For educators, parents, and basically anyone that cares for and about a youth in this day and age, cyberbullying, online safety, and digital citizenship are serious topics. Growing up in the 21st century involves online activity, in some form. It cannot be dismissed or ignored, so great efforts have been made to develop and share resources to teach us all how to inform, protect, and navigate our digital life. For children, we need to be proactive. As I took a deep dive into this week’s content, I felt the familiar surge of responsibility to be prepared to do something. And not surprisingly, it was followed by a surge of overwhelm. How can I do it all?
I can’t do it all, and I should not do it all. I had a relieving Aha Moment when I studied AASL's Lesson Plan on Cyber Bullying in our Module 9 Resources. This effort should be a schoolwide effort, which should include the school counselor, administration, teachers, school resource officer (SRO), and of course, the parents and community. It should be discussed at school improvement meetings, leadership meetings, faculty meetings, etc. It deserves a strategic plan, shared vision and language, common goals and objectives, and the intent to implement with fidelity. One person cannot do that alone.
I can’t do it all, and I should not do it all. I had a relieving Aha Moment when I studied AASL's Lesson Plan on Cyber Bullying in our Module 9 Resources. This effort should be a schoolwide effort, which should include the school counselor, administration, teachers, school resource officer (SRO), and of course, the parents and community. It should be discussed at school improvement meetings, leadership meetings, faculty meetings, etc. It deserves a strategic plan, shared vision and language, common goals and objectives, and the intent to implement with fidelity. One person cannot do that alone.
So, what can, and should, I do to facilitate this? Begin the conversation with my school’s leadership (I’m new to the school, so the timing is perfect). Share my growing “expertise” and resources from my MLIS work whenever it can help support our efforts. Incorporate digital citizenship into my library lessons and beyond (I really like what is offered here). Collaborate with those stakeholders mentioned above within our school, and others beyond our building. Most of all, empower my school community to be proactive!
I agree it is a team effort. The librarian or classroom teacher cannot do it all. In my most recent school, the guidance counselor did a lesson on bullying. It touched briefly on cyberbully, but not to a great extent. I taught first grade so she really focused on the definition of bullying and being kind. Maybe in the upper grades there was a greater focus on cyber bullying. But this was only one 30 minute lesson. It would be helpful to spiral back to the topic through out the year and to be reinforced by the different stakeholders as you mentioned.
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