Teachers Standing Against Bullying

Sources: StopBullying.govNewsweekUS Office of Education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY7Gvq0P4hc&feature=related

Dr Richard E. Day, Asst Prof, Educational FoundationsEastern Kentucky University

Kentucky Education Association - Student Program Student Assembly

April 2011

Re: Bullying

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1. There is an unprecedented amount of bullying going on these days as a result of the internet.

2. Bullying is about the same as it has always been. What’s different is our reaction to it.

You learn that your daughter has been harassing a classmate, calling her names online

and she even threw a soft drink can at her. What is the proper response?

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1. Ignore it. Kids will be kids.

2. Talk to her3. Ground her and take

away her computer4. Suspend from school5. 10 years in jail

You learn that the student your daughter was tormenting hung herself as a result of

the bullying. Now, what is the proper response?

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1. Ignore it. Kids will be kids.

2. Talk to her3. Ground her and take

away her computer4. Suspension5. 10 years in jail

You learn that the bullied student was on medication for depression and had tried to

kill herself once before. Does that change your decision?

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1. Yes, my daughter was not to blame

2. No, my daughter is still responsible for her actions. No wonder the kid was depressed.

Is it possible to bully someone to death?

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1. Yes, actions can lead to serious consequences

2. No, bullies can’t be held responsible for that

You learn that your daughter will be charged with “stalking,” a felony, and that she will be

expelled from school. How do you respond?

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1. Defend your daughter vigorously in court

2. Tell her she’s on her own

News trucks camp outside your home waiting for a photo of your daughter; rocks are thrown through

the window; your daughter receives threats. What do you do?

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1. Keep a low profile since she brought it on herself

2. Call the police since your rights are being violated

3. Move

Where is the line between behavior that is bad

and behavior that is criminal?

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1. Bullying happens, but is rarely (or never) a crime

2. It’s a crime anytime someone gets hurt emotionally

3. It’s a crime only when someone gets hurt physically

4. Bullying is always a crime

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/04/phoebe-prince-are-school-bullies-victims-too.html

Phoebe Prince Case: Timeline

Private Moment Made Public, Then a Fatal Jump

Tyler Clementi, left, is thought to have committed suicide, days after he was secretly filmed and broadcast on the Internet. Mr. Clementi’s roommate, Dharun Ravi, center, and another classmate, Molly Wei, have been charged in the case.

“Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.”

Three days later Clementi jumped from the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River in an apparent suicide.

Suicides of gay teenagers: Four dead in three weeks

A group participates in a "lie-in" near the Student Center at Rutgers University, in support of safe places for gay students.

Prevention programs have been shown to reduce bullying as much as …

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1. 10%2. 20%3. 35%4. 50%5. 65%6. 90%

What percentage of students report being bullied in school each year?

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0% 0% 0%0%0%0%

1. 10%2. 20%3. 35%4. 50%5. 65%6. 90%

What percentage of gay and lesbianstudents report being bullied

in school each year?

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0% 0% 0%0%0%0%

1. 10%2. 20%3. 35%4. 50%5. 65%6. 90%

How Bullying Affects a School

• Bullying disrupts the learning environment:– Student achievement suffers among both the students

who are bullied and those who engage in bullying. – Teacher morale declines amid harmful social dynamics in

the classroom that interfere with discipline and learning.– Adult-student relationships suffer. Students who

witness bullying can become fearful and develop the belief that the adults are not in control or are uncaring.

– Parent confidence and trust in the school erodes when students experience bullying or are accused of bullying others.

People Who are Bullied• Have higher risk of depression and anxiety, including the following symptoms,

that may persist into adulthood: – Increased feelings of sadness and loneliness– Changes in sleep and eating patterns– Loss of interest in activities

• Have increased thoughts about suicide that may persist into adulthood. In one study, adults who recalled being bullied in youth were 3 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts or inclinations.

• Are more likely to have health complaints. In one study, being bullied was associated with physical health status 3 years later.

• Have decreased academic achievement (GPA and standardized test scores) and school participation.

• Are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school.• Are more likely to retaliate through extremely violent measures. In 12 of 15

school shooting cases in the 1990s, the shooters had a history of being bullied.

People Who Bully Others

• Have a higher risk of abusing alcohol and other drugs in adolescence and as adults.

• Are more likely to get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school.

• Are more likely to engage in early sexual activity.• Are more likely to have criminal convictions and traffic

citations as adults. In one study, 60% of boys who bullied others in middle school had a criminal conviction by age 24.

• Are more likely to be abusive toward their romantic partners, spouses or children as adults.

People Who Witness Bullying

• Have increased use of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs.

• Have increased mental health problems, including depression and anxiety.

• Are more likely to miss or skip school.

Signs of Being Bullied

• Acts differently than usual• Comes home with damaged or missing clothing• Reports losing items: books, electronics, jewelry..• Frequent headaches, stomachaches, or feeling sick• Has trouble sleeping, or has frequent bad dreams• Has unexplained injuries, or Hurts themselves • Are very hungry after school• Runs away from home• Suddenly has fewer friends• Is afraid of going to school or other activities with peers• Begins to do poorly in school• Appears sad, moody, angry, anxious or depressed• Feels helpless, or like they are not good enough• Blames themselves for their problems, talks about suicide

Signs of a Bully

• Becomes violent with others• Gets into physical or verbal fights with others• Gets sent to the principal’s office a lot• Has extra money or new belongings that cannot

be explained• Is quick to blame others• Won’t accept responsibility for actions• Has friends who bully others• Needs to win or be best at everything

Who is At Risk for Being Bullied?

• Generally, children, teens and young adults who:– Do not get along well with others– Are less popular than others– Have few to no friends– Do not conform to gender norms– Have low self esteem– Are depressed or anxious

Bullying is a Civil Rights Issue

• Schools (and teachers) may violate civil rights statutes when peer harassment that is based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability is sufficiently serious that it creates a hostile environment.

• A hostile environment is created when such harassment is encouraged, tolerated, not adequately addressed, or ignored by school employees.

The statutes include…

• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin;

• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex;

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.

Group Activity• You will join a group to discuss one aspect of

civil rights and anti-harassment law as applied to schools

• Your group Facilitator will read the prompt aloud and make sure everyone gets heard in discussion

• Your group Reporter will capture the group’s input and explain your results to the class

Your Task• Based on the scenario– Read the prompt aloud– Discuss the incident– Discuss the schools’ response– Identify the steps school personnel should follow

to • protect students from a hostile school environment • and avoid a civil rights violation

• Facilitator will read the prompt to the class• Reporter present the group’s response

An episode of bullyinghas three identifying characteristics

• A power difference between the individual being• bullied and the bully• A negative intent on the part of the bully to hurt,• embarrass, or humiliate the other• Repeated behavior — with others, with the same• person, and/or with the same person over time

It Takes a School-wide Effort

• It takes the entire school community to– create an inviting school – where everyone feels they belong – and are safe

• Working together, administrators, teachers, school staff, parents, and students can help stop bullying in your school.

Create an Anti-Bullying Policy

• Have a policy outlining – how teachers and school staff address the issue of

bullying – how incidents are dealt with after they have

happened. • All students need to be aware of the

consequences of bullying.

The school policy… See Fayette County Policies

• must clearly define all forms of bullying behavior. – Physical Bullying– Verbal Bullying– Social Bullying– Sexual Harassment (Bullying)

• Many bullies try to pass off acts of aggression as roughhousing between friends, or just having fun.– It’s not play unless everybody is having fun.

Power of Students

• Mobilize the masses of students who are neither victims nor bullies to take action against bullying. – refusing to watch bullying, reporting bullying– incidents, initiating conflict resolution strategies,– using redirection with either the bully or the victim.

In your classroom

• Bullying – negatively affects the atmosphere – disrupts the learning environment

• Bullying is not something educators have to accept

Where to Start?• Expect respectful behavior by creating policies• Enhance your classroom management skills

– Engage parents before there is a problem– Model the behavior you expect– Discuss respecting others and bullying with your class– Encourage students to report bullying when they see it– Give examples of what students can do to make bullying

stop– Explain the many different kinds of bullying

• Assess bullying in your school– Learn how to identify and intervene in bullying incidents– Effectively discipline students who bully– Track incidents of bullying

Ask the Students

• Conduct a short bullying Survey– increase awareness – Understand the extent of the problem – justify intervention efforts, and – benchmark data to measure improvements

• Conduct a bullying-awareness campaign– increase parental awareness of the problem– encourage parental support– gain parental involvement

Inclusion and Discussion

• Provide a range of opportunities for pupils to talk about bullying.

Safeguard Honesty

• Students feel safe reporting bullying when– Teachers– Administrators– other school personnel

• respect the anonymity of the victim and/or reporting students.

Encourage students to safely stand up for each other

• What do you think of this idea from Ireland?

http://www.youtube.com/v=lrJxqvalFxM&feature=player_embedded

Test Your Knowledge

SOURCE: the Federal Departments of Health and Human Services …and Education

People who bully have power over those they bully.

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1. True2. False

Who is at the highest risk for problemslike depression and are

more likely to become involved in risky or delinquent behavior?

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1. Someone who bullies

2. Someone who is bullied

3. Someone who both bullies and is bullied

Spreading false rumors about another student is a form of bullying

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1. True2. False

True

• Spreading rumors, name-calling, excluding others, and embarrassing them are all forms of social bullying that can cause serious and lasting harm.

The most common form of bullying is...

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1. Social bullying by boys and girls

2. Physical bullying by boys

Social

• Lots of people think that physical bullying by boys is the most common form of bullying. However, verbal, social, and physical bullying happens among both boys and girls, especially as they grow older.

• Social bullying is the most common form.

People who bully are insecure and have low self-esteem.

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1. True2. False

False

• Many people who bully are popular and have average or better-than-average self-esteem.– They often take pride in their aggressive behavior

and control over the people they bully. People who bully may be part of a group that thinks bullying is okay. Some people who bully may also have poor social skills and experience anxiety or depression. For them, bullying can be a way to gain social status.

Bullying usually occurs when there are no other students around.

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1. True2. False

False

• Students see about four out of every five bullying incidents at school. – In fact, when they witness bullying, they give the

student who is bullying positive attention or even join in about three-quarters of the time. Although 9 out of 10 students say there is bullying in their schools, adults rarely see bullying, even if they are looking for it.

Bullying often resolves itself when you ignore it.

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1. True2. False

False

• Bullying reflects an imbalance of power that happens again and again. – Ignoring the bullying teaches students who bully

that they can bully others without consequences. Adults and other students need to stand up for children who are bullied, and to ensure they are protected and safe.

Reporting bullying will make the situation worse.

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1. True2. False

False

• Research shows that children who report bullying to an adult are less likely to experience bullying in the future. – Adults should encourage children to help keep

their school safe and to tell an adult when they see bullying.

Teachers rarely intervene to stop bullying.

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1. True2. False

True

• Adults often do not witness bullying despite their good intentions. – Teachers intervene in only 14 percent of

classroom bullying episodes and in 4 percent of bullying incidents that happen outside the classroom.

Nothing can be done at schools to reduce bullying.

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1. True2. False

False

• School initiatives to prevent and stop bullying have reduced bullying by 15 to 50 percent. – The most successful initiatives involve the entire

school community of teachers, staff, parents, students, and community members.

Bullying occurs most often in…

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1. Urban schools2. Suburban schools3. Rural schools

Tricky question

• There are no differences in rates of bullying for urban, suburban, or rural communities. – Bullying happens everywhere.

A higher percentage of students get bullied in the largest schools.

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1. True2. False

another tricky one…but, False

• The overall percentage of students being bullied does not vary based on school size, although bullying does happen more often in larger schools.

ABC NEWS (9:16) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wcx2qM5C4g&feature=related

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