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March 31, 2009

Attorney speaks to school bullying, sexting and harassment

By Stacie N. Galang

Attorney Richard Cole knows civil rights.

A former Massachusetts assistant attorney general, Cole's experience spans law enforcement, investigation, counseling and prevention training in schools.

He will be the featured speaker at Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's annual School Safety Conference on Tuesday, April 7, at Coolidge Hall at the Topsfield Fairgrounds.

The event, for educators of all stripes, is themed "Creating a Safe School Environment: Best Practices for Addressing Bullying, Harassment, Sexting and Aggression."

Joining Cole is the conference's keynote speaker Rosalind Wiseman, best-selling author of "Queen Bees and Wannabees."

So what will you discuss?

Schools have special legal responsibilities if someone is being harassed. We've got to get at the attitude to ultimately change the behavior.

I deal with behavior that makes students feel unsafe, excluded, isolated, alienated and disengaged from school, and therefore, it affects learning. It can include bullying, include harassment, sexting and all the cyber-related communication happening off school grounds but spills back into school.

What changes in bullying and harassment have you seen?

I think, first of all, the influence of cyberspace is dramatically different. Kids are communicating usually with multiple people and they've got multiple ways in which they do it — texting, instant messaging, Facebook and MySpace.

What's also of concern is downloading material from the Internet, inappropriate material that is shared. Part of "sexting" from the Internet is someone is taking inappropriate photos and sharing it.

What are the fundamental differences between girl bullying and boy bullying?

Historically, boys were physical but girls are becoming more physical. Boys are more direct. Girls are more indirect. (They use) exclusion and rumors, rather than direct physical confrontation.

I don't think it's exclusive. I know for a fact in terms of physical types of bullying and harassment, girl-to-girl, that has increased.

What signs should parents heed?

First of all, a change in behavior or emotion. It can be explained by different things, but parents have got to start asking questions, look for early warning signs.

When I talk to educators, I talk about understanding baseline, how the child is usually. Parents are quite aware of their child. If they see an emotional change, they should start asking questions.

They can find out from a teacher if there's been a change in behavior in school. Sometimes a great source of information is the kid's friends. If they've got a great group of friends, they're protective of each other. They may provide information, as well. Some parents will get access to texting on phone, get access to instant messaging.

How can parents balance their child's safety while giving their child space?

I think at a minimum, if your child understands you have the right to privacy but you can lose it if I find out, if you abuse those rights. I will respect you and treat you like a responsible person, but if I find out, for example, you're misusing or abusing it, you don't have same the right or it's cut off.

One way is to establish clear rules. ... Maybe also the parent says I want to see your Facebook description to make sure it doesn't provide detail that puts you at risk.

¢¢¢

For more information about the conference, contact the district attorney's Juvenile Justice Unit at 978-745-6610, ext. 5086.

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