30: Bullying
Live Intro
- Trigger warning: discussions of child trauma/bullying/suicide
Segment 1 - Bullying
- Definition
- Unwanted aggressive behavior, observed or perceived power imbalance, repetitive or high likelihood of repetition of bullying behavior
- Types of Bullying
- Physical
- Verbal
- Relational/Societal
- Damage to property or person
- Technology
- Facts about Bullying
- Bullying is very common. Approximately 1 in 5 high school students report being bullied electronically
- Some youth experience bullying more than others…lgbt/bisexual
- Bullying is a frequent discipline problem
- Highest rates in middle school
- Bullying Statistics
- 20% of students ages 12-18 experience bullying
- Reports of bullying are highest in middle school 28% followed by highschool 16% primary schools 9%
- Bullying is most experienced in hallway or stairway at schools 43.4% of cases
- Research on Bullying
- Research shows that bullying affects all youth including those that are bullied, those who bully, and those to witness bullying
- Discussing bullying with your children/students can help prevent bullying.
Segment 2 - Cyber Bullying (i feel like it needs its own segment)
- Definition
- Bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or social media, forums, and or gaming.
- Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, sharing negative harmful, false, or mean content about someone else.
- It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation
- Statistics
- 16% of students in grades 9-12 experienced cyber-bullying
- 1 in 6 high school students reported being cyberbullied in the last year
- Special Concerns
- Cyberbullying has unique concerns in that it can be
- Persistent
- Permanent
- Hard to Notice
- Where it takes place
- Cyberbullying and online games
Segment 3 - Bullying in Adults
- What constitutes adult bullying
- The feeling of being regularly oppressed, belittled, humiliated, or de-energized
- Difference between harassment and bullying
- Bullying behavior is directed at a target who belongs to a protected class. It is harassment.
- Types of Adult Bullies
- How to deal with adult bullies
Segment 4 - Effects of Bullying
- Effects/Consequences
- Kids being bullied
- Kids bullying
- Bullying and trauma
- Bullying can have lasting impacts far beyond childhood for all involved. (bullied/person bullying/bystander)
- Bullying is considered an ACE (adverse childhood experience). ACE’s are potentially traumatic events that can have negative lasting effects on a person’s development, the way they interact with others, and how they perform in school.
- Bullying and suicide
- Research indicates that persistent bullying can lead to or worsen feelings of isolation, rejection,exclusion, and despair, as well as depression and anxiety which can lead to suicidal behavior
- The vast majority of young people bullied do not become suicidal.
- Most young people who die by suicide have multiple risk factors
Segment 5 - What can we do about bullying/cyberbullying?
- Raising resilient children
- Anti-Bullying Laws
- Most all states have anti-bullying legislation. When bullying is also harrasment and happens in the school context schools have a legal obligation to respond to it according to federal law.
- Parents
- Start with Prevention
- Educate your child regarding bullying
- Talk openly and frequently about bullying
- Help your child be a positive role model
- Help build your kids self-confidence
- Be a role model to your children
- Be involved in your children's online experience
- Be aware of the signs of bullying
- What if my kid is the bully?
- Communicate
- Help your child find healthy ways to cope
- Examine yourself for behavior your child may be modeling
- Give consequences and a pathway to make amends
- Teachers
1. Communicate your classroom expectations Early
Establish principles to combat bullying in your classroom — things like requirements for inclusion, respectful ways of speaking to one another, and acceptable forms of conflict resolution — and make sure that all students agree to those principles at the beginning of each school year. I have to emphasize the importance of referring students back to these principles regularly.
2. Practice Active Listening With Your Students
“Teachers who keep an open mind while actively listening to students begin to cultivate a classroom environment that fosters acceptance and kindness between students, minimizing the chances for bullying situations,” Practicing active listening allows teachers to not only convey that their classroom is a safe place, but also model behavior that is accepting and kind. This provides students with a positive example of how to treat others or potentially handle difficult situations if they arise.
3. Learn to Identify the Typical Signs of Bullying
Look for students who have any sudden change in behavior without obvious explanation. For example, a bullied student may stop spending time with friends they were once close to or might sit through the lunch period without eating their food. If you see examples of this in your own classroom, it may be a good idea to have a private discussion with the student who is acting differently to see if there is something going on in his or her life,”
4. Empower Students to Break the Cycle of Bullying
Your students can be integral in helping to prevent bullying from becoming an issue in your classroom. One of the most effective ways to prevent bullying in schools is to empower students to break the cycle by teaching them ways to confront bullying behavior. “I tell my students that if they’re faced with a bully, they can choose to empathize with them, as something must truly be going wrong in their own lives to be taking it out on you,”. Offer the following phrases to your students as options when confronting a bully:
“I’m so sorry for what it is that’s bothering you.”
“Do you want to talk about what’s going on in your life?”
“If you ever need someone to talk to, I’ll be here for you.”
But above all else, stress the importance of confronting bullies with a level head. It can be helpful for some students to confront bullies without any emotion or aggression because it shows they’re no longer a victim.
Wrap-Up
Resources
- StopBullying.gov
- CDC.gov
- Apa.org
- unicef.org