The Rehteah Parsons Case has drawn global attention to the twin horrors of teen sexual assault and re-victimization in cyberspace. Since the 17-year-old Dartmouth teen’s death by suicide on Sunday April 7, 2013, a torrent of outrage and widespread public anger has dominated the media and left Nova Scotian and federal policy-makers scrambling for explanations and policy fixes It is indeed a cruel irony that Rehteah was a Nova Scotian, born and raised in the Canadian province that has blazed the trail in the recent counter-offensive against cyberbullying.
The depth of public outrage left Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter and his Education Minister Ramona Jennex completely reeling. It was bad enough that the Cole Harbour High School teen had been sexually-assaulted by four boys , 17 months before , at age 15, without charges being laid. The fact that photos of her alleged rape were posted online and widely circulated were shocking. Hearing that the Cole Harbour HS administration knew of the rape allegation and left it all to the police compounded the problem. To make matters even worse, no one representing the school claimed to have seen or heard anything about the photo posted all over the Internet.
Over the first few days, the Nova Scotia Government expressed its heart-felt sorrow, but then attempted to contain the issue using its standard methods. The Justice Minister Ross Landry, at first, hesitated before calling for a fuller investigation of the whole matter. Education Minister Jennex was caught so much off-guard that she had to summon the Halifax Regional School Board Chair Gin Yee and Superintendent Judy White in for a briefing on what had actually happened. None of the lame explanations offered would survive the maelstrom of intense public scrutiny exerted by glare of the North American media and the pesky Halifax Chronicle Herald newspaper.
The Canadian public demanded action and Nova Scotian authorities reacted with uncharacteristic haste. Spurred by Prime Minister Stephen Harper ‘s public reaction, the threats of Anonymous to go public with the names of the boys, and signs of vigilanteism, the RCMP re-opened the case, investigations were launched, and new laws materialized almost over the weekend.
The provincial response, when it came, was head-spinning. The Education Minister appointed two Ontario consultants, Penny Milton, and Debra Pepler, to conduct an independent review of the HRSB and its response to the case. Premier Dexter accompanied Rehteah Parson’s parents on a pilgrimage to Ottawa seeking changes to the Criminal Code to better combat cyberbullying. After dragging its feet for a year, the N.S. Government introduced a proposed Cyber-Safety Act creating a new police investigation unit and toughening rules, including seizing devices and holding parents responsible for the online conduct of their children.
What does all of this reactive decision-making amount to? A Halifax Chronicle Herald Editorial put it this way: The demand for change is overwhelming. “Whether that change comes from tweaking laws, procedures, responsibilities or other areas — or some combination of the above — what’s important to the public is that whatever measures are taken, they must be effective in helping to prevent such tragedies from occurring again.”
Winning over a skeptical public will not be an easy task. After a spate of recent teen suicides, including the Californian 15-year old Audrie Pott, precipitated by persistent, horrific cyberbullying, the public will wait to judge those efforts by what actually gets accomplished. Closing loopholes in the laws may help, but what about enforcing the laws and discipline codes?
The independent reviews will be judged by what actually gets fixed as a result of them. If Rehtaeh’s case was mishandled by the Halifax police, that needs to be identified and fixed. School officials do have to be held to account for their actions — or rather, lack of action — while one of their own students was allegedly being ceaselessly tormented by her peers. Parents in Nova Scotia and elsewhere affected by such incidents are simply tired of excuses for why cyberbullying is so difficult to stop and do expect tangible results.
One concrete action would be to implement all 85 recommendations of the Nova Scotia Bullying and Cyberbullying task force that reported a year ago. Chair Wayne MacKay has made no secret of his disappointment with the lack of action, until now, on a number of effective, immediate measures, including tougher enforcement, more guidance counsellors, and teaching digital citizenship in schools. Mental health services must also have the resources they need to effectively help teens cope with personal crises and the stresses of life.
Combating the posting of sexually explicit photos and cyberbullying will require the schools to step up to the challenge and get involved rather than shying away from anything with a hint of controversy. Parents also have a responsibility to teach their children right from wrong. Everyone has a personal responsibility to call out bullying and to take a moral stand when the situation warrants a response.
Will the flurry of new Cyber-Safety laws and school regulations succeed where previous measures have failed? With teen culture saturated with sex, can civility and propriety be restored by laws, rules, and curriculum alone? Why do school officials, in particular, come up so short in stamping out outrageous student conduct and insidious cyberbullying in, around, and after school? Are we simply expecting too much when it’s an ingrained societal problem?
Educhatter 
Naturally I would support more guidance + more support staff seems when you slash budgets you soon regret it. Nevertheless there is only so much schools can do with the “crowded curriculum”. It is a law enforcement issue in the main.
Cyber-Safety Act is now coming under some closer scrutiny here in Halifax, the epicentre of the Rehteah Parsons cyberbullying earthquake.
The Nova Scotia Government’s legislative “reactivity” has produced a new law focusing almost exclusively on cyberbullying. The Chronicle Herald asks a legitimate question: “What about the regular Playground Bullies?” It’s a valid concern, given Dan Olweus’s international research findings. Some 18 per cent of children have reported being bullied and 5 per cent cyberbullied.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/editorials/1125557-editorial-bullies-not-just-online
Last time I looked, however, the Norwegian research was a bit dated, and perhaps five years old. A year is a lifetime when it comes to technological changes affecting digital natives and screenagers. I’m not sure either that I agree with the Norwegian study’s conclusion that cyberbullying was an exaggerated phenomenon. It is most certainly more prevalent now than it was even three years ago.
Bullying statistics for Nova Scotia are much higher than the Norwegian study. Some 39% of the students surveyed by Wayne MacKay’s Task Force in 2011-12 reported being bullied. The figures, per level, were: 46% in HS, 38% in JHS, and 34% in ES. While 74% thought bullying was “a serious problem,” only 53% said it was “in their area.” The sample size was 3,000, or 60% of the total number of survey respondents (Source: Wayne MacKay, MSVU, April 20, 2013)
One can have all the rules and laws on bullying. None of it works, if the adults are not willing to enforce the rules/laws on bullying. Schools/school boards state they can’t do much on cyber-bullying if it is two kids, but when it is one of their own being debased by a student or a set of students, the full weight of their authority is used. Students are suspended and perhaps some have court appearances.
Plenty of evidence in the news across NA, to indicate that the adults within the public education system are unwilling to enforce their own rules/laws when it comes down to the students. Just a few days ago in NL, an 8 year old girl, was put in a supply closet for the whole school day for something she said the week prior to a couple of her classmates. She said, the principal’s rules are stupid.
Now if the 8 year old girl, had said, little Johnnie is stupid to her friends – not a single adult in the school will do anything about it, nor will the girl be tossed in a supply closet for a whole school day either. One wonders, who are the real bullies? The school/school boards acting as bullies via through their legal authority? There is a reason why parents across NA state, “The school won’t do anything!”
Another common element is what Paul points out – ” The Norwegian study’s conclusion that cyberbullying was an exaggerated phenomenon.” Much of the research is taken from the viewpoint of the institution, all composed of adults, that will discount the prevalence of bullying for good reason. In an education setting, its to reduce the legal liability of actions or non-actions of the public education system. The public education system does not want to be held accountable for the outcomes of the actions or non-actions undertaken by the adults within the collective.
In the Rehteah Parsons case, new laws governing sexual pictures is good, but what it will no do, is change the actions of the public education system, and their inability to stop bullying on the school premises, by ensuring that the adults are enforcing all rules, and not cherry picking the rules/laws they want to follow. Its the adults that should be the models of the highest standards in our schools.
An October, 2012 Globe and Mail article – “When I was in the schoolyard being mocked and taunted, all of my classmates took part, forming a circle around me. Years later, one of them apologized for her involvement. She told me she didn’t speak up at the time because she was too afraid of what might happen to her.
When my mother had to call the school and explain that her daughter, who loved learning, was too agitated and upset from the previous day’s episode to get out of bed, the secretary said she would list me as being sick. My mother insisted she write down the real reason: I was bullied.
When I was surrounded in science class by a cluster of classmates who disrupted the lesson by shouting obscene insults at me, the teacher never intervened.
Everyone gets upset when they learn a child has killed themselves because of being bullied. But why do we allow things to reach that desperate point?
In every instance, there are people who know when someone is being targeted and abused by a bully. But how do we respond?”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/i-was-bullied-in-school-while-my-classmates-and-teachers-watched-in-silence/article4612426/
Why indeed……..
Bullying culture within our political system…….”While parents in every corner of our country are trying their best to talk to their kids about bullying at school or on the playground, all a person has to do is look at what’s happening in the wake of Justin Trudeau’s election as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
He had hardly given his acceptance speech and left the stage before attack ads by the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) found their way into cyberspace and the airwaves…………….He said people across Canada are telling him that they are tired of negativity, bullying and cynicism. Instead of launching personal attacks, Trudeau suggests that partisans debate each others’ ideas or vision of the country.
“I look forward to having robust discussions on ideas, on values, on a vision for this country that will contrast well.”
What a novel concept. Let’s hope that Canadians support his statesmanlike and mature response.”
Indeed a novel concept – adults acting like adults in the House of Commons? What a novel concept………….
Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/statesmanlike+response+bullying/8319336/story.html#ixzz2S5VX8Pbi
I certainly don’t mind you saying that Conservatives are the worst possible kind of role model. “Do as I say not do as I do.” As usual we can trace most problems back to ignorant conservatives sister.
Not true Doug. Adults in positions of power, which includes politicians must set an example for its citizens, and in this case the employees of the education system. Bullying will never be reduce, if the politicians and sitting governments continued to used bullying tactics and if someone should object, call it politics. Eventually, it filters down throughout society, and bullying tactics becomes the accepted norm in the everyday lives of citizens. In schools, bullying behaviour of the adults has become an acceptable tactic whenever the school’s authority is being questioned. The schools have become reactive rather then pro-active in their approaches to students, parents and communities.
The one issue that has been put on the back-burner, ignored for the most part are pro-active approaches. A CBC article – “Shaheen Shariff, director of Define the Line, conducts cyberbullying research and runs outreach initiatives teaching students and staff about the problem and how to deal with it.
She worries about school’s reactive responses to bullying, and says anti-bullying apps won’t solve much unless someone acts on the information they gather.
‘If the schools don’t know how to deal with [these reports], then we’re no further ahead.’
—Shaheen Shariff, director of Define the Line
“If the schools don’t know how to deal with [these reports],” said Shariff, “then we’re no further ahead.”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/04/18/f-anti-bullying-apps.html
The cultural values of adults and the social institutions must change, if one truly wants to reduce the bullying behaviour of students.
So our Prime Minister is not the nations #1 bully for his behaviour with scientists, environmentalists, womens groups, Trudeau. If #1 is an obvious bully who will change. Bullying behaviour is learned in the home.
Bullying behaviour like all other behaviour is learned throughout the lens of society. However, it is the political and governance networks of society, that has the most influence and the authority to turned the average citizen into a murdering thug. At the very least, a bully, who happens to be the boss.
Its a cop-out and an easy answer to state its a home problem. Way too easy, for governments to blame families instead of looking within at their own cultural values and systemic institutionalization of bullying values as an acceptable norm value.
I did not say that Doug, if anything the Harper government is the number 1 bully in the country, judging from their behaviour and actions. One can’t have it both ways – when society – the adults should be changing their cultural values that prevents bullying and teaches children to avoid bullying throughout society, but more importantly, it should be the governments at all levels that should be leading the charge.
What is really amazing, is the increasing percentage of adults being bullied by other adults. The numbers are unreal in places like the public education system and health systems.
A mother’s reaction to bullying – priceless
““But someone is bullying my Justin and that makes me mad,” she said to rousing applause from the packed audience at the Capitol Centre.
Though Trudeau said she steers away from making political appearances for fear of saying the wrong thing, she couldn’t resist commenting on the recent ads on her son, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau.
She called attack ads an American practice that “unfortunately works,” and said she would like to see all parties get back to debating policy not personality.
“We have to get rid of bullying in politics,” Trudeau said, “ and focus on what we can do for each other.”
Unable to resist a small jab in her son’s defense, she pointed to footage in the TV ads of Justin removing his shirt during a fundraising event.
“If Stephen Harper took off his shirt in public, I’m not sure he’d raise any money for charity,” Trudeau quipped.
Like her son, she said she would love to see more young people involved in the political arena and said Canadians need to realize how blessed they are to live in this country.
“Whenever I travel, I am so glad to come home,” she said.
However, she feels Canadians can be too passive. “We need to learn to protest a little more about the things we don’t like to see happening.”
http://www.northbaynipissing.com/2013/05/mother-swings-back-at-sons-attackers/
CIVICS FOR REAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Thanks to Nancy for being on top of things — relevant and timely!
From Nancy’s comments, this is about Margaret Trudeau deploring the political “bullying” of her son, Justin, (age 41)
*** “Like her son, she said she would love to see more young people involved in the political arena and said Canadians need to realize how blessed they are to live in this country.”
We are in the midst of a provincial election in BC, and from this Province story we read about an 18 year old as a candidate for the Libertarian Party: http://www.theprovince.com/news/year+candidate+deserves+applause/8332283/story.html
* 18-year-old candidate deserves applause
* it’s good to come across an 18-year-old who bravely questions this relentless brainwashing and boldly refutes the notion that anyone who isn’t a socialist at 20 has no heart and anyone who’s still one at 40 has no head.
* [Laurence] Watt told me he used to be a typical teen socialist, and in a Grade 11 quiz at Handsworth School, scored strongly “left.”
* “I decided to join the Libertarian party partly because I believe passionately in individual rights, minimizing the size of government and fiscally conservative economic policy,”
* He also thinks it’s time to curb the power of the current B.C. education monopoly by encouraging as many alternatives as possible, including charter schools.
I’m wondering how we can get ahold of this LEFT/RIGHT QUIZZ. And, would love to see the lesson plan and how public school teachers approach this part of the Civics/Social Studies part of the curriculum. Laurence Watt (above story) said it wasn’t until he was in Grade 12 in a History course that he started to question his “left” designation.
What % of the vote did the BC Libertarians get last time? The fringe of the fringe.
On the contrary Doug, There is a global movement away from the traditional political parties, to one that is based on the realities of the day, and ideologies are reframed to the individual. After all, an individual holds values that crosses the span of the left to right spectrum,
Two political parties that has emerged coming out of Europe and now global, is the Green Party and the younger party that places third in Germany, is the Pirate Party. One call them the 21st century political parties. They are neither left or right, and its pretty hard to pegged them for a number of reasons. Both believe one can have a free capitalistic market, keep the Earth healthy, and respect the individual rights and freedoms of people.
As for the Libertarian Party, it too is changing. However, what I have seen happening in the United States, its been corrupted by the neoconservative ideology. Don’t discount the fringe parties, because in another 10 years the traditional parties of left and right of the 20th century will be edge out of the seats of power. And more so, if the traditional political parties keep the status-quo, firmly entrenched in 19th and 20th century political ideologies.
Tunya, brought up some important questions, on the left-right spectrum. Even my youngest completed a quiz even though the school does not have a civics course, and she was pegged as conservative leaning. It was no surprise to me, nor her. In fact she belong with the majority of her classmates. If truth be told, the quizzes are an interesting exercise, but what it should do, allow the students to explore their political leanings. My youngest came back, and told me she is actually more like the Liberals, a bit of socialist in her, with a streak of conservatism. From my little conversations with my youngest child, she too don’t like the bullying by the politicians, and as she says, they should be setting the civil discourse.
The young people are turned off by the politics of bullies. Who wouldn’t be, when the bar is set so low, personal attacks first and if the person is left standing, than maybe ridicule instead of debating the issues.
Back to what Margaret Trudeau stated – ““We have to get rid of bullying in politics,” Trudeau said, “ and focus on what we can do for each other.”
The 21st century political parties are all about what we can do each other using direct democracy as the guide for debate and policy formulation. Bullying and bullying behaviour has no place in a democracy, nor does it have a place in our governments and governing institutions. Within our education institutes perhaps they could lead the charge, and start practicing what they teach. Who knows, the educators could be he first ones to end bullying inside the schools…..when they finally let go of their legal authority of what will be and what will not be in education services, and start debating the education issues with the students, the parents and the communities, in a direct democracy system.
Communications Technology has certainly ratcheted the possibilities of bullying upward. And yes
– it is a serious issue among kids and THEY KNOW
– politicians and all in positions of authority have to set an example (I include NHL hockey players)
– Trudeau and his mother have a point
– schools need to step up
speaking of which
here is a little thought experiment/research study for middle and high schools
“What happens in schools in which teachers are in the halls and visible during class change, compared to when they are not?”
My hypothesis is that the former, with no cost except a few minutes of time, will
– decrease negative incidents,
– get teachers to know the names of more kids earlier,
– and as a result promote positive achievement through promoting feelings of safety and security
– make class transitions go smoother resulting in more on-task classroom behaviour, also leading to improved student achievement,
– with explicit instruction on social and emotional development teach life skills
and promote student achievement too
When I was going to school in the 1960s and into the 1970s. teachers were very much present in the hallways, on the playgrounds, in the cafeterias, and into the community. If two boys decided to duke it out with their fists on the weekend, first thing on Monday morning, the boys had a date at the principal’s office first thing in the morning. If someone call someone a name in the playground, it was looked after right away and no the teachers did not need to hear it. Often it extended to the whole classroom, where the whole class got a 10 minute lecture on civil behaviour. In short, it was the adults looking after the smaller minor incidents right away, to prevent it escalating into major incidents of bullying.
Adults need to clean up their act, and it includes media outlets, who think it makes great news coverage, filming the NHL hockey player spurning out his verbal bullying, debasing another man on his personal looks. Calling him bugged eye and fat, serves no other purpose but to encourage our youth and adults that it is acceptable to debased one another, in order to defend one’s actions.
Of course when I went to school, two recesses, plus lunch hour where the adults (the teachers) came out to play with the kids. Since it is May, a typical May day in school, a teacher being the referee or actually playing volley ball, another teacher playing Mayday and Green Light with the younger students, another teacher showing off his Double-Dutch skipping style, and the scrub baseball games watching the teachers slide into home, with some kid hot on his heels to get him out. Playing jacks in the dead of the winter months marble games in September, where teachers took the time to teach us the skills to become aces in jacks and marbles. At the end of the year, the teachers would have a collection of marbles, gather over the year, from the ruder students. to be given back to the students, with a warning, “I hope you have learned a lesson, and I don’t want to see the marble again in my desk.”
From an educational psychologist – on bullying
“Schools are supposed to be well-supervised settings. How could widespread bullying happen there?”
The answer – “School staff may misinterpret aggressive bullying as harmless physical horseplay and therefore fail to intervene
.
·When questioned by adults, victims often deny that bullying is taking place. (Victims may lie about the bullying because the bully is present during the questioning or because they do not believe that the adults in the school will be able to intercede effectively to make the bullying stop.)
There may be too few supervising adults in those unstructured settings where bullying is most likely to occur (e.g., gym class, lunch room, playground). Or those supervising adults may not be trained to intervene early and assertively whenever they see questionable behavior between children.”
Click to access bullyBooklet.pdf
I often wonder why people need to be trained. Back in my day, it was called rude and unruly behaviour. It was simply not tolerated by the adults in the school. As for us kids, the teachers were acting like our parents, knowing that if we got into trouble at school, we got into trouble when we came home. There was standards to be kept on civil behaviour and the adults around us, were the models of maintaining a standard of civil behaviour and decency.
School authorities in Canada tend to shrug-off pointed questions about the impact of school size on school climate and student behaviour — and rarely address the relationship between school size and bullying of all kinds.
Researchers at the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics confirm that “discipline problems are often related to school enrollment size. Large schools tended to yield more discipline problems than small schools. Thirty-four percent of schools with 1,000 or more students reported student disrespect for or assaults on teachers at least once per week, compared with 21 percent of those at schools with 500-999 students, 17 percent of those at schools with 300-499 students, and 14 percent of those at schools with less than 300 students.”
“Middle school students are more than twice as likely as high school students to be affected by school violence. Seven percent of eighth graders stay home at least once a month to avoid a bully. Twenty-two percent of urban 11- and 12-year-olds know at least one person their age in a gang. The typical victim of an attack or robbery at school is a male in the seventh grade who is assaulted by a boy his own age.”
“Studies suggest two reasons for the higher rates of middle school violence. First, early adolescence is a difficult age. Young teenagers are often physically hyperactive and have not learned acceptable social behavior. Second, many middle school students have come into contact for the first time with young people from different backgrounds and distant neighborhoods.”
Size of school, it seems, does matter when it comes to providing a safe, secure and mutually-supportive school environment.
Source: http://www.crf-usa.org/school-violence/causes-of-school-violence.html#.UYVfVMrT5KN
Friend of mine was an architect , planned many housing projects, small, medium, large. He says architects talk about 3 levels of projects. Up to about 30 units people tend to know everyones name. From 31 to maybe 60 units you tend to know everyone’s face that “belongs here”. After that you don`t know your neighbours.
There is a level of alienation that moves out with size. More size more alienation. I was facinated by this because I believe something similar applies to school size.
When you know all the names, you care more, faces still good, after that not as much.
On the other hand Paul you know there program possibilities with size, not possible if you are too small.
If nothing else, smaller school populations make it easier for the adults to know the names of every kid.
I teach my student teachers to learn names asap given it both
– establishes a positive rapport in a class
– add an addition level of accountability when you can’t be anonymous
Imagine in the blogosphere, especially when you read comments in the press to articles, if you had to give your real name? This would cut back a lot on the “hate speech”.
If applied to facebook etc. would also cut back on bullying if we knew who did it.
Nova Scotia is the first Canadian province to enact a Cyber Safety Act holding parents responsible for their children’s online activities. Prominent legal experts question the effectiveness of the new Rehtaeh Parsons law, claiming that it is unenforceable and violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Today’s Toronto Globe and Mail slams the Act in this editorial:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/punished-for-being-a-parent-of-a-bully/article13939363/
The Editorial will long be remembered for its closing argument: “The state has no place…(snooping on parents) inside the home.”
Its about socializing the costs that allows the state/government to abdicate their responsibilities, passing legal liability to outside third parties. Government is good. Parents are bad.