Facebook "Brawl" at Whitman
This from the Times:
A fight yesterday morning between students, siblings and parents at Whitman Middle School in Crown Hill apparently started as a result of Facebook messages related to a student’s sexual preference, according to police.
One participant was arrested, according to a Seattle Police Department report. Two others suffered minor injuries.
The brawl started at about 7:45 a.m., as parents were dropping off their children for school, according to the report.
One parent told police she was there because she heard her daughter was going to be attacked by other students who had threatened her on Facebook. Another participant said she was dropping off her little sister when she was approached.
An argument broke out, which led to shoving and then a full melee, according to the report.
At least five people were involved.
It ended when Whitman Principal Sue Kleitsch got tangled up in the melee, according to the report.
Police, called to the scene, helped break up the fight and interviewed those involved.
What a mess. It would be interesting to know what interchange could set off a fight like this.
A fight yesterday morning between students, siblings and parents at Whitman Middle School in Crown Hill apparently started as a result of Facebook messages related to a student’s sexual preference, according to police.
One participant was arrested, according to a Seattle Police Department report. Two others suffered minor injuries.
The brawl started at about 7:45 a.m., as parents were dropping off their children for school, according to the report.
One parent told police she was there because she heard her daughter was going to be attacked by other students who had threatened her on Facebook. Another participant said she was dropping off her little sister when she was approached.
An argument broke out, which led to shoving and then a full melee, according to the report.
At least five people were involved.
It ended when Whitman Principal Sue Kleitsch got tangled up in the melee, according to the report.
Police, called to the scene, helped break up the fight and interviewed those involved.
What a mess. It would be interesting to know what interchange could set off a fight like this.
Comments
FHP
Yes, fights can take place at any school for many reasons, but Facebook, and actually any of the online social media sites, are breeding grounds for lots of bad stuff like this. Parents, monitor your kids online -- and that doesn't mean letting them loose on these sites, it means explaining to them why they are not allowed to use them until they're older. Many very knowledgeable people these days are questioning whether even older teens have the ability to understand the ramifications of what their activities on these sites means. It's the wild west out there.
I am particularly incensed at the bullying of students with autism. I'm sorry, but parents of bullies need to get a clue!
"Thanks mirmac1 for jumping on the real issue-bullying. I love how it the comments went straight to the are they old enough for facebook? A lot of 7-8th graders ARE old enough. But regardless, it is up to parents to teach their kids how to conduct themselves online, but this particular issue is one of those convoluted messes where 'who is responsible' for stopping it is firmly in the grey area. It's not happening on school grounds, but it's in people's homes following them anywhere they have an internet connection. And then it spills over into school, or starts there and spills onto the interwebs...big mess and indeed the 'wild wild west'. Schools have to have a strong anti-bullying curriculum and action plan and be willing to step in and stop the bad behavior even when it's not actually happening on school grounds."
FHP
I don't think one teenager has EVER been made happy, smarter or better through Facebook. It only causes problems.
Can't wait until it goes under (and it will when the next big thing comes along).
WSDWG
Helen Schinske
Lots more going on here I think.
'Whoah"
FB is a great way for everyone who has friends outside their physical space to be and stay connected. My daughter has friends from all of the city. I have friends all over the country and in a few other countries. Without FB, my contact with them would be confined to the annual holiday card, and maybe, if we're lucky, birthday cards and the occasional phone call.
My daughter has stayed in touch and remained friends with kids from elementary school, middle school and summer drama classes, as well as her family (cousins, aunts & grandmother) back east.
You can't blame FB for this. You can only blame the ignorance and intolerance of people. If they want to hate, they will find a way.
Solvay Girl
1. Being removed from face to face contact allows some people to be "meaner" than they otherwise would be (not just because of cowardice, but also because they simply aren't horrid enough to say stuff like that to a person's face and deal with the reaction). This is one reason why (at least in MY junior high) a lot of the "mean girl" stuff happened by notes being passed, and whispers. At some level, the girls involved knew they were misbehaving -- but lacked the internal "cop" to resist. On Facebook, it is all "facelss."
2. As others have noted, whatever mean stuff is said is both widely (and permanently) disseminated. Whispers are forgotten. Folded notebook paper gets thrown away. But bits and bytes last forever.
Hard to think of a worse combination. I do think though that this points out part of the "problem" of trying to distinguish what is "at school" and what is "at home -- and therefore not within the realm of school authority. Physically, kids are only in one place at one time. But socially, their schoolyard and their online lives are sometimes pretty seamless.
A fight between students, siblings and parents broke out Wednesday morning at Whitman Middle School and only ended when Principal Sue Kleitsch was knocked down while trying to break it up, according to the Seattle Police Department.
--HIMS parent
Our school has a policy, but it's so inconsistently applied in the classroom that the issues remain. I can absolutely guarantee that some of the phone addicts (no other way to describe them) are damaging their academics severely because they literally get freaked out nervous when some of us insist on staying with the lessons and not allowing them to see who called (so they suddenly need to go to the bathroom after the vibration noise).
And for goodness sake, if your kids have a phone, please check the phone logs and IF they're texting during class time take the phone away... seriously.
OH, all students sign a district form which specifically forbids FB type sites as non-academic and I'm pretty sure they're consistently blocked - some students access them via going around the security protocols, although this can result in their computer account being suspended.
**Anon teacher who enforces cell phone/FB policy**
Not Wastin'
Can some of you out there help me think of what we should ask to cut so that counselors can be reinstated in Seattle Schools, K-12? From what I understand, 16 more counselors are being RIF'd this year (so about $1,000,000 worth roughly since they are the ones with the least seniority).
Whitman and Lafayette clearly need counselors. All of our schools do. To pretend like cutting them is keeping cuts 'out of the classroom' is ridiculous.
For communities that are trying to keep their counselors, what should be our 'ask?' I'll start:
(1) Drop MAP = $500,000 (Source:SeattleEducation. #2 Update.)
(2) Either don't replace Noel Treat as Asst Supe, or reduce Exec Directors to four from six = $200-300,000 (Source: SPS Salaries.)
Anon teacher, THANK YOU for enforcing policy! I HATE it when there are written rules/policies/procedures that are not enforced. I think it teaches kids that all rules are suspect. THat said, I do occasionally text my kids during school, with the expectation that they will have the self control to wait until a break or after school to check.
I hate to saya this, but the district is taking dollars out of the operating budget for CBA (under MGJ) that was never sustainable.
As for the RIF'd counselors, the Board owns the decision to cut elementary counselors, which is turn leading to senior elementary counselors bumping experiences secondary counselors out of thier jobs and to being laid off. The process of how the RIF itself is going down is a product of the contract with SEA that puts seniority above all else, including relevant experience and school fit. So if you want change on that front, don't forget to direct complaints to both the district and the union.
-Wake up, Parents! You need to be the grownup
My daughter will be at Hale next year. It will be interesting to see the differences.
FHP
That said, the best way to ensure your child isn't going to be a bully or a target is to simply pay attention to what is going on in their lives, technology or not.
But I add that long before cell phones or computers I was bullied pretty mercilessly in middle school. The kids were quite successful using what they had at hand-home phones, notes and name-calling in the halls. Anyone who thinks this is new or worse wasn't a victim way back when. I was lucky that my parents stood up for me and helped me realize I was none of the things I was being called.
One problem is that a lot of the spineless parents are themselves addicted to their damn phones! How often do you sit at a restaurant or social event and see people texting away, looking down, thumbs flying. It's just sad.
and Get your middle schooler a cheap, unattractive prepaid phone just for contacting YOU! Limit and supervise computer use just as you should their TV! (duh)
All great advice. Middle schoolers don't need to be blabbing or texting with their friends incessantly (or even at all), but it can be extremely helpful at times for them to have an easy way to reach a parent immediately.
That is a absolute legal minimum. Many would suggest best practice adds a couple (or few) years to that number.
and: That said, the best way to ensure your child isn't going to be a bully or a target is to simply pay attention to what is going on in their lives, technology or not.
Absolutely true. The problem is how to reach parents who aren't paying attention. Most of us here, by definition, are among the parents who are involved with our children and their education.
and: But I add that long before cell phones or computers I was bullied pretty mercilessly in middle school. The kids were quite successful using what they had at hand-home phones, notes and name-calling in the halls. Anyone who thinks this is new or worse wasn't a victim way back when. I was lucky that my parents stood up for me and helped me realize I was none of the things I was being called.
I think most of us saw this at one time or another growing up. Bullying isn't new, but cyber-bullying IS new, and it's a different world. The rules are different, the "notes" never EVER go away, the lack of adult supervision allows things to get out of hand more easily than in real life, and while some may say "sticks and stones...", there's definitely carryover into real life, as we saw at Whitman.
The FTC is attempting to broaden their information collection restrictions for children using these sites, but idiots like Zuckerberg think kids should be using Facebook even before they turn 13, and has publicly said "That will be a fight we take on at some point. My philosophy is that for education you need to start at a really, really young age." Yeah, that's what we need, everyone living under the watchful eye of Facebook from birth to death. Idiot.
A cute little video called Put Your Phone Down on this whole issue of student phone addiction...
** No Phones during class supporter