Cosgrove Middle School

My last stop in my Rochester trip was at Cosgrove Middle School in Spencerport, NY , where I spoke with students about bullying and standing up for their peers.

Cosgrove was a special visit to me, because earlier this year the Spencerport High School experienced the loss of a student. I found out about it when my sister called me to say that a girl my nephew rode the bus home with did not return to school the next day. He was shaken up, as were all of his peers. While there is no evidence to prove bullying as the cause, the murmors on twitter suggested that it certainly played a major role in this young lady's life. It is interesting to watch students come to grips with the delicate nature of life and how quickly it can be destroyed. I was eager to speak to this crowd, as I knew they were eager to gain understanding of what had happened to their community.

We spoke about how everyone is responsible when it comes to bullying. Lack of action is almost as bad as participation. For instance, one thing I have seen quite a bit of lately is "hate accounts" on twitter; students are creating profiles with names like @wehatesoandso or @soandsoshoulddie. They proceed to tweet anonymous hurtful messages about this individual for everyone to see and - worst of all - share with their peers. If this, or something similar, is happening in your school and you do not alert a teacher or adult, you are failing your entire community. Each day that these accounts exist is causing not just pain to the victim, but building fear among other students who wonder, "Will I be the next one they make an account about?" Why are students not stopping these sooner? It's all fun and games until you wake up to find your name in the so-and-so spot. It could be you tomorrow. If we all learn to stand up together, we will teach ourselves as communities to not even attempt to engage in such acts. We have to think ahead and not just about the laugh at hand.

Of course, the students heard me loud and clear. They understood that the future of their generation is no one's responsibility but their own. So proud to have received so many emails from this group about their interest in helping make their world better.

This handsome guy? This is my other nephew! Didn't realize until after I booked the school that he was there!

A special thanks to the staff at Cosgrove. The pricipal explained to each group of students that schools do not hand out Facebook accounts, so they cannot be the ones responsible every time there is a problem. Students must learn responsible use and a sense of ownership over what they are doing online. Luckily, Cosgrove is eager to assist students in this growth. Glad to know there's yet another school on the forefront of digital education.