Cyber bullying can reach huge numbers of kids

‘Cyber bullying’ is receiving quite a bit coverage in the media lately. We hear that young people are self-harming and worse as a result of this nasty practice. The cowards who hide behind ‘caller unknown’ and various other disguises are causing massive damage to their peers. They do not understand the ramifications of their activities and if they do then they are acting in a criminal manner.

The practise of gathering up the gossip of the day about fellow students and sending it on to huge numbers of recipients is a fact of life in many schools and then this goes way beyond the boundaries of the school or suburb.

For some students, reading about their ‘private activities,’ in this way, the results can be devastating. Being a teenager has always been a difficult task but with the new technology and its availability, one shudders at the possible damage our young people face. Most kids are potential victims if they own a cell phone and who doesn’t.

The initiatives to bring about discussion on the issue of ‘cyber bullying’ is overdue and by the time we get some real understanding, the methodology will have ramped up a notch or two. We can’t afford to wait around and pontificate. Things are moving too fast for us. Parents, for God’s sake, keep that dialogue door open to your children. If you think your kids are the subject of these cruel messages, seek out help at your local school.

Putin---just a 21st Century Stalin in the making!

I am not saying that I think Pussy Riot did a particularly clever act when they protested in an iconic Moscow church but the treatment they have received way outweighs the supposed crime. The response from the Stalinist/Putin authorities is a worrying sign that Mother Russia is returning to darker times when freedom was but a feather in the wind, transitory and directionless.

Other groups who dare speak out against Putin face similar treatment and must register as foreign agents or face two years in prison. Democracy is a joke in Russia as it races headlong to a fascist state. The Gulags will fill with dissidents and freedom lovers. Gone is the hope that flourished after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet State. For a brief time the world believed that we all faced a more peaceful future, but something in the Russian psyche has allow the birth of a new neo-monster who sits in the Kremlin watching as his henchmen do his dirty work.

It appears that Putin will stoop to new lows in an attempt to consolidate his power. Watch as freedom of the press evaporates and what I have thought of as a television service with a difference, namely RT (Russian TV) slowly comes under the control of Putin’s puppets.

A man I once admired has become a despot and the Russian Nation heads towards a dark and sad future. It is not too late. I believe that the Russian people will find ways to resist their new Tsar. They have done it before and will do it again.  www.authorneilcoleman.com

I applaud any moves that will tackle bullying in all of its forms

Bullying in any form in any place is nasty, cruel, often insidious and sometimes fatal for the recipient. I am totally in favour of a real conversation taking place; in the media, in our homes and particularly in our schools. As a counsellor in a large secondary school, I see on a daily basis the results of all forms of bullying, sometimes I am sad to say, even in the staffroom.

The effect on a teenager (and of course younger kids) is often enough to block development and learning. Bullying can often lead to depression and at worst suicidal thoughts and actual attempts. We have a chance to think, plan and make some differences. For that to happen, the debate needs to be wide, testing and to have an end-point where we actually put into place some strategies that work. We will make mistakes along the way, but we can learn from those.

There are some schools who claim that they have cut the incidences and seriousness of bullying right down. Let’s look at what they have done. We don’t always need to reinvent the wheel, so if something works we need to promulgate that process.

Cyber bullying has been taking centre stage for quite some time. That involves texting, cell phone calls, the use of other social media and God alone knows what is around the corner in this filed.

The Government is keen to have a conversation about cyber bullying and to pass laws with ‘teeth’ to expose, punish and limit the damage done through cyber bullying. I applaud them for this. I do not know how technology can be used to turn the tide, but if it exists then it is time we used it. Schools will need to be part of that unrolling of technology to make our places of study safer, but it has to be acknowledged that schools are the places where kids go for only 6-7 hours a day.

Kids say and are often supported by parents in that they cannot operate without cell phones. I sort of know that feeling. The need to feel ‘connected’ is hard to ignore.

What ‘filtering technology’ would look like is beyond me, but if that is the price we have to pay to keep kids safe form messaging at least during school time, then that is what we pay. How we deal with the other hours of the day is also crucial.

Kids, adults—we all have to look at the way we view bullying and come up with a new culture--- one that shuns all forms of bullying, be it physical, emotional or technologically based. We have an enormous game changing challenge on our hands. Let’s start the debate. We don’t need to hurry, because bullying has been with us forever.

Labour---if you want to be credible-----

Here we go again. Just when it appeared that Labour was getting its stuff together, out comes another debacle over who said—it wasn’t me----whatever---- get over it. You have a good leader (actually, you had a damned good one before too) who is coming across as a real statesman so why the hell are you doing all this bullshit backroom stuff.

David Shearer was correct in bringing you all into line. If you want to present as a credible alternative government, then stop acting like a bunch of gossipy school kids. Save that for parliament like all the rest of the MPS do!

OK, I suppose it is sort of human to have these urges to ‘have your say, to bitch, to get your time in the limelight, but it is not a good look and certainly not one that engenders confident from would-be voters. The electorate is totally turned off. I guess all political parties have the propensity to self-destruct, but if you can’t see the ramifications of your childish actions, then get the hell out of parliament and the party. WE WANT A POWERFUL, CREDIBLE OPPOSITION TO HELP FIGHT THE STUPID POLICIES OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT!   www.authorneilcoleman.com

When winning is just another word for cheating.

Valerie Adams now has her gold medal and she totally deserves it. I feel sad for her opponent who has now been stripped of her medal after taking prohibited substances. That she wanted, needed or was pressured to win so much, at all costs, is sad and goes against the principals of good sportsmanship.

I feel for the lady from Belarus; wondering what she must be going through, from the moment she stood on the dais, clutching the medal with tears flowing freely. Surely she would have wandered at how she had arrived at that vaunted position.

Now it has all been taken away from her, leaving Valerie to bask in delayed glory. She too must be finding this more than just a vindication of her efforts; possibly it may even feel a little shallow. Her just reward should have been to be honoured at the time of her victory, rather than go through the obvious stress she has faced.

There were those who doubted the validity of her opponent’s victory but they remained silent. Anything else would have appeared paltry. Now that the truth is out, we must all move on--- that is after Valerie (and the other new recipients of the silver and bronze medals) has received her hard won accolades--- Onwards now to other great victories.

James Cook High School in South Auckland has a secret!

All too often the schools of South Auckland get bad press. This is regularly way off the mark and written by people who usually pass by on the motorway heading South. If they looked a little closer or listened to grass roots, then they may well discover a little gem of a secret.

One such school will no longer be able to keep secret that it has one of the best ‘girls’ rugby teams in the country. What started as a ramshackle bunch of good natured young women just trying to have fun has turned into a serious challenge to be one of the top teams in the north Island.

This group of young women have taken on the best and refused to lay down in defeat. They have probably surprised themselves; they give their all, take the hits and bounce right back up. So far in a series of ‘stepped-up’ games, each one at a higher level, they have met the challenge and pulled off victories. Their latest escapade had them hosting the highly ranked team from Rotorua Girls High and once again, they came up trumps.

 Now, after they have rested and returned to a ‘non-injury state,’ they head to the National Champs in Fielding in September. Money is short and no doubt they will take short cuts re costs, but they are determined to get there. A little help for them would go a long way. These girls have gained hugely from their successes. Their self-esteem has taken a grand jump, something that can help them in so many other areas of their lives.

Perhaps someone out there can send this on to the ‘press’ who more often than not ignore the good things about South Auckland

 Well done girls and your hard working coaches and managers. The school? --- James Cook High of course!

www.authorneilcoleman.com

Call them what you like, but label them 'evil and dangerous.'

The report in Today’s Herald about synthetic cannabis being sold as ‘Tai High’ at a dairy before the substance was banned begs the question about how far we should go in putting a complete stop on the sale of these insidious products. The Government has acted and it feels like they are getting a handle on things.

We must ask the question though about why dairies have been allowed to sell these items, often to ‘at risk groups.’ In my view any substance fed into a young teenager, at such a crucial time in their physical and psychological development is like pouring poison onto a growing plant, in this case a developing young person. The results are unpredictable at best and totally damaging in the worst case scenarios.

Diaries should never have been allowed to be points of sale and if there needs to be a law change to prevent them selling this whole range of products, then please let us have that law change.

The reports from Oamaru today definitely lend weight to that argument. Come on MR Dunne--- you have done damn well on this issue--- step up again and tighten up the regulations. You won’t lose votes; you can only gain respect. Keep our kids safe.