What Is Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers,
and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social
media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content.
Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean
content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about
someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line
into unlawful or criminal behavior.

The most common places where cyberbullying occurs are:

Social Media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter

SMS (Short Message Service) also known as Text Message sent through devices
Instant Message (via devices, email provider services, apps, and social media
messaging features)
Email
Special Concerns
With the prevalence of social media and digital forums, comments, photos, posts, and
content shared by individuals can often be viewed by strangers as well as acquaintances.
The content an individual shares online both their personal content as well as any
negative, mean, or hurtful content creates a kind of permanent public record of their
views, activities, and behavior. This public record can be thought of as an online reputation,
which may be accessible to schools, employers, colleges, clubs, and others who may be
researching an individual now or in the future. Cyberbullying can harm the online
reputations of everyone involved not just the person being bullied, but those doing the
bullying or participating in it. Cyberbullying has unique concerns in that it can be:

Persistent Digital devices offer an ability to immediately and continuously communicate

24 hours a day, so it can be difficult for children experiencing cyberbullying to find relief.

Permanent Most information communicated electronically is permanent and public, if not

reported and removed. A negative online reputation, including for those who bully, can
impact college admissions, employment, and other areas of life.

Hard to Notice Because teachers and parents may not overhear or see cyberbullying
taking place, it is harder to recognize.

Laws and Sanctions

While all states have criminal laws that apply to bullying, not all have special statutes that
apply to cyberbullying or bullying that takes place outside of school. Schools may take
action either as required by law, or with local or school policies that allow them to discipline
or take other action. Some states also have provisions to address bullying if it affects school
performance. You can learn about the laws and policies in each state, including if they
cover cyberbullying.

Frequency of Cyberbullying
The 20142015 School Crime Supplement - PDF (National Center for Education Statistics
and Bureau of Justice Statistics) indicates that, nationwide, about 21% of students ages 12-
18 experienced bullying.

The 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention) also indicates that an estimated 16% of high school students were bullied
electronically in the 12 months prior to the survey.

See also "Frequency of Bullying".

Bullies and mean girls have been around forever, but technology now gives them a whole new platform for their

actions. The old "sticks and stones" saying is no longer true both real-world and online name-calling can have

serious emotional consequences for our kids and teens.

It's not always easy to know how and when to step in as a parent. For starters, most kids use technology

differently than we do. They're playing games online and sending texts on their phones at an early age, and most

teens have devices that keep them constantly connected to the Internet. Many are logged on to Facebook or

Tumblr and chatting or texting all day. Even sending email or leaving a voicemail can seem old-school to them.

Their knowledge of the digital world can be intimidating to parents.

But staying involved in kids' cyber world, just as in their real world, can help parents protect them from its

dangers. As awareness of cyberbullying has grown, parents have learned more about how to deal with it. Here

are some suggestions on what to do if this modern type of bullying has become part of your child's life.

What Is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person. By definition, it

occurs among young people. When an adult is involved, it may meet the definition of cyber-

harassment or cyberstalking, a crime that can have legal consequences and involve jail time.

Sometimes cyberbullying can be easy to spot for example, if your child shows you a text, tweet, or response to

a status update on Facebook that is harsh, mean, or cruel. Other acts are less obvious, like impersonating a victim

online or posting personal information, photos, or videos designed to hurt or embarrass another person. Some kids

report that a fake account, webpage, or online persona has been created with the sole intention to harass and

bully.
Cyberbullying also can happen accidentally. The impersonal nature of text messages, IMs, and emails make it very

hard to detect the sender's tone one person's joke could be another's hurtful insult. Nevertheless, a repeated

pattern of emails, texts, and online posts is rarely accidental.

Because many kids are reluctant to report being bullied, even to their parents, it's impossible to know just how

many are affected. But recent studies about cyberbullying rates have found that about 1 in 4 teens have been the

victims of cyberbullying, and about 1 in 6 admit to having cyberbullied someone. In some studies, more than half

of the teens surveyed said that they've experienced abuse through social and digital media.

Schools are failing to expel threatening pupils who bully teachers, a union has said, as
a report showed verbal abuse in schools had risen by a third in just one year.
Eight in ten teachers said they have suffered verbal abuse by a student in the last 12
months, an increase of 30 per cent from a year earlier. And nearly four in ten said the
abuse came from parents.
Asked what pupil behaviour problems caused teachers the most concern on a daily
basis, one respondent said it was "open defiance and harassment of teachers by
students" and another participant said it was "blatant refusal to follow instructions".
The survey, published by the NASUWT union, found the main reasons for pupils unruly
behaviour are lack of parental support, students coming to school not ready to learn,
low aspirations and large class sizes. But teachers are afraid to take action for fear of
false allegations made against them.
The NASUWT union said schools need to be more aggressive in implementing zero
tolerance policies against the bullying of teachers by pupils.
'More teachers subjects of verbal abuse by students,' study finds

Commenting on the rising number of children verbally abusing teachers, Chris Keates,
general secretary of the NASUWT: "Verbal abuse has always been classified as part of
low level disruption issues, but a rise in levels is linked the more frustration and
dissatisfaction of pupils.
"Verbal abuse is one of the most devastating things that teachers can face. It can be
incredibly abusing: from swearing, to comments on their appearance and it is not being
taken seriously by schools."
She said practical steps need to be taken to tackle this form of abuse. Ms Keates said:
"Every school should have a zero tolerance policy on verbal abuse. As soon as pupils
abuse teachers verbally, they should be summing the parents to the school and make
clear to them it could lead to permanent exclusion.
"There is only a small step from being verbally abused to being physically abused."
However, teachers are worried to comfront misbehaved children because they fear
being wrongly accused. A survey last week found one in five school staff received a
false allegation by a pupil and one in seven were falsely accused by their family or
parents. Teachers called for staff to have the right to remain anonymous until charged.
A teacher in the South East told ATL: My late husband was falsely accused by a child
he taught. The false accusation of one child, who was in an abusive home situation,
wrecked our family life.
Teachers aren't just the victims of verbal abuse. According to figures, 73 per cent think
there is a widespread behaviour problem in school, which represents a 5 percent rise
from the previous year. Threats of physical assault saw a 10 per cent rise with 23 per
cent of teachers reporting they were threatened by a student and 7 per cent more than
last year said they had actually been assaulted by a student.
In some instances, cases went as far as ballots for refusal to teach violent students,
the online survey of 3,500 teachers found. In Derbyshire, a ballot for industrial action
was undertaken at a secondary school involving a male student in Year 10. The pupil
had a history of disruptive behaviour, and physical assault and verbal abuse on both
teachers and classmates. The parent took the child home but the pupil was not
suspended.
The study was published ahead of a motion on unruly pupils during the NASUWT
conference in Cardiff. Teachers will likely say students indiscipline is a massive issue in
classrooms across the UK and that more resources are needed to tackle unruly pupils.
Verbal abuse and violence towards teacher had seen a decrease in recent years. But
last September, Ofsted, the education watchdog, said too many teachers took low-level
disruption from pupils for granted.

Fifty years ago students who acted out in class might be made to wear a dunces cap or even be beaten. In
todays schools, this is not acceptable, thankfully. However, children can feel the need to push boundaries in
order to find teachers limits. They find satisfaction in challenging teachers mentally, socially, and physically.
This article is about when this sort of behavior goes too far. Read on to learn about the trend of students
bullying teachers!

Student Bullies
In schools today teachers can struggle to keep control of a classroom full of students. Technology has shifted the
balance of power in favor of the students, who can go home and ruin their teachers reputation very easily by using
social media, texting and instant messaging. They may spread rumors to their school friends and others about the
teacher. There are many things that older students can do in order to take advantage of the teacher, not only in the
classroom but also in their everyday lives. This can cause teachers to fear their jobs, and fear going out in public.
There are countless social media pages set up simply to embarrass and harass teachers and other faculty members in
schools.
We hear a lot in the news and in schools about bullying. We are trained to recognize the signs of our children being
bullied, such as moodiness, withdrawing from family and friends, not wanting to talk about school, anxiety, and loss
of appetite. We are quick to run to administration and teachers when we fear that our child is being bullied. There are
even No Tolerance for Bullying signs and Bully Free Zone signs around our schools.
We are trained by the media and our communities to look out for, and prevent, bullying. However, what we fail to
recognize is that our children are not the only ones being bullied. There are thousands of cases of students bullying
teachers around the country. In many cases, high-school students and their parents are intentionally intimidating the
teachers when they are not satisfied with a grade, or when the need for discipline arises. This is rapidly becoming a
serious concern for high-school teachers. In many countries, it has become harder for governments to persuade people
to join the teaching profession. Part of the reason for this may be the intense pressure that comes from feeling
powerless to control the children for which you are responsible.
Cyberbullying and Bullying Teachers
We hear about cyberbullying often in the news as well. Students are going online and bullying other students using
Facebook, text messages or other social technologies. There have been instances that have been so hurtful to the
victim that t has led to suicide.
Unfortunately, teachers are also on the receiving end of cyberbullying, especially when it comes to disgruntled
students. There are so many cases of high-school students walking out of class, going to the school library, or home,
and immediately creating fake accounts to humiliate their teacher. They can also write derogatory comments and
insults on their own pages and then invite fellow students to chime in. In many cases, this all occurs because a student
was not satisfied with what they deem to be an unfair grade on a test or assignment.
The reason this is done via the Internet is because is seems like a medium where the student can say what they want to
say about their teacher without having to face the same consequences that would result if said in person. Children are
impulsive and social networking sites are a perfect place to display this impulsiveness and say whatever comes to
mind. Sometimes the students just assume that it is anonymous, or that the teacher will not find out about it. Other
times, the teacher is meant to see it and be intentionally hurt by it. Children cannot always understand the effects of
their actions on other people emotionally, especially when it comes to teachers, who can sometimes appear to be
heartless prison-guards/homework distributors rather than living, feeling human beings. Teachers should print a copy
of any personal abuse posted online, either about them or written by his or her students. Sadly sometimes parents can
become involved, and even contribute to, cyberbullying of teachers online. This can make the lives of teach ers very
hard indeed.

How to reduce the instances of cyber-bullying

Here are some ways that teachers can reduce the danger of cyberbullying in their classrooms:

Regularly search your own name online. Google yourself, search for Facebook pages which include your
their name and search for Twitter accounts that contain your name.
Dont ever connect with current and potential future students and parents on social networks. This will cut
down on the amount of personal information that they know about you.
Always make sure to password protect everything online. This will reduce the possibility of your social
media accounts being hacked. Keep all accounts set on the most private settings. Al so, password-protect your mobile
phone.
Keep your private life private. Dont share too much about your family, home, and background to your
students and their parents.
Always report any suspicious activity on your personal social networking accounts. Keep in mind that
anything personal that people can see could be used to bully you or your family.
Words of comfort for victims of bullying?

Other Ways Students Bully

High school students can bully a teacher in a number of ways. They can use their bad behavior as a tool to gain
attention from other students. This takes attention away from the lesson and from the teacher. Students also bully
teachers through social media, or by sending derogatory texts and instant messages to other students via cell phone.
Bullying can be done by merely disrespecting the teacher in the hallway, or at a school event, or by spreading false
and detrimental rumors about the teacher among the other students in the school.
Bullying towards teachers can come in many different forms. Obviously, students can physically harm a teacher. They
can throw things, hit, kick, punch, slap, flick, and push the teacher. Students can harass, intimidate, and disrespect the
teacher. Verbal abuse is also prevalent among students bullying teachers. Verbal assault is just as damaging as
physical harm is. Mental abuse can take place when the student threatens the teacher, leaving the teacher feeling
fearful of the student. Emotional abuse can occur if the teacher is sexually harassed or defamed, and when t he
reputation of the teacher and their career are put in jeopardy.
Any abuse that brings the teachers personal life into the mix will cause severe anxiety and stress for the teacher, their
spouse, and other family members. Other forms of bullying teachers can be obscene gestures and, unfortunately, there
have been cases of weapons pulled on the teacher inside and outside of the classroom. Vandalism of the teachers
personal property and classroom property and equipment is a form of bullying. WSOCTV.com 9 Investigates, a
television news station out of Charlotte, NC, claims that there have been reports of students trying to choke teachers
by putting their hands around the teachers necks, and also instances of students putting chemicals in teachers drinks,
in order to poison them. There are also instances reported of teachers bullying teachers.

Dealing with School Administrations and Parents

There have been many instances of students bullying teachers in the classroom while another student uses their cell
phone to video the incident. These videos are later posted on social networking sites and YouTube. This results in the
teacher feeling helpless. However, school administrations do not seem to be doing much about these sorts of
occurrences. For some reason, everyone tends simply sweep these terrible occurrences under the rug. Sometimes the
principal or administration lets the student go without punishment because they do not want to deal with the situation.
This leaves teachers who are bullied by their students feeling helpless and fearing to come into work every day.
According to the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, there has been a decline in teacher satisfaction in the USA
over the last couple of years. Many teachers today find themselves thinking about leaving educati on all together at
some point in the future. Uncooperative school administrations, those that do not support proper discipline for
students who bully teachers, are part of the problem, and a contributing factor to teachers leaving their profession.
According to The Educators Room article The Bullied Teacher, phone calls made home to parents usually end in
one of three ways:

The parents dont respond to any attempts made to communicate with the school.
They reply with lip-service, in that they say they will talk to their child, but nothing results from this.
They blame the teacher and do nothing about their childs behavior.
Many times when a teacher feels victimized, it is partly because of parents not providing any assistance in the
situation. Unfortunately, this can allow the situation to escalate. Many teachers feel that they are being ineffective, but
this is not the case. They are not at fault for these bullying situations.
When discipline is brought into the situation, sometimes the teacher deems it difficult to carry out assigning
punishment to the bullying student. There are some instances where it is the school requirement for a teacher issuing
detention to a student to stay after school and sit with the student while they are serving their time. This puts the
teacher in further danger, while they may be left alone in a classroom, where the bullying can continue.
According to CNNs Schools blog, 44 percent of teachers have experienced physical victimization, but only 57
percent of those have reported it. Abuse from students happens to both male and female teachers. Men ex perience
more obscene remarks, obscene gestures, and verbal threats, and women experience more intimidation by students.

Preventative Measures
Preventing students from bullying teachers has to start with the school administration. Faculty, admin, and other
school staff members need to start each year with a meeting determining an explicit and universal policy for
disciplinary action against student bullies, including those that bully teachers and other staff. This policy needs to be
communicated clearly to parents, possibly numerous times, by verbal and written communication. Parents need to
understand the seriousness of the problem, and the severity of the punishment. After the school year starts, this same
policy needs to be adequately communicated to each student, either in assembly, in the classroom, or by intercom
announcements.
There are simple actions that a teacher can take to reduce bullying situations in the classroom: They can always keep
lines of communication open with students and parents. Motivating students is also important. When teachers can
keep the students active in the learning process (which can be harder than it sounds) most bullying situations can be
prevented. When students are left with free time or left to work in groups or work independently, things can escalate
into bad circumstances. When students have constantly engaged in note taking, or active teaching, there may not be
time for students to interact with each other. This can go a long way in preventing many bullying situations.