Park High School students work to raise awareness about cyberbullying
December 30, 2011 at 3:51 am in South Washington County Bulletin
Park High School Air Force Junior ROTC cadets were very vocal on Monday and Tuesday of last week when they asked students to take a pledge to not engage in cyberbullying. On Wednesday, however, they went silent to draw attention to the issue. Continue Reading
I am so proud of Dalton Koontz, Rebekkah Lennartson and the other ROTC students for taking a stand on this important issue. It is heroic to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. High School is a complex social environment where some students (like Dalton and Rebekkah) are wise beyond their years while others are immature, angry and, at times, brutal. It is one of life’s great ironies that young people must function in a highly charged environment (a place much more rough and tumble than any adult workplace) at a point in their lives when they are least equipped to handle its challenges, and, at times, its barbarity.
I hope parents pay attention to what Dalton noted in his interview: One thing I think students like about social interactions on the internet is that they are strictly between peers with no moderating adult influence. Though social networking can be a source of support, teenagers can and do say terrible, hurtful things to each other, that we, as parents, have no awareness of or control over. Some of our most unique, unusual, talented, eccentric and brilliant students suffer in silence as a result of written attacks. This concerns me so much as a teacher and parent, and yet I feel helpless in the face of this reality. I know it is immensely popular, but in my view, Facebook can be the vehicle for genuine evil and the impetus for real life tragedies in the lives of young people.
On a closing note, Dalton’s interview did not mention the severe emotional distress that students who are working through gender identity issues must endure. The bullying that young people who are identified as “gay” are subjected to is honestly horrifying. It is my hope that students in this situation can be reminded that there is support for them as they work through these highly personal choices and that there are safe havens at school in the form of after school activities, caring counselors, supportive teachers and administrators, and great students like Rebekkah and Dalton who know the that it is our differences that make the world a rich and wonderful place.
Again, thumbs up to the ROTC for standing up for something truly noble.
Terry Jorgenson
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