SEATTLE -- Cyberbullying is the on-line equivalent of teasing, taunting, or even a punch to the gut. That's why school districts around the country are ramping up their efforts to clamp down on it. Some take the topic so seriously, they are even employing outside groups to teach students about this issue.
One of those groups is the touring branch of Seattle's Taproot Theatre. As many Seattlites recall, the theater was one of the victims of the Greenwood arsonist this past October. But that hasn't slowed them down. The actors are on the road usually five days a week, presenting a show about cyberbullying to teens and preteens around the state.
It's a production that is being well received. Their audience is well aware that there is no quicker way to share a thought than to text it or post it on-line. But sometimes those fleeting messages have a painful and lasting impact.
Earlier this month, 20 students are Seattle's McClure Middle School were suspended for friending or becoming fans on a Facebook page that targeted on student. Now, the actors from Taproot Theatre are hoping their production will hope kids think twice before hitting "send."
Actor Solomon Davis says cyberbullying is a perfect topic for their educational theater, because it centers around self esteem.
"When we deal with things that affect our self-esteem," he says, "that can affect our decision making. Hopefully if we can raise the issue of how we're treating each other, that will take care of some of the other issues of drug abuse, or any other decision making that happens in the future."
The students watching the show this week at Bellevue's Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart say it is a good reminder that peer pressure exists on-line, and that hiding behind a computer screen does not mean they are shielded from the consequences of cyberbullying.
Says middle schooler Haley Griese, "Yes, we've definitely discussed it. But it's way more real to see it on stage and just in an environment that you can relate to." Adds her friend Olivia Cero, "It really made me think about how other people can influence you to do stuff. So you really have to think about your choices." For more information about the shows produced by the Taproot Theatre, which is re-opening at the end of this week, you can go to www.taproot.org.
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