Information to Help Protect Our Students
Bullying, unlike isolated conflicts between individuals, occurs when a student or group of students targets an individual repeatedly over time, using physical, or psychological aggression to dominate the victims.
“Bullying" means engaging in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or physical conduct that… 1.
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Location
occurs on school property, or at a school-sponsored or school-related activity, or in a vehicle operated by the District and that, and
Has the effect or will have the effect of
physically harming a student, or damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person, or placing a student in reasonable fear of damage to the student’s property, or is sufficiently severe, persistent, and pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student, and
3.
4. 5.
Exploits an imbalance of power between the student perpetrator and the student victim through written or verbal expression or physical conduct; and Interferes with a student’s education, or Substantially disrupts the operation of a school.
Physical Harm to another’s body or property
VICTIM
Emotional Harm to another’s self worth
Social Harm to another’s group acceptance
Verbal Aggression
OVERT OR DIRECT
Physical Shoves, pushes, hitting, assault
Insults, putdowns, teasing, harassment
Nuisance
Psychological
Provokes by teasing peers and irritating others
Rolling eyes, dirty looks, uttering threats, extortion
COVERT OR INDIRECT
High-Tech/ Cyber
Exclusion Excluding or isolating victim from group; Leaving out; Shunning
Email, Text, or Social Media Bullying
Gossip
Spreading rumors; Lowering people’s opinion About the victim
Relational Aggression Telling people not to be friends with a victim
Cyberbullying may include…
Sending mean messages or threats to a person's email account or cell phone Spreading rumors online or through texts Posting hurtful or threatening messages on social networking sites or web pages Stealing a person's account information to break into their account and send damaging messages Pretending to be someone else online to hurt another person Taking unflattering pictures of a person and spreading them through cell phones or the Internet Sexting, or circulating sexually suggestive pictures or messages about a person
Bullying occurs when a student or group of students engages in written or verbal expression or physical conduct against another student and the behavior:
Results in harm to the student or the student’s property,
Places a student in fear of physical harm or of damage to the student’s property, or
Is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment.
Bullying is prohibited by the district and could include hazing, threats, taunting, teasing, assault, demands for money, confinement, destruction of property, theft of valued possessions, name-calling, rumor-spreading, and ostracism. In some cases, bullying can occur through electronic methods, called “cyberbullying.”
Children who bully typically demonstrate a strong sense of self-esteem
They like to feel powerful and in control
They may be popular with their peers
They are more likely to engage in other problem behaviors later in life, such as criminal activity or alcohol or other drug abuse
Bullies often come from homes that use physical punishment to discipline Caregivers of bullies are typically uninvolved and lack warmth Children who bully are often defiant toward authority figures and are apt to break rules
Passive Victims… ◦ Children who are bullied are often insecure, quiet, socially isolated, anxious, and have low selfesteem ◦ They are unlikely to defend themselves or retaliate ◦ They tend to be weaker than their peers ◦ They tend to “normalize” and no longer are victims upon entering adulthood, though they may have continued lower self-esteem and be more prone to depression ◦ Parents of these children are often overprotective or enmeshed with them
Provocative Victims ◦ Children who are reactive, clumsy, impulsive, or act in ways that irritate others ◦ Children who attempt to fight or answer back when attacked, but not effectively ◦ Often hyperactive or have difficulty concentrating
Children who are bullied perceive parent or teacher intervention to be ineffective and are unlikely to report the problem
Bullying is a harmless rite of passage that all children will experience
Bullying only happens when physical violence is involved.
Unless bullying is likely to lead to physical injury, it is best left to be resolved by children and their peers
Children who bully just suffer from low self-esteem.
Victims just need to learn how to stand up for themselves.
Victims bring bullying on themselves.
The average bullying behavior lasts only 37 seconds. Debra Pepler, Ph.D., York University
75% of teachers think they always intervene in bullying episodes. Pepler, D and Craig, W Making a difference in bullying, York University
Teachers notice and intervene in only4 out of 25 episodes in the classroom and 1 out of 25 episodes on school grounds. Debra Pepler, Ph.D., York University In 85% of bullying episodes peers are present. Pepler, D and Craig, W Making a difference in bullying, York University
70% of bullying is verbal with an equal number of girls and boys participating. Coloroso, B. The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander
When peers intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds, 57% of the time.
Pepler, D and Craig, W ,”Naturalistic Observations of Peer Interventions in Bullying Among Elementary School Children”. Social Development
47% of the parents said a K-6 child of theirs had been bullied, while 77% of teachers said a K-6 student of theirs had been bullied. Both results indicate that bullying in school is fairly common. MARC USA/Pittsburgh Survey for the National PTA .
Parents see their role in preventing or dealing with bullying as involving pursuit of solutions with other parties, such as teachers, school administrators and parents of the bully. MARC USA/Pittsburgh Survey for the National PTA
Teachers mainly see their role in preventing or dealing with bullying in terms of their own actions rather than pursuing solutions with others. MARC USA/Pittsburgh Survey for the National PTA
Peer Mediation is not Effective in Situations of Bullying.
1. Bullying is not a conflict, but is abuse. 2.There is not a question of “some right” and “some wrong” on both sides. 3.The “playing field” or balance of power, is not level. © 4.Adults need to claim responsibility. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Group, 2001
60% of people who bullied others when they were in grades 6 through 9 had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24. .
An estimated160,000 U.S. students miss school each day due to fear of bullying
Bullied children are more likely to get sick
Bullied teens are more likely to drink and become aggressive
Victims of bullying are more likely to have psychological problems as adults
Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying. http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html
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Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying. http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html
More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyber-threats online. http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html
Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet. http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyberbullying occurs. http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html
Raise awareness of all district staff. ◦ Rates of school bullying drop significantly when all staff members are able to identify the signs of bullying and intervene consistently whenever they observe unsafe, disrespectful, or hurtful behaviors.
Create a framework for responding to bullying
Continually improve overall school environment at each campus
Ensure change is occurring in the classroom
Empower students to help prevent bullying
Bullying behaviors should be addressed before it interferes with the health, academics or learning process of a student.
• Set a positive climate, build community • Talk about bullying, cyber-bullying and antibullying policies to students • Spend non-academic time with young people • Learn where the “hot spots” are and be present in those locations • Establish and enforce penalties for aggression that are inevitable, predictable, escalating
• Differences between bullying and normal peer conflict • Potential strategies to use depending on the situation o o o o
Report incident to an adult Call for others to help Walk away Be calm and assertive
• Shared commitment to working against bullying in the school
• Report via Email o
[email protected] • Report to a Staff Member o Teacher o Counselor o Assistant Principal o Principal
