WHAT IS THATHOLD ON TO THE STEERING WHEEL, BE SURE TO ADD IT TO YOUR

“BEWARE LIST”

Cyberbullying: Social media gives them a safe outlet to express things they might not otherwise say face-to-face. In a recent cyberbullying case, a defendant stated that he was so inspired by the other hurtful comments he wanted to one up them. Cyberbullying has the ability to humiliate and can seem unstoppable.

A trend emerging in schools is “cyberbaiting,” which is a form of cyberbullying that occurs when students taunt a teacher or bus driver to capture his/her reactions on a cell phone to upload to the internet.

The employees reaction can lead to embarrassing online exposure. It may occur in any situation with an adult in authority, with students attempting to aggravate the adult into reacting in an inappropriate manner, such as verbal outburst. Other students may not be directly involved, but they certainly might encourage it

More generally, they do it because they can…they now have very powerful technological tools to record verbal conversations, take photo, and capture videos

Sometimes it is a perfect storm of psychological vulnerability and provocation. Recently the cyber security company Norton reported that 21 percent of teachers worldwide either experienced cyberbaiting themselves or knew a colleague who was cyberbaited. Many lose their jobs after their outburst, even though students were the provocateurs. We wonder what the stats are for our bus driver

A study of 18 years stated that 19.5% of boys and 13% of girls said they took a picture or video of school personnel and only 2.3% were caught.

They cast the line and then reel you in.

THE NEED TO PREPARE YOUR DRIVERS NOT TO GET CAUGHT.

When your in a group your personal responsibility reduces. None of them feels responsible if that are doing it in a pack… And they think it will impress their friends.

YouTube Star of the day

What would you do if you started getting phone calls from parents because one of your school bus drivers was starring in a YouTube video

With over 1.6 million views at the moment, this video — filmed by one of the students who was apparently involved in the incident — shows a small group of middle school students in Greece, NY bullying Karen Klein, a 68-year-old grandmother and Bus #784′s unfortunate bus monitor. Klein is shown crying in the video, while the kids hurl profanity and insults at her. Klein reportedly said the comment that hurt the most was when a student told her she is so ugly that her kids “should kill themselves.” Klein’s son committed suicide ten years ago, according to Metro.

Cyberbaiting, according to Symantec’s Internet safety advocate, Marian Merritt, is when students deliberately provoke a teacher/school bus driver into doing something stupid, then video it and post it on line. “This of course has the net effect of embarrassing the teacher, taking a momentary lapse of judgment in a and classroom and embedding it onto the web

North Carolina is the first state to respond to the issue by creating a law to criminalize the bullying of teachers/school bus drivers. Students can face misdemeanor charges, fine and/or probation if convicted of tormenting or intimidating a teacher/school bus driver online. Some argue that the law could infringe on the student’s free speech, but teachers in North Carolina support it, stating that they felt a need for reputation management, both online and in the real world

It’s really a form of premeditatedCyberbullying…. And it’s escalating, “said Mary Kay Hoal, founder and president of Your Sphere, a social networking site for teens, and Your Sphere for Parents, which provides internet safety information

“It’s much easier for kids because so many of them have smart phones, if it is on YouTube it will spread like cancer

Raise awareness of Cyberbaiting

and it’s potential harm

Require drivers to enforce the districts student cell phone policy

Drivers should avoid personal and social networking/communication with students. They are not your friends

Drivers should not take video or photos of students or situations on the bus.

Don’t take personal behavior personally it is not

about you

If drivers always remain calm and professional, cyberbaiting will never be a problem for them. If you don’t want to be

heard using unprofessional language simply don’t say it

The Saint Approach

Remember: The eyes of the world are always watching. Respond in all situations as if the media were present

Report all violations of cell phone policies,

especially if it appears that a student may be recording incidents on

the bus

Drivers can ask for the students phone, but they should not get involved in a power struggle – no one wins.

MOST OF ALL, SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS MUST REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE THE

ADULT IN THE SITUATION.

They should always act like the professionals they are

Teach your drivers not to try and handle any defamation issues by themselves