Whitney Bowerman

The More you Know: Bullying

October 24, 2017

For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew
yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. Youd be surprised how far that gets you. Neil
deGrasse Tyson

Bullying is...
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived
power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.

Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things.

Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someones reputation or
relationships.

Physical bullying involves hurting a persons body or possessions.

https://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/warning-signs/index.html

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What to look for with your students
According to stopbullying.gov, Statistics from the 2012 Indicators of School Crime and Safety - PDF
show that an adult was notified in less than half (40%) of bullying incidents.

Many children who are being bullied or are bullies are not willing to ask for help. Recognizing and being
knowledgeable about the signs of bullying can be crucial in taking action against bullying. If it is
suspected a child is experiencing bullying it is important to then talk to the student.

Possible signs a child is being bullied:

Unexplainable injuries
Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry
Declining grades, loss of interest in schoolwork, or not wanting to go to school
Sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations
Self-destructive behaviors such as running away from home, harming themselves, or talking
about suicide
Possible signs a child is bullying:

Get into physical, verbal fights, or are increasingly aggressive

Get sent to the principals office or to detention frequently
Blame others for their problems
Dont accept responsibility for their actions
Are competitive and worry about their reputation or popularity
https://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/warning-signs/index.html

Is bullying a problem in school

A developing question that needs to be considered before implementing policies and strategies for anti-
bullying is: is bullying a problem in schools? According to National Bullying Prevention Center,

More than one out of every five (20.8%) students report being bullied (National Center for
Educational Statistics, 2016).

Many students have reported being a victim of bullying. The next question to ask may be: does bullying
really affect student and how serious are those effects? According to National Bullying Prevention
Center,
Students who are both targets of bullying and engage in bullying behavior are at greater risk for
both mental health and behavior problems than students who only bully or are only bullied
(Center for Disease Control, 2015).

Teachers notice and intervene in only 1 out of 25 episodes. (Tracy Gershwin Mueller, Ph.D)

Students who engage in bullying and are being bullied are transformed inside and outside of the
classroom by prolonged bullying. The effects of bullying include mental health, poor relationship skills,
undesired behavior, and academic problems. As a professional educator our duty is to intervene and

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prevent bullying in our communities by first knowing the problem that is bullying. Bullying has long term
effects and those must first be understood to be effective in taking action.

Strategies for the classroom

Students reported that the most harmful things teachers can do are: tell the student to
solve the problem themselves, tell the student that the bullying wouldnt happen if they
acted differently, ignored what was going on, or tell the student to stop tattling (Davis
& Nixon, 2010).

Intervention:
1. Understanding the school's policies and rules about bullying
2. Teach the students the expectations and rules about bullying:

Zero Tolerance and Instant Response: Ensure students know once an undesired behavior is done there
will be action.

Define what a bully is and teach what steps students should take when encountering these behaviors:

When a student sees or is encountering a behavior which they do not believe is respectful they should
enact a STOP SIGNAL (stop, enough, dont).

After they have done the stop signal, the student should walk away.

Once they walk away they should talk to a teacher about the behavior.

The teacher should then talk to both victim and bully separately in private. Reinforce the students for
following the appropriate procedures. Communicate to the bully appropriate behaviors for the future. Tell
all parties included you will be checking in. Observe the students closely to see if the problem behavior
continues.

If behavior continues, communicate with principle when appropriate and suggest further means of
modification, if necessary.

3. Communicate bullying behaviors to all the parents included:

Be the first person to let the parents know the behaviors exhibited. Ensure to the parents you are watching
closely over the students and let them know what you did to address the problem. Finally, ensure them
you will continue to check up on students and keep the parents in contact. Listen to the parents and take
note to concerns they have about their children.

4. Be attentive in observing students behaviors in less structured environments:

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Student are more likely to engage in bullying behaviors outside of the classroom. Therefore, teachers
need to be attentive and spaced out in environments where these behaviors will be heightened (recess,
cafeteria, etc. )

5. Commit to having a safe and respectful school environment:

Teachers will be more effective in preventing bullying behaviors if the behaviors are addressed and
discussed prior to the display of the actions. Building a respectful environment can be done by having
open discussions with the class about books on the topic of bullying, role playing different situations that
address bullying, reinforcing appropriate behaviors, create a classroom community of respect.

Importance of communication...
For the strategy proposed it is key the teacher checks in with the students involved and the parents
involved. To know if the strategy has been successful, the student engaging in the consistent problem
behavior should discontinue the behaviors towards all other students and administrators. Honest feedback
will have to be given from all parties included to completely understand whether the actions taken were
successful.