
5. School-sponsored PDAs in the classroom?

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