Teacher World

Have you seen 14-year old Rebecca Black’s music video “Friday”? If you haven’t, you need to follow this link to understand what I am blogging about today.

Rebecca started this past school year in Orange County, California, like any other 13-year old, but all of that changed in March. That was when she starred in her first music video, “Friday,” with the financial backing of her mother who paid $4,000 to have music producers write the song and make the video, which was then posted on YouTube. Her mother claims it was the best $4,000 she had ever spent because over time, it has hit 167 million views.

Not all of the attention she has received as a result of her music video has been supportive, however. While “Friday” launched Rebecca’s career, it also launched huge debate over whether it was the worst song ever written. Some of the worst comments include: “Her song ‘Friday’ is one of the worst songs I have ever heard in my entire life, even deaf people are complaining,” “my ears are bleeding,” and “her voice sucks.”

I must admit that the lyrics are repetitive and, at some parts, quite cheesy, but she didn’t write the song, and it was her first experience in the music industry. Is there no room for kindness here?

Parodies of her musical video hit the internet. Celebrities even got in on the act. Taylor Hicks, a former American Idol winner, and Conan O’Brien joined in the mocking on television.

But, as the ABC reporter interviewed Rebecca about the harsh criticism she has received, she sits calmly with a smile on her face and finally says, “They can say things like that just to get to me.”

And ever since her video aired on YouTube, Rebecca admits that she has faced a multitude of bullying, with kids at school mocking her song by singing it with a nasally voice, or saying things like: “Oh hey, Rebecca, guess what day it is?”

Then there’s the cyberbullying, where she reads messages such as: “You’re so fat,” “You’ll never be pretty,” “You suck at singing,” “I hope you go die,” and “I think you should get an eating disorder because that will make you prettier.” (I can only chalk this up to jealousy, as she is a beautiful girl, or just plain stupidity!)

The teasing became so relentless, that Rebecca and her mother decided to withdraw Rebecca from her school, and her mother has become her teacher, too.  When her mother was asked by ABC News why she pulled her daughter from school, she explained, “It’s hard to go to school when you are so famous and to have kids constantly making fun of what’s going on.”

Rebecca may have escaped the bullying at school, but she remains a target online. In fact, CNN’s I-Report website briefly carried a fabricated story that she was pregnant at the age of 13. Rebecca responded, “Waking up to a rumor that you’re pregnant is not fun! It’s just frustrating because I, I mean, I’m still excited over my first kiss!”

Most alarming of all is the fact that Rebecca has even received death threats! The FBI is currently involved in investigating some of these threats.

ABC’s reporter acknowledged that Rebecca seems very grown up about the whole situation. Rebecca responded, “I’ve had a lot of experience with not being liked. I think if I hadn’t had to deal with that in the past, then I totally would have handled this differently, and I would have gone done in burning flames. But I’ve learned that you just can’t let it get to you!”

While Rebecca has been harshly criticized, she also has some staunch supporters. Simon Cowell, for one, who told People Magazine that he “loves her and the fact that she’s gotten so much publicity.” He went on to say, “People are so upset about the song, but I think it’s hysterical.”

Katy Perry invited Rebecca to star in her own music video for “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” and she joined Perry onstage last week on her Los Angeles tour stop, where the two joined in a duet to Rebecca’s “Friday.”

And Lady Gaga defended her saying, “I say Rebecca Black is a genius, and anyone that’s telling her she’s cheesy is full of %#*&!”

She also won a Teen Choice Award and has made enough money with her music to put herself through college. She is using what she earned from her first musical video to finance her second. Appropriately called “My Moment,” this song is a perfect rebuttal to those who have teased, taunted, and maligned this very mature, sweet, young lady.

Rebecca explained what made this song so personal to her, “The first line is, ‘Weren’t you the one who said that I would be nothin’?’ which is basically saying that to everyone out there that has said that. And the next line is, ‘And now I’m about to prove you wrong’ because I am! I am worth something, and I will be big!”

I admit that I was both captivated by Rebecca’s innocence and her fighting spirit. This is a young girl who has faced some horrific bullying, enough to make her leave her school, but she has learned “you just can’t let it get to you.” She has my support, and I will use her as an example to my own students about how to rise above bullying and be the victor.

Rebecca Black is worth something, and I hope she will be big!

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I guess it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that new research reveals that schools where bullying occurs on a regular basis have lower test scores overall than those that have only occasional bullying. The significance of this study is clear; if bullying has been proven to affect test scores, it is just one more reason for schools to take a stronger stance when it comes to developing and practicing anti-bullying policies.

On August 7, at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C., researchers reported these findings: School wide passing rates on standardized tests are as much as 6 percent lower in schools were bullying occurs frequently compared to schools where bullying is infrequent.

How was this discovered? Well, in 2007, researchers in Virginia gathered surveys about bullying from more than 7,300 ninth-graders and about 3,000 teachers at 284 Virginia high schools as part of an ongoing study of its high schools’ safety. On the surveys, bullying was defined as “the use of one’s strength or popularity to injure, threaten or embarrass another person on purpose. Bullying can be physical, verbal or social. It is not bullying when two students of about the same strength argue or fight.”

Interestingly, the surveys revealed that in schools where students reported severe bullying, the passage rates on standardized tests for world history, earth science, and algebra 1 were anywhere from 3 to 6 percent lower than in more or less bully-free schools.

“This difference is substantial because it affects that school’s ability to meet federal requirements and the educational success of many students who don’t pass the exams,” University of Virginia psychologist Dewey Cornell said.

He and his colleagues speculate that students who are bullied may be distracted and more worried about getting through the day than they are about passing a test. Then again, schools with a greater number of bullies may simply be more dysfunctional overall. They also suggest that teachers might be so busy disciplining bullies in these schools that they are distracted from classroom activities.

Cornell and his fellow-researchers admit that at this time it’s unclear whether the bullying directly causes the lower test scores or if a bad school climate nurtures bullying and bad test scores. But research demonstrates that bullying can harm victims mentally as well as physically. We certainly have read enough news reports regarding students who have made tragic choices due to relentless bullying to prove that this is so. But what you may not know is that bullies are also at risk for substance abuse and mental health problems.

Cornell concluded, “Our study suggests that a bullying climate may play an important role in student test performance. This research underscores the importance of treating bullying as a school wide problem rather than just an individual problem.”

So, there you go! Just in case schools need one more reason to get serious about bullying, you can now add lower standardized test scores to the list.

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Boy, I don’t know about this one. I definitely would love some feedback on the latest report regarding additions some want added to the Safe Schools Improvement Act.

The Safe Schools Improvement Act would require all districts and schools that receive federal funding to implement codes of conduct which prohibit bullying and harassment, according to the bill’s co-sponsor, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania. Additionally, the law would require each state to compile data on cases of bullying and harassment in their schools and report that information to the U.S. Department of Education. 

An advocacy group called the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance  (NAAFA) contests that overweight children face significant harassment and bullying at school, therefore, they are asking lawmakers drafting the Safe School Improvement Act to list other characteristics students are bullied for rather than just race, religion, sexual orientation, and nationality in this bill.

This group wants to discourage children being bullied because they are heavier or shorter than their peers, and they feel that these characteristics need to be specifically spelled out in order to accomplish that goal.

Jason Docherty, an association board member explained, “One in six children are being bullied. Eighty-five percent of those bullying cases are children of size or with visible handicaps. So a federal law that does not protect those children is a federal law without teeth.”

Peggy Howell, the spokeswoman for the NAAFA explained yesterday that while this group founded in 1969, has traditionally fought to end bias against overweight adults, “now we are talking about people of all ages.”

In her statement, she criticized first lady Michelle Obama for launching her Let’s Move campaign which emphasizes weight loss among children.

“When our first lady said we have to wipe out obesity in one generation, she essentially gave permission to everyone to condemn the children with higher body weight,” Howell said. “The perpetrators feel justified in their actions because, after all, the first lady said these kids have got to go.”

She went on to say that “this is one of the consequences of focusing on reducing body size, as opposed to improving health,” although she acknowledged that she didn’t believe that Michelle Obama meant any harm by her campaign.

So, the NAAFA group plans to lobby lawmakers and their staff members on Capitol Hill to persuade them to add physical characteristics to the Safe Schools Improvement Act as it works its way through Congress.

First, I am astounded that Howell turned Michelle Obama’s campaign into one that “condemns” overweight kids and “justifies” the bullying of these children. And certainly at no time did the first lady say “these kids have got to go.” We most certainly have a problem with obesity in children, and it is a physical health concern. These children are more inclined to face diabetes and other serious health issues at a very young age.

Michelle Obama has taken on the Let’s Move campaign because kids in general are more sedentary than they were in the past, and many of them do not eat well. Just because there are kids who are obese does not mean they have to remain obese. Through exercise and proper diets, most of these kids can reduce their body weight and their risk of serious health problems. Why wouldn’t Howell support this movement which will ultimately improve their life style as well as their self-esteem?

Second, please do not misunderstand what I am going to say here because I do realize that students are bullied for being overweight. I’ve seen it, and I’ve dealt with it in my classroom. It is wrong, just as bullying for any reason is wrong.

But here is my question: Where do you draw the line in your list of characteristics to include in this policy? If you say overweight, you’d better say thin. If you say short, you’d better say tall. What about big feet, big noses, and big ears? Don’t forget freckles, warts, pimples, and moles. Oh, wait; what about frizzy or curly hair? And there are always kids who wear glasses or hearing aids. What about kids who get teased because of the clothes they wear, the music they like, the books they read? And, I almost forgot; we’d better include kids who read too fast or the ones who read too slow. Then there’s always…

I think I’ve made my point. If legislators give in to this group’s demands, they’d better be ready to be inundated by all kinds of advocates out there wanting their own sensitive issue included in the wording of the law.

In my opinion, this is a pointless, waste of time and will only serve to slow down the passage of this law. Here’s the thing: bullying is bullying, whatever the reason. We know it when we see it, and we don’t need to list every physical characteristic or quality to deal with it.

So, how about a compromise? What if the Safe Schools Improvement Act includes additional wording, such as “physical characteristics and physical handicaps” along with race, religion, sexual orientation, and nationality? Would that satisfy everyone?

Sometimes less is best.

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As promised, here is my second blog regarding the lawsuits filed against Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District due to their “pervasive anti-gay harassment,” according to the two advocacy groups who filed the suit, and the debate surrounding this district’s neutrality policy when it comes to LGBT students. (I would suggest that you read yesterday’s blog in order to better understand the major issues in this case.)

The Anoka-Hennepin School District has seen seven teen suicides in less than two years, which has some in the community questioning the district’s neutrality policy which basically says that teachers are not to express opinions regarding their students’ sexual orientation, but instead are to remain neutral on this subject. According to this policy, any discussions of this nature are to be left to parents to deal with at home.

So the debate rages over the ability of teachers to effectively deal with bullying of gay or lesbian students, or those who are perceived to be gay or lesbians if they have been basically “muzzled” by this policy. Adding to the debate, is the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which is legislation making its way through Congress. Its goal is to deal with the bullying of LGBT or perceived gay or lesbian students. It states the following reasons for needing to pass this act:

“Bullying and harassment of students who are, or are perceived to be, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) is widespread.  While current federal law provides important support to promote school safety, it does not comprehensively and expressly focus on issues of bullying or harassment, and in no way addresses the unique challenges faced by LGBT youth.  Studies have shown that bullying and harassment of LGBT youth in schools contributes to high rates of absenteeism, dropout, adverse health consequences and academic underachievement.  When left unchecked, such bullying and harassment can lead to, and has led to, dangerous situations for young people.”

This act, which would require the instituting of stricter codes of conduct regarding this kind of harassment, has both sides of this issue pretty stirred up.

Anderson Cooper of CNN interviewed Candi Cushman, who represents the conservative group Focus on the Family. This conservative Christian group feels that gay activists are using this bullying issue to push their own agenda in the schools.

Cooper asked her how she would suggest stopping the bullying of gays, lesbians, or kids who are perceived to be one of these if you can’t mention the words gay or lesbian. Her answer was that you should address the issue of the bullying itself rather than the reason for the bullying. When Cooper tried to pin Cushman down as to whether she would be okay with teachers identifying other forms of bullying, such as bullying of students because of their race for example, Cushman again glossed over the point he was trying to make by again focusing on gay rights activists using this legislation to promote their lifestyle and the need to only address the bully’s behavior rather than his reason for the behavior.

Dr. Eliza Byard, the executive director for GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which supports the Safe School Improvement Act, rebutted a neutral approach to dealing with bullying of gay and lesbian students saying, “The fact is, and the data bears out, if you don’t mention the specific problem, teachers don’t act and students don’t have a better experience. Our bill would cover all students, but indicates specifically that you must also include attention to these characteristics. And when you do, our data shows rates of harassment and victimization of LGBT, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students goes down. If you don’t mention that, there’s no effect.”

Rosalind Wiseman, writer of Queen Bees and Wannabes, told Cooper, “This is not just about the gay kids in school; this is about everybody because bullying does not exist without homophobia.”

She explained that kids are trying to prove that they belong, and if they speak out against something they feel is wrong, it is not uncommon for other students to call them gay, which paralyzes them from speaking out against future cruelty.  “And so it’s not just about the gay kids being safe, which I believe a hundred percent they have the right to be. It’s also about everybody in the school feeling that they have the right to speak out,” Rosalind continued.

Wiseman said, “So we can have policies that are about ideal reality or we can have policies that are about concrete reality and reflect what children are experiencing. And that’s when we become relevant to young people.”

“If you take out that language of naming the behavior, it becomes so amorphous that there is nothing to talk about, there’s no place to talk, there’s no place for that kid to define what is happening to him, and they also feel like they’re so ashamed that this is, you know, they can’t talk about it, these words are not allowed to be talked about. And so then they lose the whole process and the whole ability to have the conversation. They become silent.”

Liza summarized by saying, “The Safe Schools Improvement Act is about behavior not beliefs…Bullying is a dynamic in a classroom. Bullies need our help, victims need our help, and bystanders need our help. They need adults to act to take care of the culture of that classroom and build a culture of respect.”

Okay, here comes my opinion. First, as a fifth-grade teacher, I hear the words gay and fag bandied about all of the time. To pretend our kids aren’t saying these words and calling each other these names is utterly ridiculous. And I have had many students over the years, who already at fifth-grade are clearly questioning their sexuality or being bullied for perceived gay or lesbian tendencies. Again, to believe otherwise, as Rosalind said, is not the reality we see in schools today.

Our kids grow up being afraid of saying or doing something that will label them different in any way, just as much as they worry about looking different because they know that opens the door for bullying and teasing. Homophobia is alive in our schools and our neighborhoods. If we can’t use the words to describe the behavior, we send a clear message that, while the bullying is bad, so is the behavior that brought on the bullying.

We need to face reality and stop being so afraid of it. We have always had LGBT kids in our schools. We can’t ignore them away or bully them away, and we shouldn’t. They are as beautiful as any other student in our classrooms and deserving of our respect and protection.

It is my job, just as it is every teacher’s job, to treat these children as I would any other and to name behavior that does not treat students with respect for what it is, refusing to allow it in my classroom. I don’t care if you’re overweight, very tall, very short, wear glasses, have a big nose, big feet, gay, lesbian, or whatever. No one deserves to be bullied, and it is my job, because I am a teacher, to do everything I can to create a safe, healthy environment for every student in my classroom.

I refuse to be neutral about that. And I bet a lot of  Anoka-Hennepin teachers feel the same way.

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I am aware that I will probably stir things up a little bit with the following blog, but I feel that it is a timely issue that schools everywhere are dealing with, and it simply can’t be ignored.

You may have been following the news out of Minnesota’s largest school district, the Anoka-Hennepin district, which is under federal investigation by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights due to a complaint regarding “allegations of harassment and discrimination in the Anoka-Hennepin School District based on sex, including peer-on-peer harassment based on not conforming to gender stereotypes.”

Additionally, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a federal lawsuit last Thursday due to “pervasive anti-gay harassment” in this district’s schools.

What has lead to all of this? Well, in less than two years this district has seen seven students commit suicide. Four of these students were gay, perceived to be gay, or questioning their sexuality, and at least two of them were bullied because of their sexuality, according to parents and friends.

This school district adopted a sexual orientation curriculum policy in 2009, which has been dubbed the neutrality policy, which states that staff members are to “remain neutral on matters regarding sexual orientation” and that “such matters are best addressed within individual family homes, churches or community organizations.” In other words, this curriculum policy effectively bars teachers from taking a position on homosexuality or even addressing the issue with their students.

Jeri Schultz, a teacher in the system, told CNN, “There’s so much we can do and say to help create a more accepting and affirming and welcoming environment that would eliminate some of that bullying in the first place.”

While this is not a statewide policy, at least eight other states, including Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah, have limits on classroom instruction regarding homosexuality.

Those within the community who support this neutrality policy state that it is constitutional and is also consistent with the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which protects rights based on sexual orientation. But they feel that there is nothing in this law that should be understood to “authorize or permit the promotion of homosexuality or bisexuality in education institutions.”

Meanwhile, Anoka-Hennepin’s Superintendent Dennis Carlson publicly denied any connection between bullying and the suicides, saying in a voicemail to the staff, “Based on all of the information we’ve been able to gather, none of the suicides were connected to bullying or harassment.” And he defended the district’s neutrality policy to CNN saying, “It’s a diverse community, and what I try to do as superintendent is walk down the middle of the road.”

But some would question if the issue of students’ sexual orientation or their perceived orientation and students’ homophobia is something teachers can remain neutral on while, at the same time, creating a safe environment for all students.

Educator, bullying expert, and author of Queen Bees and Wannabes, Rosalind Wiseman said, “The problem with neutrality is that it doesn’t look neutral to the target or the bully. It looks like you are siding with the bully. And so, if you can’t name, on top of that, the behavior that’s happening because you have to take a neutral stand, then what it looks like to the child and to everybody around is that that homosexuality or that gossiping is so ashaming and so, you know you can’t talk about it, that the child will never come forward. So if the teachers are muzzled or there is a perception that the teachers are muzzled, then our children are never going to come forward.”

Rosalind also spoke on behalf of teachers when she said, “There is the belief that somehow if we give the teachers the opportunity to reach out to students and say, ‘You are okay, at base whoever you are,’ that that will then go from that to jumping into gay marriage. And that really, to me, is about why don’t we have faith in the people in that community to do right by their kids?”

Meanwhile, when Candi Cushman, education analyst for CitizenLink the policy arm for Focus on the Family and a staunch supporter of this neutrality policy, was asked by CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta if she objected to telling kids that there is nothing wrong with being gay in order to foster an atmosphere of safety in the classroom, she sidestepped the question with more talk about the right of parents to decide how or when these issues would be addressed. Which tells me that she would definitely object to teachers sending this message to gay or lesbian students.

Okay, I gave you a little taste of both sides of this hot debate out of Minnesota. But since it is such a controversial subject, I am going to end this blog here, and follow up tomorrow with more on this debate, including my own opinion (and believe me I have a strong one on this topic).

But first, we would love to hear your opinions on this school district’s neutrality policy. Do you agree that all conversation regarding children’s sexual orientation should take place at home, or are you in favor of teachers being given the freedom to address these issues as they occur, openly and honestly, in a classroom in order to foster a greater sense of acceptance?

Tell us how you feel!

Bullying, Teacher-World's Blog, teen suicide Anoka-Hennepin School District, Bullying, Candi Cushman, Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, Department of Justice, Rosalind Wiseman, sexual orientation, teen suicide

I am thrilled to share an amazing story with you today about a punk rock group out of Chicago, which is standing up for gay and lesbian teens in a big way.

The punk rock group called Rise Against has made an amazing video which shows young people being bullied because of their sexual orientation. “Make it Stop, September’s Children” is a powerful video, which shows three young people being bullied to the point where they are each contemplating suicide,

Tim McIlrath, the lead singer for Rise Against explained to HLN why he wrote this song right now: “I think as a songwriter I felt compelled to put this song together in the wake of the gay teen suicides that hit the headlines in September, 2010. And then also as a member of the rock scene, of the bigger rock scene that can be so male-dominated and testosterone-driven. I feel like this scene has failed to comment, or at least send out a message about where we stand on this, and I wanted our fans to know where we stood, and I wanted to be a part of the solution really.”

The ending of this video is quite remarkable! Instead of the three teens in the video committing suicide, as they were clearly preparing to do, it fast forwards to their futures, where they are all celebrating their individual, beautifully successful lives. And, as if it needed a more hope-filled ending than that, the band tied into the “It Gets Better” project, which I have blogged about in the past, showing video clips of some of the people who shared their stories on this amazing YouTube program to encourage gay and lesbian teens not to give up hope in the face of bullying, but to stay strong because it does get better.

When the host of HLN’s Showbiz Tonight asked if Tim thought there was enough being done to get the message of hope out there to young people who are being bullied because of their sexual orientation, McIlrath said, “Not enough! There can be more done for sure. And certainly, we live in the microcosm of the rock community and the Rise Against community, and we’re doing what we can to talk to our fans and let them know where we stand. And I hope more bands do that, especially from our world because, like I said, I think our world has sort of failed to really get active here and let people know why we need to support gay rights, why we need to support gay teens.”

In the wake of Tracy Morgan’s outrageous anti-gay and anti-lesbian comments recently, this video is a powerful message of hope which, with luck, will drown out the voices of people like Morgan, who speak messages of ignorance and hatred.

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The Escambia County School District in Pensacola, Florida, is trying to live up to its motto: “making a positive difference.” And Superintendent Malcolm Thomas thinks he has found one way to do just that.

Thomas has become alarmed over the increase in teen suicides in the last few years, especially those that seem to be related to bullying. “I do think it is a growing concern among parents and people in the community, and lots of times the person being bullied – they’re a little intimidated by going to someone in authority and reporting,” Thomas said.

In order to make that process is a little easier for students, a website has been developed which students can access online. In a relatively short amount of time, they can report bullying or harassment incidents, even if they choose to report these incidents anonymously. Thomas showed Fox 10 News how easy it is; you simply click on the website, click the problem tab, enter your school or area, describe what occurred, and click submit. The reports go to the administrator for that particular student’s school.

Thomas was quick to say that the entries guarantee that an investigation will take place, but the validity of the report must be proven before any action would be taken. “We’re not going to go out on a witch hunt just because someone gave us an anonymous tip. We’re going to have to be able to prove it,” Thomas said.

Thomas’s reasons for starting this website are clear; he never wants to hear of a teen suicide in his district due to bullying. “No one ever wants to be in that position. I certainly don’t want to be there in Escambia School District, to think that we could have prevented it if we’d just known,” Thomas said.

Bridgette Rich, who was interviewed by Fox 10 News said she could see where it could have benefits, but didn’t think many students would use it. But Teresa Barham said, “It should make them feel more comfortable being able to report any harassment they’re receiving, so I think it’s a great idea.”

Thomas feels that this website will have a positive effect on kids, especially those who face harassment and bullying. And he plans to have it up and running on the school’s website starting next fall.

So, let me start out and tell you what I think, then hopefully you will tell us what you think. First of all, I am confident that there will be many students who will use this website to report bullying incidents. And I am hopeful that those that are legitimately reported will be handled promptly and strictly.

But, here is my fear. Kids will be kids. Some students will use this website as a tool to get kids they don’t like in trouble, manufacturing stories that are not true, especially since reports can be anonymous. These false allegations, at the least, will slow the intended process of dealing with real situations of bullying down. At the worst, innocent people may get accused of things they haven’t done, or kids will begin to lose confidence in the website’s effectiveness to attack harassment and bullying.

In spite of my concerns, I think it is a positive plan for reporting and confronting bullying in schools, and I plan to keep my eye on the Escambia County School District next year to see whether Thomas’s plan is successful.

So, what do you think? Please take a few minutes and tell us your opinion.

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The last teen in the Phoebe Prince bullying case has been exonerated of all charges in connection with her suicide.

Austin Renaud was charged with statutory rape for allegedly having sexual relations with Phoebe, a 15-year old student at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts, who committed suicide after months of relentless bullying at the hands of six teens. Phoebe’s family asked that the charges against Renaud be dropped, so prosecutors complied and dropped the charges last week in “the interests of justice.”

On Thursday, March 13, Renauld thanked Phoebe’s family for dropping the charges against him. In a statement released through Terrence M. Dunphy, his attorney, he said, “I…want to express my deep appreciation to the Prince family for their intervention with the authorities and their recommendation to drop charges brought against me as a result of the investigation of the death of Ms. Prince. This has been a very difficult and emotional experience for all involved, and their kindness and consideration is appreciated.”

He went on to say, “I want to express my sympathy and condolences to the family. My thoughts and prayers continue to be with her family as they endure the pain of the passing of Phoebe.”

Renauld plans to continue his high school education. He is hopeful that the public and media will allow him the privacy he will need in order to focus on his studies and get on with his life.

I am very glad that this young man chose to make restitution with Phoebe’s family and acknowledge their mercy. He seems to sincerely understand the ordeal this family has faced due to the insensitive bullying their daughter faced from the six teens involved.

In each case, the other five teens pled guilty to lesser charges. And in each case, the family agreed to accept the lesser pleas in order to move on.

I truly hope that now that the legal proceedings are done in this tragic case, this family can finally begin the healing process. And I also hope that the teens involved will realize that this has been a wake-up call for them to learn compassion and to practice tolerance.

And just maybe, some would-be bullies out there learned the same lesson if they followed the case.

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Here’s an interesting question: Do you know how many states in the United States have anti-bullying policies in place for public schools to follow? The answer is 45 out of 50! My next question is this: What is the holdout for those states that don’t have policies in place?

Well, let’s explore what’s happening in Michigan, one of these 5 states. Over the past 10 years, proposals for an anti-bullying policy in Michigan have broken down over language describing the motivation for bullying and characteristics of victims. Many Republicans were unwilling to vote for past proposals which included lists that were specifically aimed at protecting those who were targeted due to sexual orientation, weight, or other factors. Their concern was that it was an attempt to carve out special protection for gay students or other specific groups of students.

I’m not quite sure why someone felt the need to delineate one type of victim over another. A student who is bullied is a victim, whether white or black, gay or straight, overweight or thin, immigrants or U.S. citizens. Why insist on language which is only going to slow this bill down? This is the kind of ridiculous rhetoric which drives me crazy because it wastes everyone’s time.

Finally some progress was made on Tuesday, when anti-bullying legislation won unanimous approval from a state Senate committee. “The purpose of this bill is to start down the path and make sure that every school has a policy,” said Sen. Rick Jones, a Republican from Grand Ledge and sponsor of the legislation. “I think that’s the first step, and I think that will help a great deal.”

But the measure has a long way to go. While the bill encourages schools to adopt policies for reporting and investigating bullying incidents, the language does not mandate that they do so, which leads some to say that the language makes it ineffective. Some anti-bullying policy advocates claim that it is not detailed or tough enough. So, it looks as though there is more fighting to come, causing many to feel impatience and frustration.

Kevin Epling of East Lansing was the father of a 14-year old son, Matt, who killed himself after being lured to a local park where he was pelted with eggs by a group of older boys in 2002. The assault was labeled “hazing,” but Kevin said his once confident, creative kid was so humiliated that a few weeks later he committed suicide.

Epling said he wants a more “comprehensive” bill than the one that passed in the Senate committee. You can sense his frustration when he said, “Form a team, get it done and have it in place by the new school year. It can be done. They’ve had more than enough time.”

And Governor Synder is also pushing that an anti-bullying policy be developed and voted on soon. In his Education Address on April 28, the governor made this statement:

“The harm caused by bullying is not under debate. Studies have long shown that it leads to low self-esteem, depression, poor academic achievement, truancy, and even suicide. School is not a house of learning for a bullying victim; it is a house of pain. A bullied student is not only being tormented; he or she is being denied an equal opportunity to a quality education.”

“Even the home is no longer a refuge for the bullying victim. Much of bullying today takes place on the internet, cell phone text services and by other electronic means. Such cyber bullying may not always take place on school property or during school hours, but when it is between students it must be recognized as a school issue. And because bullying is a school issue, it must be dealt with in school – before it becomes a law enforcement issue.”

“Many Michigan schools already have good anti-bullying policies in place and we need to ensure that every school has one. School policies cannot be designed to only cover some students – every school must protect every student. And, as adults, we need to be clear in both word and deed – bullying is always wrong.”

“I am asking the legislature to pass a comprehensive anti-bullying bill that will be in place for the next school year. The bill need not tell each school how to deal with bullying, but it must require that they have clear policies do so. The State Board of Education already has developed a model policy that every district can look to as they develop their own.”

“Michigan students should not suffer because we fail to act.”

Come on, Michigan legislators! Forget the politics and just get this 10-year old job done for the sake of the young people of your state! For a group of lawmakers to take this much time to write and pass such an important policy makes you look like you don’t care, and that can’t be true.

Or is it?

Bullying, Teacher-World's Blog Bullying, Governor Snyder, Kevin Epling, Matt Epling, Michigan anti-bullying policy

Is it me, or is the month of May turning into bullying-plea-bargain season? Just when I think I’ve covered every plea bargain out there, here’s one more, this time from Trenton, New Jersey.

You remember the case from Rutgers University involving the video taping of Tyler Clementi in an encounter with another boy by his roommate, Dharun Ravi who was aided by Molly Wei. The video was posted online for others to see leading to Tyler’s apparent suicidal jump off the George Washington Bridge.

This past Friday, Molly Wei pleaded not guilty to two counts of invasion of privacy. The deal she accepted requires she be admitted into a three-year pretrial intervention program. If she completes that program without additional legal troubles, the two invasion of privacy charges, which she received for allegedly watching the video with Tyler, will be dropped, according to a statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

But, that’s not all! Wei will also have to complete 300 hours of community service, participate in counseling which centers on cyber bullying and alternate and cultural lifestyles, and (and this is a biggie) she must testify against Ravi.

According to authorities, Ravi was the one who placed the camera in the room without Tyler’s knowledge and accessed it remotely. Then, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan, he “provided others an opportunity to view the encounter.”

As if this wasn’t bad enough, Ravi tried to view a second encounter between Tyler and the same male two days later. He then alerted others on Twitter of the planned meeting. Then, according to the statement, he deleted the tweet, replacing it with a false one in order to mislead investigators.

Ravi has been indicted by a grand jury on 15 counts which include invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, tampering with physical evidence, witness tampering, and hindering apprehension of prosecution. He is to be arraigned on May 23.

Wei remained silent after the brief hearing, but her lawyer claimed that she isn’t a bully and has been cooperative with both the investigation and the prosecutor’s office.

In the meantime, Tyler’s father, Joe, read a statement outside the courtroom in which he said that the charges were a direct result of Wei’s “bad decisions without regard for another person’s privacy or dignity. … We are here to say that we are committed to do what we can to reinforce calls for compassion and respect for human dignity that have been made in response to Tyler’s experience…”

“Actions have consequences,” he concluded. “We hope Ms. Wei will become a better person and show kindness to people.”

I reported earlier today regarding the plea agreements in the Phoebe Prince case. As I compare these two situations, I must applaud the judge of this West Windsor, New Jersey court, and anyone else who helped draft this agreement, for a job well-done. This, as far as I am concerned, is a much more appropriate plea agreement; one that better fits the crime.

The extended length of time, three years rather than just one or less than one year, seems fairer. And I think it is awesome that during this time she will do 300 not just 100 hours of community service. This service will take time, it will be inconvenient, and it will be a constant reminder to her of what she did and what she must never do again.

And why wasn’t counseling a criteria in the Prince pleas? How appropriate that Wei will be a captive audience as she explores the difference between insensitivity and compassion for people who face cyber bullying or who live an alternative lifestyle.

Molly has been offered the chance of a lifetime; the chance to learn from her mistakes, to be a better, more sensitive person who accepts others even when they are different from her.

This agreement lends itself to true restitution and rehabilitation. I commend this court for coming up with a set of firm, yet fair, requirements which, if followed, will strengthen this girl’s spirit rather than crush it.

Good luck to you, Molly Wei. Use this time wisely, for your sake and for Tyler’s.

Bullying, Teacher-World's Blog Bullying, cyber bullying, Dharun Ravi, Molly Wei, plea bargains, teen suicide, Tyler Clementi