In our view: ‘No!’ to Bullies

So-called “social” networking sites have produced a nasty byproduct: heinously unsocial behavior that takes the age-old scourge of bullying to alarming new heights.

Bullying has become a 24/7, real-time problem as aggressive behavior has expanded beyond school yards and neighborhoods and into the most private computers of our homes. According to the National Crime Prevention Council (http://www.ncpc.org), bullying has become “a devastating form of abuse that can have long-term effects on youthful victims, robbing them of self-esteem, isolating them from their peers, causing them to drop out of school and even prompting health problems and suicide.” The abuse also affects the bully; one national study reported nearly 60 percent of boys whom researchers classified as bullies in grades six to nine were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24, and 40 percent had three or more convictions, the NCPC notes.

In Washington, this growing problem has the attention of the Legislature, which this year passed a measure requiring closer communication between the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and school districts, which are required to submit an anti-bullying policy to the OSPI by mid-August. The law took effect last Thursday. Districts (as monitored by the OSPI) also will be required to publish more information about cyber-bullying and Internet safety.

Although the main component in dealing with the bullying of minors is close communication between parents and children, that interaction does not always exist. That’s why schools must be vigilant to signs of bullying, both on the school grounds and beyond. One crucial step is for adults to acknowledge that this isn’t your father’s type of bullying. “Kids are using text messaging and e-mail and social networking sites as a way to intimidate other kids after school and on weekends,” said Todd Herrenkohl, an associate professor at the University of Washington. “That’s something that’s increasingly difficult to monitor.” He was interviewed recently by KIRO-FM in Seattle.

Another nationally known expert on the subject of harassment at schools, Mike Donlin, who works with the Seattle school district, said his research indicates about 20 percent of students have been bullied. Such a pervasive abuse clearly demonstrates the need not only for school policies, but also for enforcement.

This year’s legislative action was prompted in part by statistics from the OSPI that showed nearly 15,000 students across the state suspended for bullying during the 2008-2009 school year; 442 students were expelled. School policies could include any of a variety of strategies. As we reported in a 2008 editorial, some schools in California require students in extracurricular activities to sign pledges that ban online bullying, similar to pledges that require such students not to smoke or drink. Other schools have opened telephone hot lines that help bullying victims, who can report the activity anonymously. But what strengthens this latest legislation is the way it encourages policy-setting at the local level while partnering it with supervision by the OSPI.

For more information about bullying at schools, visit http://www.ncpc.org or http://www.stopbully ingnow.com. Growing up these days is difficult enough as it is. So is teaching. Neither challenge should be made more difficult by harassment. Parents, politicians and educators must stay involved.