Cyberbullying

[HarryD]

Today, in the NY Times there was an article on Cyberbullying (How Should Schools Handle Cyberbullying? - NYTimes.com).

It starts off like this:

"The girl’s parents, wild with outrage and fear, showed the principal the text messages: a dozen shocking, sexually explicit threats, sent to their daughter the previous Saturday night from the cellphone of a 12-year-old boy. Both children were sixth graders at Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, N.J.

Punish him, insisted the parents.

“I said, ‘This occurred out of school, on a weekend,’ ” recalled the principal, Tony Orsini. “We can’t discipline him.”

Had they contacted the boy’s family, he asked.

Too awkward, they replied. The fathers coach sports together.
What about the police, Mr. Orsini asked.

A criminal investigation would be protracted, the parents had decided, its outcome uncertain. They wanted immediate action.

They pleaded: “Help us.”

... "


Hlep Us? Help your self. The tools are in your hands...

Per this article, the parents do not want to talk the other parents. This is a sad state of affairs. The bullied kid's Dad has a relationship with the other family but does not want to use it to speak up for his family. What message is he giving his family?

Frankly, Quit yer *****in'

[GH85Carrera]

Pretty sorry dad that won't TRY to protect his child.

[sammyg2]

Oh no, someone is sending me stuff I don't like and I'm too stupid to block it or simply not read it and my parents are too wimpy and stupid to talk to the other kid's parents or call the police! Won't someone please help me?

[Z-man]

Sadly, all too often, the parents want the schools to 'parent' their children.

The girl is probably a latch-key child....

Sad, really.
-Z-man.

[crustychief]

Why don't they hire a third party kid to beat the crap out of the offender? Problem solved.

[HarryD]

Our family has been down this street. My wife or I would have been there at the first inkling of problems. Our kids stand together. In fact, when these types of things happen, my other kid would have been in the bullys face "explaining" why this was a bad idea to do this to their sibling and the repercussions. Not a pretty sight.

[widgeon13]

Pretty easy to resolve, first stop is the parents of the kid, if that doesn't do it, next stop is the police. Had I been the principal, I would have told the parents straight out, this is not a school problem. If the school tried to do something to the kid, there would be repercussions.

The parents of the one being bullied are just lazy and STUPID! They need to join the real world.

[ZOO]

Recent Ontario legislation actually gave schools the mandate to consequence students for such behavior, if, in the opinion of the principal, it impacts school tone or school culture.

[berettafan]

it most certainly does impact school culture.

sure the parents should go knocking on doors over this BUT for the school to claim it's not their problem is, IMO, not entirely honest.

we see on PPOT how normally quiet guys can become raging arseholes when all it takes is a few keystrokes and it's not face to face. imagine how angsty teeny-boppers respond to this kind of 'freedom' from immediate consequences.

[Heel n Toe]

Next, these worthless parents will probably tell their daughter, "Look... this is your problem... you work it out with the guy... leave us out of it."

What a couple of idiots.

[crustychief]

Maybe the parents are dabbling in "unschooling".

[DanielDudley]

I'd be talking to the boy in front of his father, with the father knowing that I was coming to him before taking it to the police. Sexual assault threats are absolutely the domain of law enforcement.

[911boost]

Jesus, from a 12 year old? Sexual threats? What the hell is our world coming too?

[Laneco]

Another child sexually threaten my child? Nothing had better be between the door of my house and the door of their house because I'll run straight over the top of anything in the way to pound on that door!

The other parents get one shot, just ONE chance, to be shocked/furious/outraged and if they are, then we will handle this amongst ourselves (as these are 6th graders). If they don't immediately come unglued and bring the wrath of God down upon their wretched little spawn, then THEIR ass is grass and I am John Deere Tractor!
On to the police station at that point. This is not a negotiable issue.

Involve the school principle? Please...talk about bring a knife to a gunfight.

angela

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by Laneco

Another child sexually threaten my child? Nothing had better be between the door of my house and the door of their house because I'll run straight over the top of anything in the way to pound on that door!

The other parents get one shot, just ONE chance, to be shocked/furious/outraged and if they are, then we will handle this amongst ourselves (as these are 6th graders). If they don't immediately come unglued and bring the wrath of God down upon their wretched little spawn, then THEIR ass is grass and I am John Deere Tractor!
On to the police station at that point. This is not a negotiable issue.

Involve the school principle? Please...talk about bring a knife to a gunfight.

angela

You go girl! That is what more parents need to to. Be an advocate for their children and make sure the errants one know when they are in the wrong.

As a good friend once told me, if you can't have your kids act decently when they are 8, how do expect them to act appropriately when they are teens?

[KaptKaos]

Another example of the pussification of men in our culture. Some father. Meh.

[nynor]

Originally Posted by berettafan

it most certainly does impact school culture.

sure the parents should go knocking on doors over this BUT for the school to claim it's not their problem is, IMO, not entirely honest.

we see on PPOT how normally quiet guys can become raging arseholes when all it takes is a few keystrokes and it's not face to face. imagine how angsty teeny-boppers respond to this kind of 'freedom' from immediate consequences.

i resemble that.

the parents taking to the principal is just weak. you go over and have a face to face talk with parents and show them the phone and what is going on. if that doesn't get them satisfaction, i am sure the police would be interested.

[Schumi]

Originally Posted by crustychief

Why don't they hire a third party kid to beat the crap out of the offender? Problem solved.

PROTIP!

I fkin love this idea.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by berettafan

....sure the parents should go knocking on doors over this BUT for the school to claim it's not their problem is, IMO, not entirely honest...

Really?

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by HarryD

Had they contacted the boy’s family, he asked.

Too awkward, they replied. The fathers coach sports together.

After more thought, this part of the story is beginning to smell funny.

It makes me wonder if the father of the kid who sent the messages is a loud, braggadocious, intimidating azzhole himself, and the daughter's father is "afraid" of him or fearful he might be ridiculed or bullied in some way if he confronts the guy.

Anybody else get that vibe?

"It would be awkward" sounds cowardly, but maybe there's more behind it.