Protecting our students

I was flipping through channels on my tv tonight and I caught the last ten minutes of Dr Phil. I'm proud to say that I don't watch his show regularly, but today's topic was on "Cyber bullying" and how it affects children in the schools. As I continued to listen, they talked about creating curriculum that helps children identify and handle bullying.

Most people are aware that the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 was a result of bullying. According to the FBI over 70% of school shootings are caused by bullying. In addition, bully is linked to academic failure, depression, substance abuse, delinquency, gang proliferation, self-harm, and suicide.

Florida has recently passed The Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act. It:

"prohibits the bullying or harassment, including cyber bullying, of any public K-12 student or employee. It requires the Department of Education to adopt a model policy to prohibit bullying and harassment and directs all school districts to adopt a similar policy. School districts are directed to work with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and local law enforcement on developing this policy. School districts will be required to report all instances of bullying or harassment and to notify the parents of the bully and the parents of the victim. The required communication among parents, students and teachers about incidents of bullying will help to prevent acts of violence and future tragedies. Schools should be a safe place for teachers and children to teach and learn" (http://www.jeffreyjohnston.org/jeffslaw.htm).

This act will be enforced by withholding federal funding from districts and schools that do not comply with the designated actions. My first thought when the show ended was, where are teacher expected to find time to role-play and teach students how to handle bullying? Also, why are teachers and schools being held accountable for cyberbullying when it's not likely happening within the school (due to sensors and filters)? Something certainly needs to be done in situations where bullying is occurring, but are teachers the best equipt to hunt down students who gossip because it could be viewed as bullying? Who should be held accountable for identifying bullies? What is acceptable behaviors to teach our students when they are experiencing bullying? "Just ignore them"? Or "Walk way"? Does this work? What do you think?