cyberbullying gang members with machismo!

Don't let the title fool you; it's just a conglomeration of the topics we discussed in today's inservice at school! We listened to a police officer describe different gang symbols and looked at pictures he gave us of gang related activities going on in VA. We listened to a teacher describe how students (and some teachers) are being bullied and threatened by other students through e-mails, instant messages and other cyber-related material, and we learned how to be more sensitive to the ever-growing latino/hispanic populations in our school.

I really don't know what to think...Should I be proud that I am able to play such a potentially heroic role in saving our students from potential gang involvement, bullying in cyber space and culture-shock, or run screaming for the hills of WV where I am at least temporarly safe from these issues? I honestly did not realize how naive I was to the issues that surround my school community.

I felt I really got a lot out of these discussions today. Very informative. The only thing that I think was missing from the presentation was WHAT TO DO? What is our role, our purpose? What actions do we need to take? I felt this was lacking from all three discussions. We can recognize it. We can be aware of it. But what do we DO about it? How do we prevent students from joining gangs? How do we stop bullying, let alone CYBER bullying? How do we truly help students who are new to our country, who have been thrust into our culture with no real grasp of English, and are expected to PASS tests written in ENGLISH on the same levels as native English speakers?

I'm sorry to be so deep, but it is a genuine concern I've had for a long time, and it all boils down to the morality of our youth.

Can't we all just get along? Can't I stop asking rhetorical questions?

Let's call it a night!