John: Bullying Prevention-Are We Doing Enough?

During the week of inservice, I was very thankful for my principal’s sensitivity to our time and for not filling the week with frivolous meetings. We did have one important training meeting, however. All faculty at my school underwent training for a new program called the Olweus Bully Prevention Program.

The training was very eye-opening regarding the frequency and types of bullying that high school students experience. The program included a survey given to all students at my school last spring. To see the responses from actual students made the national statistics become very real. Because of my profession and passion, one of the statistics that stood out to me was that students with disabilities are at a greater risk of being a victim of bullying. As a teacher one of the most painful statistics to read was that only 26.7 percent of girls and 34.2 percent of boys thought that teachers “often” or “almost always” try to stop bullying.*

I have several goals for this school year, but at the Olweus training I made one more goal for the year. If nothing else, I want my students to know that my classroom will be a bully-free zone and that any bullying behaviors that are reported to me will be dealt with appropriately. I think in the past, I just assumed that of course my students know I would deal with bullying situations if they were reported to me, but this year my students will know that they have an anti-bullying advocate every time they come to my room.

How will they know they have an anti-bullying advocate? I’m glad you asked. Every day they will see the school-wide anti-bullying rules posted in my room in addition to my classroom rules. They will also hear several anti-bullying lessons presented throughout the school year.

But lessons and posters aside, I think the biggest thing I can do to prevent bullying is win the trust of my students by showing a genuine interest in the things that happen to them outside my room. I can’t make the world a sterile environment for them, but I can make my room a safe haven for hurting young people.

*These statistics come from the survey conducted at Dorman High School by the Olweus Bully Prevention Program and do not reflect national statistics.

Find out more about preventing bullying in your school. 

Comments

[John]

@Leigh I completely understand the feeling! I can make sure bullying doesn't happen in my room, but what about in the cafeteria, at the bus stop, in the hallways, or any of the other hundreds of times students are unsupervised during the school day? And what do you do when "the bullied" become the bullies? It's a hard problem, and I don't know that the whole answer can be found in a school. At its core bullying is simply being mean to people because you think you can get away with it. I think it is a societal issue that has found its way into schools more than a school issue affecting society. Does that make sense?

[Leigh]

I'm so glad to see a post about bullying. Sure, I've read the articles and seen the statistics. But it was something that I honestly didn't really experience until college. There were a few times that I saw some bullying before then, of course, but for the most part it wasn't on my radar. As a student teacher, one of the first things that was discussed in meetings was bullying. At first, it seemed about how I expected it, but more and more I'm hearing about certain students who are targeted, I'm seeing students who I know and like be bullied--and be the bullies. The interesting part is I feel like the school where I am is quite conscientious about bullying, so I began to wonder if maybe I was just hearing about it more, being in special education. It got to the point that I sat down with a fellow general education teacher and asked him about his impressions. He felt that it was actually pretty on-par with his experiences at other schools, and from when he was in school himself. So, if the level of bullying seems fairly average, what's to be done?

Sure, the school counselor has a social skills group for some students, and yes, the principal is wonderful and talks seriously with students who are continually making bad choices. One student was even expelled, after being given chances and opportunities to improve. I would advocate forever and a day for a student who came to me, or who I felt needed an advocate. But honestly, it seems that most of the students are being helped pretty well. But, what can I do to actually help cut down on bullying? Sure, make a classroom a safe space, educate children about it, etc. I believe all of those things are happening. And yet, bullying is still a problem. Quite honestly, it makes me sad and frustrated that I don't have a better solution.

[John]

@Emily P You are so right that many times high school is overlooked in the anti-bullying conversation. Typically, it takes a tragedy at the high school level to get awareness of the problem. I also couldn't agree more that many times students don't recognize bullying. I have experienced some situations similar to what you described. I spend a lot of time teaching the definition of bullying to my students--both what it is and what it is not (because I have an opposite extreme in some of my students who believe EVERYONE is bullying them). Thanks for the comments! You have some great thoughts about bullying.

[John]

@Stephanie I'm glad your school is adopting a similar program! It sounds like you have lots of excellent ideas. Keep up the good work!

[Emily P.]

John-
I am glad to hear that your school district chose to provide you with an inservice so meaningful. I know a lot of times, the meetings can drag, and although beneficial, they are not necessarily a top priority to begin the school year.
Many statistics related to bullying are so focused on elementary school and middle school. It has been pointed out many times that students who are bullied in elementary school are more likely to carry oppositional behaviors later in life. It seems to be a common understanding that students in middle school are all going through awkward changes in their lives, so bullying is a release for troubled students. It is often forgot, however, that students in high school are many times the victims of bullying just the same, if not more, than students in younger grades. High school teachers many times have their students rotate from classroom to classroom, so they spend less than one hour with each student a day. This does not allow for the development of trusted relationships with students and teachers.
More specifically, students in special education are, many times, unable to share with their trusted teachers when they have been the victim of bullying. This inability to advocate for themselves may be due to a lessened vocabulary, nonverbal tendencies, or communication difficulties. These students depend on their teachers to recognize when they have been bullied and to do something about it. The biggest thing we can do for our students, as you stated, is taking a genuine interest and concern for their lives outside of the classroom.
One final point I have to make is that many students don’t recognize bullying when it comes from their friends. For example, there was a student in my classroom who was overweight. His “friends” often discluded him from football games and called him inappropriate names. It was unbeknownst to me, and the child didn’t even recognize this as a form of bullying. It came from people that spent the rest of the day (outside of recess) as his best friends. It is important that students are able to recognize that bullying is bullying, no matter the source.

[Stephanie C]

John,

I am currently a student teacher in a combined middle school and high school. Our first day of inservice included information about bullying and it was very eye opening. The meeting came about when some students at the school approached a teacher about certain incidents involving students being bullied. This teacher then went to conventions on bullying, conducted surveys, reached out to other teachers, talked to students, and helped create a bullying policy for the school.

The most eye opening piece of his presentation were the survey results. It was very astonishing to see the similarities and differences between the grade level responses (elementary, middle school, and high school). Unfortunately, one statistic that stood out between all grade levels was that a low percentage of students believed that teachers try to stop bullying. For me this statistic was also very painful to see.

After our bullying presentation, we split up into small groups and had to come up with ideas on what staff could do to prevent bullying. After our lists were completed we returned to the auditorium and shared our ideas with everyone else. Each staff member then was given three stickers to post next to ideas that they believe should be implemented within the school.

Many groups had stated that a consensus of the definition of bullying should be created and displayed throughout the school and in classrooms. The ideas of role-play and simulations on bullying were also brought up so students have a better understanding of the different kinds of bullying. Groups also stated that it is important to identify the “hot spots” (places in which bullying occurs most frequently) and have them staffed between passing times and lunch.

My favorite idea deals with each teacher having a box inside his or her classroom. At the end of the week, the teacher will take time out of his or her class period and have students take out a writing utensil and paper. ALL students are then encouraged to write down something, whether it is a question, their favorite quote, or a bullying incident. Having all students write down something and place it in the box will protect students who do have an incident to report. The box idea will hopefully make it more comfortable for students to share incidents with teachers and will help make teachers more aware.

Bullying is a topic that needs to be addressed and prevented in every school because it impacts the well being of students and their learning. It is very refreshing to see other teachers as passionate about preventing bullying as I am. Thanks for your post and great ideas on how to be an anti-bullying advocate!

[John]

@Elizabeth I completely agree with you. Anti-bullying is just a fancy way of saying, "Be nice!" If people would be respectful and kind to everyone these issues wouldn't be a problem. The anti-bullying lessons we have focus on respect for differences in others, respect, etc.

I think one of the complexities of bullying today is cyber-bullying. Like you said, teachers can't be everywhere, and the internet provides exponentially more opportunities for bullying than the school setting does. Through text messages, students can be bullied or bully others while sitting in our classrooms without us ever knowing.

[Elizabeth Klema]

I think bullying is one of the hardest things to address in schools because so often teachers are too busy or not around while the students are at recess or during free time when the bullying is most often taking place. There are also the teachers that just brush off bullying as part of life. I think the only way we can stop it is to teach our students to be respectful towards everyone and that it is not appropriate to make fun of anyone. The best way is to model and stand up for our students. We need to advocate for all children.

[John]

@Andrew I was like you when I began teaching. I didn't have any training in anti-bulling strategies or what to do if I knew of bullying. I also think that there is a certain attitude/thought that some people who report bullying are just weak/wimpy. People who think this way are less likely to act on reports of bullying. I think as more research is done in this area teacher preparation programs will add more anti-bullying components.

[John]

@Brooke I'm glad you had the opportunity to experience this before you have your own class. I didn't receive any bully prevention training in my pre-service program. This is all new to me, but I think it is invaluable. It sounds like you have good preparation to be an anti-bulling advocate for your students.

[Andrew]

I agree with you that teachers need to be more proactive in preventing bullying. Students need to feel that school is a safe environment in order to successfully learn. I agree with you that creating an environment where the students feel that they can be open with you, and share what is happening in and out of school, is a key component to cracking down on bullying. I find it surprising that in my studies we haven't discussed techniques for identifying and dealing with bullying. In our classes we talk about advocating for the student, but we do not address techniques very often. Hopefully I will get a helpful inservice lesson or two when I finally start teaching.

[Brooke]

I am a college student and I have spent some time in different classrooms, including elementary classrooms and special education classrooms. I have seen multiple posters in the school hallways and classrooms. I spent a semester working as a student teacher in a high school special education classroom. I have also seen my supervising teacher talk to students individually about some bullying issues. One student in particular refused to go back to class and he did not want to go to lunch either. He opened up to me first and he was very upset. I took him to the lead teacher and she helped him with the situation. Basically, he had a developmental disability and there was another young boy teasing him. He felt so tormented that he didn’t even want to go to lunch and that was his favorite time of the day! It was really sad to see, but I’m glad that my teacher was able to handle the situation in a way that benefitted the student without embarrassing him in front of his peers. It was unfortunate that the student experienced that, but as a future teacher it was a good experience for me to have.

[John]

@Natalie I agree that you have to do more than hang posters of rules. When trying to get students to open up to you, one of the biggest things is to give students time to get to know you. A lot of my students don't want to open up to people because of past hurt or abuse. Another thing I do is lead the way in opening up to my students. Obviously, I don't want to give out too much personal information, but what student wants to discuss strengths and weaknesses in a self-advocacy lesson with a teacher who you think doesn't have any weaknesses? So I make sure I am real with my kids and tell them what I'm doing in my life. Finally, I had to practice really hard to never look surprised. No matter what they tell me I do my best to just act cool about it and keep moving. If you are real with them, they will open up to you. It just takes time.

[John]

@Sabrina I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter. I don't have any children of my own, but I cannot imagine what that must feel like. I know programs can't fix everything, but hopefully, programs like the Olweus program can't save some people from experiencing these terrible cruelties. And way to stand up and be an advocate for your child, no matter who you had to go to!

[Natalie]

I am a college student and I just had my first semester in the classroom and I noticed posters in every room, and hallway about anti-bullying. The school had made it a core value of the school because of some pretty large issues. Despite seeing the posters, there was never a case where I heard my cooperating teacher discuss bullying or bring it up. I think that it is important to get the message across that they can come to the teacher and feel very comfortable with sharing that information. Something that I remember from a professor is teaching students in our classroom the hidden curriculum of the school. Most students pick up on that without needing to be taught. Students with disabilities do not always have that outsiders awareness of what hallway to avoid, or what tables in the lunch room are reserved for certain groups. I think that a simple way as teachers, to help students not get bullied is making sure we are learning the hidden curriculum and sharing that with our students. I never want a student to feel like they cannot come to me for help in any situation and if its bullying, I hope that they would come to me immediately to get the issue resolved. What is the best way to get the students to feel like they can open up to the teacher?

[Sabrina Hatten]

I am happy to read that there are people who are advocates for the students who get bullied. I recently had my own daughter enrolled in a school where they did a HUGE anti-bully campaign. I was happy and excited to know that she would not get bullied. However, posters, the news and all the publicity was just a front. My daughter not only got bullied, but she was physically abused by students and emotionally harmed. When I brought it to the attention of the Principal, he assured me, "We will handle it." I trusted him. Then my 3rd grader came home with bruises on her arm...and I was very disappointed. I lost all trust in the teachers and the school as a whole. When I brought it to the Principal he said, "I cannot discuss this with you because confidentiality reasons." Needless to say, I ended up calling the Superintendent and contacted the Board of Education. She no longer goes there. So thank you, from a parent (and a teacher) for being the one who DOES not just SAYS. I applaud you.

[John]

Brittany, I agree with you that some of the things students say on the internet are shocking. The YouTube video I posted in the comment section is from a group of 9th graders in a health class that show real comments on the internet that people posted to each other. I am constantly reminded as a teacher that I have no idea what is going on with my students outside of my room. Bullying, home life, and social relationships are just some of the factors that affect them in our rooms.

[Brittany]

Thank you for your post. I am a student teacher and at the school I am at we also received this training. I too feel that it was powerful and eye-opening. Everyone knows that there are bully's out there and that it happens everyone, especially cyber bullying. One of the example they shared with us was about students bullying on facebook. It was extremely eyeopening to hear some of the things that students were saying about each other. They feel like they can hide behind their computer and they are not really saying those hurtful things to/about others. I feel that it is important that we teach and install in our students that bullying is not okay or tolerated not only in the schools but anywhere or everywhere. It is heart breaking and shocking to hear about what our students are going through and the things that they are saying to each other.

[Jerry]

A significant part of my life has been shaped by bullies. I am 42, but I still remember those days when I was young and was bullied by others. I still remember the fear, the embarrassment, and the humiliation. It is not for no reason I am a teacher now. Whatever negative results bullies left on my life as a child, the positive result is that I am now in a position to protect children from bullies. And I am glad to do so.

Thanks for the post.

[John Romig10]

Here is a video one of the principals showed during the training session. It's a very powerful video on bullying made by a group of students as part of a Health class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGyu4ty1Ouc