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This study was posted

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to the St. Johns Waldorf discussion forum, and permission was granted
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to "share this work with anyone."

"I am happy to share this work with anyone. It can save you weeks
and months of research and be a departure point. One big
recommendation... if a social policy is being 'worked-on', suggest
that it include both adult relationships and child relationships and
that there be parallel work occurring with regards to conflict
resolution. By empowering the 'bystanders' we can make a huge
difference. They outnumber everyone! Good Luck." -- Cynthia Kennedy

We post this report because we are very concerned about the role of
karma in determining how Waldorf teachers react to bullying incidents...

Destiny

<#Destiny>"We have labored over this section and it has been written
and rewritten a number of times. Can a child's karma or destiny be
that of a victim or bully? Is it a child's destiny to seek certain
experiences to build his or her self-esteem and inner self? Should a
potentially abusive situation be stopped, and if so, at what point?"
-- Cynthia Kennedy and Betty Robertson

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Bullying Presentation to Faculty - Handout

May 13, 1999

Alan Howard Waldorf School

Prepared by Cynthia Kennedy and Betty Robertson

Introduction

In April, a Sunday New York Times featured an article on the Best Ideas,
Stories and Inventions of the last Thousand Years. The best revolution
was thought to be human rights -- the idea that certain fundamental
rights are inherent to all humanity.

The reason that we bring this up is that, underlying much of the recent
work on bullying is the thought that:

/Every individual should have the right to be spared oppression and

repeated, intentional humiliation, in school as in society at large.
No child should be afraid of going to school for fear of being
harassed or degraded and no parent should need to worry about such
things happening to his or her child./[1]

Our work on this topic has come from a place of reality with the thought
that there may be ways to make our school a healthier and therefore
richer experience for our children.

The issue

Our question is /How should bullying best be handled in a Waldorf

environment?/

In the last twenty years, there has been a major initiative worldwide to
understand bullying and to reduce and/or eliminate it. We are interested
in determining whether any of this work could be usefully incorporated
at our school.

We recognize that a teacher's goals at a Waldorf school involve so much

more than the avoidance of certain negative behaviors, that they involve
the physical, emotional and spiritual growth of our children. We feel
initiatives in this area would be complementary to the teacher's work.

This paper deals primarily with what bullying is and why it is a problem
that needs to be addressed. We will then touch on what can be done about
bullying, applicability to Waldorf schools and what our goals are.
Although there are a myriad of procedures and policies, which could be
presented at this time, we believe that any detailed examination of
methodology requires faculty input to determine applicability within our
school. In addition, the faculty can bring its wisdom and experience to
the table.

What is known about bullying

The history

Bullying in schools is an age-old problem; examples of it appear in

classic literature written hundreds of years ago. Many teachers will
tell you it is a fact of life and most adults have encountered bullying
at some point in their life, if not at school then perhaps in their work
environment.

It was not until the early 1970's that bullying started being researched
in a systematic way and this was being done primarily in Scandinavia.

In 1982 a nation-wide anti-bullying policy was introduced in Norway

after three 10 to 14 year-old boys, who were being severely bullied by
peers, committed suicide. The media attention and general public concern
led to programs being introduced in primary and junior high schools.

By the late 1980's research dollars and effort were also being spent in
Canada, the USA, UK, The Netherlands, Japan and Australia.[2] If you
look on the internet, you will find that many of the European countries
are developing anti-bullying policies -- and many of these policies are
not just for schools but also cover the work environment. In the US, the
school is legally responsible for the safety of the children and a
parent can sue the school and/or teacher if his/her child has been
/damaged/.

The definition

/A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed,

 repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or
more students/[3]

A power imbalance is found at the heart of the bullying dynamic.[4]

We are not considering the one-off or occasional dispute; we are dealing

with a child being victimized over months, perhaps years. It should be
noted that in the U.K., the time period is not viewed as critical:

/Bullying is a willful, conscious desire to hurt another person. It

can be occasional and short-lived, or it can be regular and
long-lasting./[5]

Negative actions can include:

* Physical violence and attacks

* Verbal taunts, name calling and put-downs
* Threats and intimidation
* Extortion or stealing of money and possessions
* Exclusion from the peer group
* Racially or ethnically-based abuse
* Gender-based put-downs[6]

Bullying can either be direct -- such as name-calling, physical attacks

or indirect -- such as exclusion from a peer group and the spreading of
rumors. Boys are more involved with direct bullying tactics than girls.
Boys are almost always bullied by boys. Girls are more often bullied by
boys than girls.[7]

Where does it happen?

Bullying happens primarily where adults cannot easily detect it. It is

more likely to happen in the schoolyard than in the classroom and is
more likely to happen when an adult is not present or when their
attention has been diverted.[8]

Prevalence

The majority of a class does not participate directly as either a bully

or a victim. With a class of 25 students, on average, two will be
bullies and two to four children will be victims.

On a Canadian national basis, surveys of approximately 5,000 children in

grades 1 to 8, 6% of children admitted to bullying and 15% reported that
they had been victimized (within a six-week period). Observations of
children indicated bullying occurred once every seven minutes in
playgrounds and every twenty-five minutes in the classroom.[9]

These numbers are consistent with a recent study of students in four

Toronto schools.[10] It was found that teachers and other students
rarely intervened (4% and 11% respectively). In 85% of cases, peers were
involved, either as co-bullies or as bystanders.[11]

In Norway, one in seven children is involved as bully or victim with 9%

of children victimized and 7% bullying.

Students in younger grades are bullied more than children in older

grades and the bully is often in an older grade than the victim. The
occurrence of bullying/victims by grade in Norway were found to be as
follows:

Five Groups

Five parties are involved in bullying behavior:

* The bully
* The child who is being bullied or the victim
* The rest of the class (the silent majority)
* The teacher(s)
* The parents[12]

Profile of a Bully

Students who engage in bullying behavior have a need to feel powerful

and in control. They appear to derive satisfaction from inflicting
injury and suffering on others, they have little empathy for their
victims, and they often defend their actions by saying their victims
provoked them in some way.[13] The child is aggressive towards peers as
well as towards adults -- both parents and teachers -- and has a more
positive attitude towards violence and the use of violent means than
students in general.[14] Bullies appear to have little anxiety and to
possess strong self-esteem.[15]

There are also passive bullies: followers or henchmen who participate in

bullying but do not take the initiative. This group may contain a mix of
anxious and insecure students.[16]

Bullies tend to become aggressive adults who stand a greater chance of

having a criminal record,[17] alcohol abuse, marital violence, child
abuse and sexual harassment.[18] The Canadian National Crime Prevention
Council has recognized that bullying may be one of the early behaviors
that contribute to the development of antisocial behavior patterns.[19]

How is a bully created?

The research is quite consistent on how a bully is created and the

essence is that the roots of much bullying are nurtured at home.

Dr. Olweus from Norway found that the main factors leading to the
development of an aggressive child are as follows:

* Basic emotional attitude of parents, mainly that of the primary

caregiver (usually the mother) toward the child. A negative basic
attitude, characterized by lack of warmth and involvement, increases
the risk of the child becoming aggressive and hostile to others.
* Extent to which the primary caregiver has been permissive and has
allowed aggressive behavior on the part of the child.
* Parent's use of /power assertive/ child rearing methods such as
physical punishment and violent emotional outbursts.
* Child's temperament -- active and hotheaded temperament is more
likely to develop into an aggressive youngster.
* International research indicates that children who view a lot of
violence on TV, video and movies are often more aggressive and have
less empathy with victims of aggression.[20]
According to Dr. John Gottman Ph.D., an emotionally distant dad -- one
who is harsh, critical, or dismissing of his children's emotions -- can
have a deeply negative impact. His kids are more likely to do poorly in
school, fight more with friends, and have poor health. In contrast, when
fathers are aware of their kids' feelings and try to help them solve
problems, children do better in school and in relationships with others.
(This emphasis on dads does not mean that the mother's involvement
doesn't affect children's emotional intelligence as well. The effects of
her interactions with her children are significant. But studies indicate
that a father's influence can be much more extreme, whether that effect
is good or bad.)[21]

In other words, although it has been thought that schools are breeding
grounds for bullies, there is considerable evidence that the root of
much bullying is nurtured in the home environment and much of this is
done at the pre-school ages.[22]

Profile of a Victim

Most victims are passive or submissive and tend to be quiet and shy in
temperament. They tend to be anxious, insecure and cautious and suffer
from low self-esteem, rarely defending themselves or retaliating when
confronted by students who bully them. They may lack social skills and
friends and are thus often socially isolated. Victims tend to be close
to their parents and may have parents who are overprotective.[23] The
major physical characteristic of victims is that they tend to be weaker
than their peers, particularly for boys; however, other physical
characteristics -- such as weight, dress or wearing eyeglasses -- do not
appear to be significant factors that can be correlated with
victimization.[24]

Victims of bullying typically are unhappy children who suffer from fear,
anxiety and low self-esteem because of the bullying. They may try to
avoid school and to avoid social interaction, in an effort to escape the
bullying. Their social, academic and emotional development suffers.[25]
As many as 7% of America's eighth-graders stay at home at least once a
month because of bullies.[26]

Most students who are bullied either do not report the bullying or do so
after a long period. The reasons include shame, fear of retaliation for
reporting and fear that adults will not or cannot protect the victim in
the settings where the bullying takes place.[27]

Involvement of Peers

An often-overlooked group is the children who are neither the

perpetrators nor the victims of bullying, but who see the bullying
happening. These are the bystanders. They may follow the bully's lead
and help victimize a particular child. The bullying may increase anxiety
and fear in the bystanders. Children, who observe violent behavior and
see that there are no negative consequences for the bully, will more
likely use aggression in the future.[28]

Why teachers don't intervene

Bullying involves a power differential between the bully and the victim
that most often requires adult intervention.[29] And, given the type of
behavior we are talking about, you would think a teacher would
intervene. So why do they not intervene? They are not aware it is taking
place. And victims generally keep quiet. Every piece of research
indicates teachers underestimate the amount of bullying when compared to
the response from students.[30]

Also, bullying may be viewed as a harmless rite of passage that is best

ignored unless it crosses the line into physical assault or theft.[31]
Or it may be easier, given the profile of the victim, to blame the
victim -- they are too sensitive, too anxious or they have a tendency to
exaggerate. And if the parents complain - they are being overprotective.

What can be done about it?

As mentioned earlier there are numerous approaches, which have been or

are in the process of being implemented. We would like to bring your
attention to just a few matters at this time:

* The national policy in Norway was successful and resulted in a 50%

reduction in bullying/victimization over a two year period
* In the UK, a /no blame/ approach was developed where the bully is
not singled out or blamed
* There are approaches for how to work with parents
* Strategies are available for helping victims and bullies
* Policies can be designed to be age specific
* Policies are not limited to restricting negative behavior, they can
include the striving for positive behavior and attitudes
* There are all sorts of sample procedures, brochures, programs,
exercises to be done with the victim, bully, class, school, faculty
and/or parents

What has been done in Toronto?

The Toronto Board of Education has been working to implement an

Anti-Bullying Intervention in seven elementary schools based on the
Norwegian program implemented in Norway. To-date there has been some
improvements, particularly in the rate of victimization. Where a code of
behavior, which outlines the rights and responsibilities of children, as
well as consequences of misdemeanors, was formalized, more positive
results were obtained.[32]

Role of a school

Schools have a primary role in the socialization of children and they

need to provide a safe and healthy environment within which learning and
healthy social interaction occurs.

What if there is no intervention?

If bullying is allowed to occur it will likely affect the academic

development of both the bully and the victim, and all of the children
will learn that those who have the power have the right to use it
aggressively.[33] For example, if a teacher were at the playground but
refrained from intervening in a bullying incident; this behavior would
imply, for all children, a silent condoning of bullying.[34] Lack of
first-hand knowledge by the teacher will not necessarily resonate in a
child's mind as being an adequate reason why bullying is allowed in an
environment supervised by an adult.

How does this tie in with our School?

We have looked briefly at our school's vision statement, Steiner

pedagogy and our discipline policy to determine whether an anti-bullying
policy would be, in principle, consistent with the Waldorf philosophy.
We recognize that our views could be erroneous as we are relatively
uneducated in this area but we have offered these views as a means to
initiate discussion.

Rudolf Steiner College

The Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California, is offering a two

day workshop entitled: /Teasing, Bullying and Fighting: Breaking the
Pattern/ on July 16 and 17th this summer. This workshop may be in
response to the charter school status of some U.S. Waldorf schools and
the related requirement that these charter schools abide by state
legislature on anti-bullying.

Vision statement

Within the detailed vision statement the following phrases are used:
/enabling our children to emerge as healthy human beings/ and /we
nourish needs/. An anti-bullying policy would address the needs and
problems faced by the victims and the bullies. In addition, it is viewed
as a preventative measure to have a community ethos that would
discourage such behavior.[35]

Pedagogy

Imitation

Having the teacher set a firm example by not accepting bullying seems to
be consistent with Steiner's view of the importance of teaching children
through imitation and by working with children /by means of an
unquestioned authority/.[36]

Destiny

We have labored over this section and it has been written and rewritten
a number of times. Can a child's karma or destiny be that of a victim or
bully? Is it a child's destiny to seek certain experiences to build his
or her self-esteem and inner self? Should a potentially abusive
situation be stopped, and if so, at what point? We do not know the
answers; however, when dealing with bullying behavior we thought that
caution is necessary. If intervention can change the experiences that
our children encounter then conceivably it is not entirely destiny we
are dealing with. And perhaps all the children are better served if they
are given tools to better handle aggression, be it their own, or their
peers.

For a child who is being victimized, it must be the teacher's role and
responsibility to determine how much victimization is healthy to enable
the child to be strengthened through the experience and at what point
the exposure is excessive and detrimental. This situation is something
that all teachers must struggle with, and the obligation becomes that
much more onerous given that, in all likelihood, most of what a child is
subjected to will be unknown to the teacher.

It appears that the bully, primarily through child rearing, arrives at

our school with a predisposition to aggressive and bullying behavior.
The research is not clear as to how much these children can be helped
without the support of the parents. However, parental commitment is one
of the qualities expected of any Waldorf family so there may be more
success with our families than the average. In addition, we understand
that doing biography work with the affected child(ren) and families may
increase understanding and help the situation. Curative work, including
assessments and curative eurythmy, perhaps in consultation with
specialists like Anthroposophical doctors, may provide additional
information to both the family and teacher(s).

Saying no

If you see your child hit another child in the sandbox, what do you do?
This was the question posed by the keynote speaker, Jack Petrash, at
last month's Gateways Conference. In his answer he suggested that there
are times when you may need to say the word /no/, regardless of the age
of the listener.

Cruelty

There are normal levels of aggressive behavior particularly as children

are exploring the cruel aspects of their nature. Every school provides
the opportunity for some bullying to take place, as children test each
other out and work out their roles in the classroom and playground
relationships.[37] However, at some point, this behavior may be
excessive and represent a behavioral problem.

Discipline policy

Our school discipline policy appears to deal mainly with the classroom
setting and interactions between the teacher and the student rather than
student-to-student interactions. However, certain aspects of the policy
deal with student interactions as follows:

* Treat fellow students with respect

* Verbal abuse, profanity and/or aggressive behavior are never acceptable
* Malicious practical jokes and teasing are not acceptable
* Students that observe other students crossing the boundaries of what
they consider to be acceptable behavior, should bring the incident
to the attention of a faculty member
* In grades four and five -- the student is expected to begin
understanding his/her behavior and its effects more consciously
* In grades six to eight -- students are responsible for their actions

The social context and supervision at school have been shown to play a
major part in the frequency and severity of bullying.[38] An
anti-bullying policy is consistent with the requirement that fellow
students are treated with respect and would encompass repeated and
directed /verbal abuse, profanity and/or aggressive behavior/ and
/malicious practical jokes and teasing/.

What are our goals/ expectations?

As stated we are interested in determining what policies and

methodologies exist within our school and whether any of the external
work may be usefully employed.

Initial goals

A report on our current practices. This would include a description of:

* what is considered bullying behavior

* identification of when bullying behavior occurs
* the faculty's attitudes towards victims and bullies
* methodologies in handling this type of behavior
* Questionnaire to determine how prevalent bullying is in our school
and to raise the awareness of the issue. Sample questionnaires are
available which are age-appropriate.
* Preparation of a resource book that would summarize the studies,
programs and policies put in place elsewhere including any research
within the Waldorf environment.
* Development of anti-bullying policy for our school.

Timing

The thought was to consider the possibility of sending out a

questionnaire in the autumn. It would be best to look at our current
practices prior to such a mailing.

Conclusion

We are of the opinion that either there is, or there can be, a problem
with bullying in our school as in any other school. It may not exist in
all grades but it is there, and people who believe it does not exist are
being nave, perhaps because they believe Waldorf schools are exempt
from aggressive children. You do not have to have a child that is a
bully or a victim for your child to be affected, they are affected when
they are bystanders. And finally, we believe that we either already
have, or have the capability to have, wonderful methodology to deal with
this issue given the humane reputation of Waldorf education.

1. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 48, Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1993
2. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 1-2, Blackwell Publishers Ltd.,
1993
3. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 9, Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1993
4. Marlies Sudermann, Peter Jaffe, Elaine Schiek, Bullying: Information
for Parents and Teachers, pp.2, London Family Court Clinic, London,
Ontario
5. Tattum, 1989, Great Britain, , pp. 53, Bullying: Home, School and
Community, 1997, Great Britain
6. Marlies Sudermann, Peter Jaffe, Elaine Schiek, Bullying: Information
for Parents and Teachers, pp.1, London Family Court Clinic, London,
Ontario
7. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 18-19, Blackwell Publishers
 Ltd., 1993
8. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 70-71, Blackwell Publishers
Ltd., 1993
9. National Crime Prevention Council, Bullying and victimization: The
problems and solutions for school-aged children, pp.2
10. Marlies Sudermann, Peter Jaffe, Elaine Schiek, Bullying: Information
for Parents and Teachers, pp.2, London Family Court Clinic, London,
Ontario
11. Wendy Craig, Debra Pepler, Understanding Bullying at School: What
Can We Do About It?, Queen's University and York University, pp.2
12. Netherlands Education Protocol Against Bullying, Bullying at School:
How to deal with it, pp. 3
13. Ron Banks, Parent Brochure, pp. 1, ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary
and Early Childhood Education, USA
14. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 34-36, Blackwell Publishers
Ltd., 1993
15. Ron Banks, Parent Brochure, pp. 1, ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary
and Early Childhood Education, USA
16. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 34-36, Blackwell Publishers
Ltd., 1993
17. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 36, 45, Blackwell Publishers
Ltd., 1993
18. Farrington, 1993; Olweus, 1991 per National Crime Prevention
Council, Bullying and victimization: The problems and solutions for
school-aged children, pp.1
19. Farrington, 1993 per National Crime Prevention Council, Bullying and
victimization: The problems and solutions for school-aged children,
pp.1
20. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 39-42, 45, Blackwell Publishers
Ltd., 1993
21. John Gottman, Ph.D., Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, pp.
26, Simon & Schuster, 1997
22. Pete Randall, Pre-school children: experiences of being parented and
routes to bullying, pp. 6, Bullying: Home, School and Community,
1997, Great Britain
23. Ron Banks, Parent Brochure, pp. 2, ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary
and Early Childhood Education, USA
24. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 30-31, Blackwell Publishers Ltd.,
25. Marlies Sudermann, Peter Jaffe, Elaine Schiek, Bullying: Information
for Parents and Teachers, pp.5, London Family Court Clinic, London,
Ontario
26. Ron Banks, Parent Brochure, pp. 2, ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary
and Early Childhood Education, USA
27. Marlies Sudermann, Peter Jaffe, Elaine Schiek, Bullying: Information
for Parents and Teachers, pp.3, London Family Court Clinic, London,
Ontario
28. Marlies Sudermann, Peter Jaffe, Elaine Schiek, Bullying: Information
for Parents and Teachers, pp.6, London Family Court Clinic, London,
Ontario
29. National Crime Prevention Council, Bullying and victimization: The
problems and solutions for school-aged children, pp.6
30. Delwyn Tattum, Home and School, pp. 47, Bullying: Home, School and
Community, 1997, Great Britain
31. Ron Banks, Parent Brochure, pp. 2, ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary
and Early Childhood Education, USA
32. Wendy Craig, Debra Pepler, Understanding Bullying at School: What
Can We Do About It?, Queen's University and York University, pp.8-9
33. Wendy Craig, Debra Pepler, Understanding Bullying at School: What
Can We Do About It?, Queen's University and York University, pp.5
34. Dan Olweus, Bullying at School, pp. 71, Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1993
35. Delwyn Tattum, Home and School, pp. 48, Bullying: Home, School and
Community, 1997, Great Britain
36. R. Steiner, Walking, Speaking, Thinking -- Gratitude, from /Human
Values in Education/
37. Delwyn Tattum and Eva Tattum, From Home to School, pp. 41, Bullying:
Home, School and Community, 1997, Great Britain
38. Marlies Sudermann, Peter Jaffe, Elaine Schiek, Bullying: Information
for Parents and Teachers, pp.4, London Family Court Clinic, London,
Ontario

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