The Rapid Of Cyber Bullying

By Author: Amandda
Total Articles: 60
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As mentioned earlier, there is a dangerous and growing trend of bullying behavior via new media, such as email or texting, MySpace and Facebook pages, and pictures posted on the Internet. Young adult authors have noticed this as well, and the following books can help bring these issues to light for you and your students.

One earlier example of cyber-bullying in YA literature is Doug Wilhelm's The Revealers (Farrar, 2003). Russell, Elliot, and Catalina are three friends who all share tales of physical and mental abuse from other students. When Omega Replica Watches they share their stories, they realize there is power inherent in their small community. They decide to broaden their scope and use their school's intranet system to distribute their experiences and give.

Books such as these, and others that are yet to be written, can show students the often complicated truths that lie behind bullying stereotypes and help students see themselves in the roles that usually exist in a bullying relationship (such as bully, victim, and witness) ...
... other students the chance to share theirs. The atmosphere in the school begins to change for the better, and while the plot does follow some predictable paths, this is still a good lesson for students about the nature of stereotypes and what can happen when students get involved to combat bullying.

In Something to Blog About (Amulet, 2008), Shana Norris begins with a strong mother-daughter relationship between Libby and her mother, which then becomes more complicated when Libby's mom begins to date the father of Angel, a girl who has tormented Libby since grade school. When Angel sneaks onto Libby's computer and posts her private blog to their tenth-grade class, Libby's world is completely upended. Laurie Halse Anderson illustrates the rapid nature of cyber-buying in Twisted (Viking, 2007).

Her narrator, Tyler, has transformed himself into a muscle-bound senior after a summer of physical labor, which served as his punishment for a prank. When his new look catches the eye of popular Bethany, it enrages Chip, Bethany's brother, which leads to conflicts between the two boys at school. When photos of Bethany at a party—drunk and passed out in a compromising position—are posted online, the blame falls on Tyler. Anderson presents a compelling male narrator and poses tough questions about the nature and benefits of popularity.

Books such as these, and others that are yet to be written, can show students the often complicated truths that lie behind bullying stereotypes and help students see themselves in the roles that usually exist in a bullying relationship (such as bully, victim, and witness). As teachers, it is up to us to constantly stay aware of students and work to prevent bullying behavior before it becomes apparent, or before it is too late. For much more information than I could provide in this column, I strongly recommend the excellent work of CJ Bott. Her book, The Bully in the Book and Omega Replica in the Classroom (Scarecrow, 2004) is an outstanding resource for fiction and nonfiction titles that deal with bullying and for further information about bullying prevention. Her second book, More Bullies in More Books, will be released by Scarecrow in 2009. Bott also maintains the website , which contains book recommendations and other resources that can assist teachers and students with beginning and sustaining productive conversations about this vitally important topic. Preventative measures begin in our individual class-rooms, and I encourage you to read these books and resources and to consider how you can use them to help your students