Not a boring Tuesday

     No, not boring at all.  Today, I was informed of a pretty severe case of cyberbullying some of our 5th grade students were involved in.  A student set up a Facebook page titled "I Hate ______", and filled in someone's name from his/her grade.  The student was savvy enough to protect the page so that it could not be found easily, and also invited others to join, which a few did.   Adminstration found out about this from one of the members of the group who decided to spill the beans about it.  The steps that must occur when this happens are very important, and "downtown" gets involved, but they culminate in making contact with someone at Facebook, who then will delete that page.  I was told today that the parent of the child who set the page up made him delete his Facebook account, as did some of the other parents of the kids who had joined.  This, I'm afraid, happens far more often than we think it does.  We MUST have severe and immediate consequences for these crimes, and yes, they are crimes. My question was, why do 10 year old kids have Facebook pages, but then I was informed that even 2nd and 3rd grade students have them.  Well ok.  So much for Facebook's assertion that kids under 13 cannot join. 
     Additionally, earlier this week a student also in an upper grade (but still in elementary school)engaged in explicit and purposeful sexual harrassment of a teacher.  You might tend to think that elementary students do not do that, but I've got another think for you.  In elementary schools all across this district, cyberbullying and sexual harrassment are addressed in classrooms on a regular basis.  I sometimes cannot believe what we have to talk to kids about.  They weigh all of 90 pounds and stand about 4 ft tall, and they are participating in some of the most disrespectful behavior toward their peers and authority figures that you've ever seen from a child.  A CHILD.  I told someone today that if this were my son,  I can tell you that I would have taken drastic steps immediately - even hospitalization and intensive treatment to try to figure out what was going on.  These children are  drowning and they need immediate lifesaving measures - whatever it takes - but, I'm afraid parents are having drinks on the beach under the canopy.  A sad, sad commentary on what's happening today in our culture.