Cyber Law: Cyberbullying

I just read the first chapter of Aimee Bissonette's book Cyber Law: Maximizing Safety and Minimizing Risk in Classrooms.  This first chapter focused specifically on cyberbullying and how schools should respond and get involved in fixing this problem.  I found this chapter very interesting and I really enjoyed it.  I think one of the things that caught me most off guard is that fact that the school's often get put in a hard position.  They walk this fine line between being responsible to respond to the situation, but they have to be careful to not overstep their boundaries and their role.  Not overstepping someone's right to free speech is something that they need to be very cautious of.  The book says the best way for a school to avoid being put in this sticky situation is to create a cyberbullying policy, specifically one that is very clear in it's expectations and specific in the consequences.  Policies of these sorts are a great defense mechanism for schools so that they don't get caught off guard and so students know that they aren't alone if they are the one being bullied.

There was one part in this chapter that I thought summed everything up well.  On page 11 the author says, "policy alone does not teach students to think about the impact of their actions; nor does it engage them in dialogue about how they can address the challenges that new technologies bring, in an informed, thoughtful and coherent manner.  Schools need to supplement cyberbullying policies with educational efforts."  This just helps to remind you that having a rule will not fix the problem, but rather teaching students actions have consequences and that we are all human is what will make a difference in combating this issue.