Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/58727
2006 National School Boards Association study WHEN CALISA HOLM'S administra- tor entered her classroom at the end of the school day, the math teacher at Pacific Union Elementary School sensed some- thing bad had happened. She soon learned unflattering comments about her had been posted on the Internet from an anonymous source. A person on a "rant" website said Holm was "mean" to students and a poor teacher, and something should be done about her. Readers were invited to post their own negative comments about Holm. "I didn't know who was maligning my character," recalls Holm, a member of the Teachers Association of Pacific Union. "There was no way to address that person. I was in a vulnerable posi- tion. I felt powerless to deal with the ugliness of the situation." Increasingly, teachers have been criti- cized, ridiculed and falsely portrayed on websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and RateMyTeacher. It may con- stitute "cyberbullying," which is defined as "harassing, mistreating or making fun of another person online or while using cell phones or other electronic devices" by the Cyberbullying Research Center. A 2006 National School Boards Asso- ciation study reports that 26 percent of teachers and principals in the U.S. have been targeted. A 2011 study from Plym- outh University in England reports that 35 percent of teachers surveyed in the United Kingdom said they or a colleague had been subjected to online abuse, ranging from postings on Facebook to campaigns of abuse on Twitter or other sites. The three March 2012 / www.cta.org 17 Calisa Holm helps Jolie Hossack and Mia Pambianco with a math lesson at Pacific Union School in Arcata. Is cyberbullying of teachers going viral? 26% of teachers and principals in the U.S. have been targeted.