Facebook High School: How to Take Care of Ourselves and One Another

By Tracie Epes, Director of Residential Life


On Tuesday, Girls First! campers and staff had the pleasure of hearing Shanterra McBride speak about relational aggression, cyber bullying, and creating more positive relationships with each other. Ms. McBride’s engaging and interactive presentation focused on how girls treat each other, and specifically, the tendency for girls to want to “destroy” each other’s lives and gain power through negative and hurtful behavior.


Ms. McBride believes that all students “attend” what she calls “Facebook High School,” which complicates and intensifies relational aggression and often prevents students from finding a safe haven and/or escaping damaging information posted by others. Students today can no longer start fresh or redeem themselves by changing schools because their socially-created reputation follows them wherever they go through internet creations like Facebook.


Ms. McBride encouraged the girls to use their power to support others and placed importance on receiving validation from friends for positive behaviors. She emphasized each girl’s fundamental propensity to be “marvelous” and the need to find friends who support you in being “better.” Students left the presentation chatting about their own experiences with friends and Facebook, and several commented that they appreciated how Ms. McBride easily related to them.


About the Presenter:
Shanterra McBride is the founder and director of PLOT- Preparing Leaders Of Today, a company committed to inspiring young people to be more than what’s expected, more than what’s required, and more than what’s modeled. She is a sought-after speaker on youth leadership and youth issues, such as cliques, friendships, and teen relationships and how they relate to gender aggression.


Ms. McBride speaks throughout the country at universities, corporations, schools, churches, and associations, including DC Public Schools, Syracuse University, Washington Association of Independent Schools and the United States Department of Education. She has been interviewed by various media outlets, including National Public Radio, Essence magazine, and various CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC affiliates. Ms. McBride is also the spokesperson for Unicel‘s StandUp! Program, which draws attention to the issue of cyber bullying, educating students and parents about this type of bullying and giving them tools to prevent it.


Originally from Dallas, Texas, Ms. McBride received a B.A. in Sociology and a B.A. in Public Affairs and Corporate Communications from Southern Methodist University. She has a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.


Ms. McBride is a facilitator for LeaderShape, an organization that works to improve society by inspiring, developing, and supporting more people to lead with integrity. Selected as a “Person to Watch” by Washingtonian Magazine, her life’s purpose is to mend, motivate, and empower young women to believe they are fearless and wonderfully made.