The primary argument that resonates throughout much of Sheriffs work, is that teachers, administrators, counselors and policy makers have an responsibility to adapt to our changing technological society; it is their responsibility to deal with these issues and help students become more sensitive and understanding to these technologies. Her suggestion to dealing with this is the implication and enforcement of established codes of conduct in regards to Internet and cell phone use (p. 462). One of the primary problems regarding her ideas is that unfortunately cyber bullying invites an entirely new set of legal issues and concerns for the schools involved. It generates questions of administrative boundaries, legal issues concerning the freedom of expression, as well as student privacy and protection. (Wallace, 1999).
With all of these issues in mind, it is reasonable for schools to place limitations on student expressions in other forms if they are infringing on the rights of other students and are inconsistent with school values. One argument for this is that school computers could be regarded as school property, and therefore any emails are sent on these computers between students could be censored for content. Sheriff likens this situation to popular school policies on lockers. Courts have generally argued that principals should be able to search lockers if there is a chance that they contain hidden weapons or drugs (p.468). Although Section 8 of the Canadian Charter states that individuals have a right to be free from unreasonable searches, Section 7 states that everyone also has the right to security of persons. In the case of cyber-bullying, it could be argued that there are cases where cyber-bullying infringes on this ability to have security of persons. Sheriff argues that although it could be stated that it is unreasonable to hold schools responsible for situations that fall outside of their authority to control, “when students harass their classmates online they are still from the same school” (p. 471). In turn, the need to determine the institutional responsibility to intervene in cyber space still needs to be addressed.
The problem with many of these arguments is that although they may seem sound, they in fact have very little clout in a court of law. The charter is simply not created to handle this new technological form of harassment. Many educators as well as Internet providers are concerned that intervention in student communications on the Internet may create problems because of Section 2 (B) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This charter covers student’s freedom of expression in both thought, and opinion. The only case in which this Section is challenged, is by arguing the implementation of Section 1 of the Charter. This section allows courts to balance individual rights with the collective rights of the greater good in a democracy. If school policy is going to infringe on an individuals rights, they must be justified by the policy maker as having a substantial objective to protect the greater good (Sheriff, 2005, p.463). In most cases the courts have sided with the perpetrator. Courts have generally safeguarded any expressions that are non-violent in meaning. Some of the earlier court rulings on cyber-bullying stated that: “disliking or being upset by the content of a student’s speech is not an acceptable justification for limiting student speech (as quoted in Wallace 1999, p.131).
Although in an ideal world all students would be safe from the online attacks of cyber bullies, there simply is not enough litigation on the topic to create a fail-safe method of protection for both the students and the administration involved. The safety of the classroom is the top priority of educators, and being aware of where authority stands according to the Charter is an important part of maintaining a safe and secure environment for everyone involved.
Works Cited
Ad Council. Cyberbully Prevention. Retrieved September 30th, 2009, from http://www.metacafe.com/watch/462780/ad_council_and_national_crime_prevention_council_launch_new_cybe/
Bhat, C.S. (2008). Cyber bullying: overview and strategies for school counselors, guidance officers, and all school personnel. Australian Journal of Guidance & Counseling, 18(1), 53-66. Retrieved from EBSCOhost on October 5th, 2009.
Cyber Bullying. Retrieved September 30th, 2009, from www.cyberbullying.org.
Keith, Susan and Michelle E. Martin. (2005). Cyber-Bullying: Creating a culture of respect in a cyber world. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 13(4), 224-228. Retrieved from ERIC database on September 30th, 2009.
Shariff, Shaheen. (2005). Cyber-dilemmas in the new millennium: school obligations to provide student safety in a virtual school environment. Ottawa: Mcgill Journal of Education. 40(3), 467-487. Retrieved from ERIC database on September 30th, 2009.
Wallace, P. (2001). The Psychology of the Internet. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. As quoted by Shaheen Shariff.
