There is another incident on the news of a teenage suicide resulting from bullying. Rebecca Sedwick, a 12-year-old, committed suicide by jumping from an abandoned concrete plant last month. Her parents claim that a 14-year-old and a 12-year-old bullied Rebecca over a boy that Rebecca and the 14-year-old both dated a year ago. There are several issues in this incident. The first is the issue of bullying, both
physical and cyber.
Francey Hakes, CEO of Francey Hakes consulting, wrote
an interesting article on bullying published by CNN. In her article, she said that social media like Facebook and Twitter has made bullying easier and worst. Bullies no longer have to face their intended victim; they can post pictures and
tweet their vile messages. I think that people who are victims of cyberbullying should turn that against the bullies. Everything that the bullies posts or tweet is forever on record and the police and school officials can review it. It
becomes evidence of their bullying.
The role of the school is another issue. So often school officials fail to take action when bullying surfaces. I think that many of these people believe that kids can work these things out themselves. The number of suicides would indicate that they can’t always work it out. Hakes recommends that, in addition to a No Tolerance policy, schools should monitor cyberbehavior by students. This requires special software that many schools do not have. Schools should provide
more suicide prevention training for students and faculty and include bullying.
I think another issue is the responsibility of the parents. Parents should monitor the lives and cyber activities of their kids particularly during their teens. I have said in earlier posts that I think parents are responsible for the actions of their children. When kids turn to bullying, the parents of
the bullies should be accountable for not monitoring their children’s behavior. In the case of Rebecca, the police have not charged the parents.
Another issue is that of teens dating at an early age. In this case, Rebecca may have been eleven when she dated the boy that is the center of the bullying. Young boys are girls are not mature enough to handle all the emotional issues that arise from dating. This case may be an extreme example, but it is not uncommon. There are good reasons to keep teens from dating until they are sixteen or older.
Then there is the issue of an abandoned concrete building that was unsecured. Rebecca gained access and used the height to jump to her death. Structures like this are considered an “attractive nuisance.” It may be difficult to prevent teenagers from entering the structure but not impossible. If teenagers can gain access, so can homeless people, drug users/dealers, and prostitutes. The building owner should be liable in Rebecca’s death.
physical and cyber.
Francey Hakes, CEO of Francey Hakes consulting, wrote
an interesting article on bullying published by CNN. In her article, she said that social media like Facebook and Twitter has made bullying easier and worst. Bullies no longer have to face their intended victim; they can post pictures and
tweet their vile messages. I think that people who are victims of cyberbullying should turn that against the bullies. Everything that the bullies posts or tweet is forever on record and the police and school officials can review it. It
becomes evidence of their bullying.
The role of the school is another issue. So often school officials fail to take action when bullying surfaces. I think that many of these people believe that kids can work these things out themselves. The number of suicides would indicate that they can’t always work it out. Hakes recommends that, in addition to a No Tolerance policy, schools should monitor cyberbehavior by students. This requires special software that many schools do not have. Schools should provide
more suicide prevention training for students and faculty and include bullying.
I think another issue is the responsibility of the parents. Parents should monitor the lives and cyber activities of their kids particularly during their teens. I have said in earlier posts that I think parents are responsible for the actions of their children. When kids turn to bullying, the parents of
the bullies should be accountable for not monitoring their children’s behavior. In the case of Rebecca, the police have not charged the parents.
Another issue is that of teens dating at an early age. In this case, Rebecca may have been eleven when she dated the boy that is the center of the bullying. Young boys are girls are not mature enough to handle all the emotional issues that arise from dating. This case may be an extreme example, but it is not uncommon. There are good reasons to keep teens from dating until they are sixteen or older.
Then there is the issue of an abandoned concrete building that was unsecured. Rebecca gained access and used the height to jump to her death. Structures like this are considered an “attractive nuisance.” It may be difficult to prevent teenagers from entering the structure but not impossible. If teenagers can gain access, so can homeless people, drug users/dealers, and prostitutes. The building owner should be liable in Rebecca’s death.
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