Identify the Problem and create workable solutions
The research says it must be talked about and it must be dealt
with. I deal with it using cross-curricular strategies
(Music/Art/Dance/Drama- M.A.D.D.)since it is such an emotional issue.
Asking students to identify their perceptions of teasing, bullying,
and harassment, i.e. a KWL chart, allows them to frame the problem.
Students can reflect on the questions above, through oral
discussions, writing activities, or by drawing their feelings,
depending upon grade level.
Older students can work together to come up with definitions that
mean something to them. They can fine tune their definitions on their
own or do research to better understand the differences between a
friend teasing and illegal activities, such as luring and harassment.
Intermediate students can do research to find resources and create
PowerPoint presentations suitable for younger peers. Students who are
being harassed or bullied on the internet can get help in identifying
the problem.
What I have found, however, is by opening the discussion with a
picture book (i.e. Mean Jean the Recess
Queen!), no matter the age group, discussion ensues and dialogue
is generated. During drama activities by placing bullied students
into the role of the bully, the bullies have a better understanding
of how it feels. It has been a most successful strategy for me and
mine! We take photographs to demonstrate what these three different
ideas truly mean. Asking students to create a tableaux or a skit,
with resolution of the dilemma, allows for student reflection on an
individual basis, followed by group discussions. This will
accommodate ESL, Special Needs and all learning styles, as best fits
your learners. Students can develop the confidence to use language
they have practiced in a safe environment.
They can show what bullying and harassment feels like and looks
like. This is an opportunity for student disclose to the teacher and
seek help where needed. It opens dialogue. You might find that
bullies are victims, too. Many are bullied by older siblings or older
students. They learn what they live. They need to unlearn these
behaviours and they can.
All of us need to be given the language to deal with those who
choose to be a bully. They need role plays, opportunities to practice
these skills and ensure that the language is there at their disposal
at the right time. The key, of course, are teachers who support them
and give them these tools. Stress in the teaching profession is
increasing exponentially.
Another strategy some educators use is to have the older bullies
visit the primary classes to talk about and listen to the younger
students concerns. They can then understand the true consequences of
their actions. They discuss being safe on the school yard. What it
feels like to be afraid of the big kids all the time. Within a safe
environment, the victims can learn to speak up for themselves. They
need to understand that physical and emotional abuse will not be
tolerated.
There are gender differences in bullying. Girls tend to bully and
harass indirectly, boy's bullying is more physical and direct.
Direct Bullying
Indirect Bullying
shoving and poking
throwing things
taking things
slapping and hitting
choking
punching and kicking
beatings
stabbings
name-calling
taunting
rumour
gossiping
arguing others into submission
threats of withdrawing friendship
the silent treatment
exclusion from the group
Craig and Peplar at York University (1995) employed naturalistic
observation rather than self-reports to study bullying. They taped
(video and audio) children in two Toronto schools, and analyzed the
results. These included:
404 bullying episodes occurred during 52 hours of
taping;
one incident occurred every 7 minutes on
average;
a typical incident lasted 37 seconds, a remarkably
short time;
79% of the episodes were direct bullying, 18
indirect, and 3 both;
90% of the incidents involved one bully and 92% one
victim;
72% of the attacks were by boys and 28% by
girls;
in 4% of the episodes a weapon was visible;
between 26% and 33% of the children in a school
bullied between 18% and 22% of the other children;
school staff were visible in 17% of the incidents;
yet they intervened in 4% only;
peers intervened in 11% of the episodes; and 2% of
the incidents appeared to be motivated by race.
The Criminal
Code as amended in 1993 to specifically include the offense of
criminal harassment. Before this time people who harassed others were
charged under various offenses :
trespass
uttering threats
making indecent or harassing phone calls
intimidation or assault by threats.
Unfortunately there had to be physical harm or a threat of
physical harm before the authorities could charge offenders with any
of the above offenses. Also, these offenses did not cover harassing
behaviour that was not violent, such as constantly following someone.
The Criminal Code section on criminal harassment now makes it easier
for the authorities to deal with conduct commonly referred to as
stalking. (03.23.98) See Canada's SchoolNet
for more information.
Harassing behaviour can include:
repeatedly following you
repeatedly visiting, calling, or writing to you, either
directly or through someone else.
watching you, your home or your workplace
doing something that threatens you or someone in your
family.
Behaviour which involves following you or communicating with you
must happen more than once for it to be considered an offense, hence
"repeatedly".
However, behaviour that involves watching you or behaving in a
threatening way only once can be criminal harassment. The behaviour
must be serious enough to give rise to a reasonable fear on the part
of the victim.
Child Porn Spam
Child-porn spam is becoming more aggressive. Many children have
e-mail addresses unknown to their parents. Their first exposure to
sexuality often happens when they stumble on something in email or on
the Web.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU RECEIVE CHILD ABUSE SPAM
If you get child porn spam:
Don't click on links or images in the body of a spammed
e-mail.
Don't forward it to others.
Make note of the e-mail, including its date, time, sender and
subject head. If you have the technical know-how, copy down any
"expanded header" information (refers to extra data attached to
the e-mail that's usually hidden).
Delete the e-mail.
Send a report to Cybertip.ca, Canada's national tipline for
reporting the online sexual exploitation of children. The
non-profit agency runs a web portal for public reports on child
pornography, luring, child sex tourism and children who are
exploited through prostitution.
To report:
Visit cybertip.ca and fill out an online reporting form.
Call toll free 1-866-658-9022, 24 hours a day, seven days a
week.
Fax report to 1-204-948-2177.
Adults and Bullying
Most teacher resources, as well as student picture books, deal with the who,
the how, the what and the why of bullying. Students must be taught to stand
up for themselves, as well as others. If you are not part of the solution, you
are part of the problem. Parents have taken to bullying teachers, too. This
is an article published on Feb. 2, 2005. In the Toronto Star. Raging
parents: The new school yard bullies .
Principals turn around in Ontario has been 60 % in the most recent
wave of retirements. New principals may only have the required five
years teaching experience. This means they have not had the
opportunity to work with a number of diverse principal leaders who
can model strength and leadership. Patterson (1993) noticed a pattern
in what he calls the "shifting definitions of leadership", and sees
some leaders who embody the values of power and control, as they
attempt to exercise authority and keep power. Patterson has a vision
of the schools of tomorrow. He ideally defines the leadership role:
"the process of influencing others to achieve mutually agreed upon
purposes for the organization" (1993, p.3). The dynamic organization
that is a school is best led by those who do not micromanage, but
rather share the power with staff, influence others to find a common
vision, determine common goals and help staff make it so. Some
leaders will not risk cultivating such a vision. They are more
concerned with keeping power, rather than sharing it and risking
collaboration.
Principals can share their power and still be in control.
Enlightened leaders, before they can institute real change, must find
some measure of the organizations strengths and weaknesses. They must
have some confidence that their staffs will not over run them if they
share the decision making power. Weak organizations, as Patterson
(1993) says, are characterized by a top-down approach that requires
employees to follow orders and forbids, if not discourages, employee
participation. Enlightened leaders can risk dissension when they have
the confidence to gather information, values, opinions and ideas from
their staffs and, as the final decision is ultimately theirs, exert
authority when they have all of the information they need to make a
quality decision.
Canada's award-winning Bullying.org
one of the world's first Web sites on bullying, now with sister site
www.cyberbullying.ca
Cyberbullying.ca, both created by educator Bill Belsey. Cyberbully.org
from the Eugene, Ore.-based Center for Safe & Responsible
Internet Use.
"Cybersocializing,
cyberbullying," at NetFamilyNews, based on an interview with
Nancy Willard of the Center for Safe & Responsible Internet
Use.
On-line Resources
Beyond
Borders (2003) All About the Kids, Toronto Police International
Conference on Child Exploitation, As accessed, http://www.beyondborders.org/
Feb., 2005. A web site devoted to the end of child prostitution and
child pornography.
Langevin, M. et al. (undated) Teasing
and Bullying. Teasing and Bullying: Helping children deal with
teasing and bullying: for parents, teachers and other adult
University of Alberta. (Some cited on-line resources are expired.) As
accessed Feb. 27th, 2005. Excellent resource for student
research.
Leblanc, J. C. (2001). Bullying
st School. Department of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Community Health
and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 2000
Pulsus Group Inc. As accessed Feb. 27, 2005.
Media Awareness Network, (2001).Young Canadians
In A Wired World, Environics Research Group. www.media-awareness.ca
A accessed Feb., 2005.
For anti-bullying work in Virginia,
see SafeKids 9/23 issue.
Books and Print Resources
Bredeson, P.V., Blase, J. & Blase, J. (2002). Breaking
the Silence: Overcoming the Problem of Principal Mistreatment of Teachers.
USA: Sage Publications, Inc. --Bullying is not limited to children. I have colleagues
at the university who are experiencing it from their grad students.
Craig, W. M. & Peplar, D.J. (1995). Naturalistic observations
of bullying and victimization in the school yard.
Craig, W. M. & Peplar, D.J. (1999). Children
who bully - Will they just grow out of it? Orbit, 29(4), 16-19.
Middelton-Moz (2004) Bullies: From the Playground to the
Boardroom. ISBN: 1558749861. Bullying is becoming prevalent in the workplace,
too.
O'Neill, A. (2002) Mean
Jean The Recess Queen. Scholastic Press. Pre-K to 3. I have
used this picutre book with kids up to gr. 8.
Ross, P.N. (1998) Arresting Violence. A Resource Guide for
Schools and Their Communities, Available through ETFO.
CD Rom, text and overheads.
Sanders, P.(2004) What Do You Know About Bullying?, with
illustrated story/concept formation. Fitzhenry & Whiteside:
Canada.
Audio-Visual Resources
CBC Newsworld. Bullying Into Sexy. (2004). An excellent
show about sexism and the media. CBC Newsworld broadcast it several
times over the past few months. It speaks of female body image, male
perceptions of teen-aged girls. It demonstrates how parents need to
learn to day no to girls dressing up for "sexy".
It's
a Girl's World: How Girls Use their Power to Hurt Each Other
- 3 CDs. Host: Paul Kennedy, Producer: Lynn Glazier. Price: $29.99. Product
ID: ERDOC00053. This is a phenomenal overview of how girls use social/emotional
strategies to bully and to gain power. The 3rd CD examines the issue from the
point of view of the work place. I have recommended it to a colleague who is
facing this within her work place and has found no solution from the powers-that-be.
~~~~~~~~
Callaway, C. (no ref). Peer Networking to Build Resiliency Among High School
Youth: A violence prevention group. In K. Davis, C. K. Tawney (Eds.), Approaches
to Group Work (pp. 64 – 73). Columbus, Oh: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Le, T. N., & Stockdale, G. (2008). Acculturative Dissonance, Ethnic Identity,
and Youth Violence. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 14, 001
– 009. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from the PsycARTICLES database.
Youth Crime Fact Sheet Canada. (2007). Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://www.preventingcrime.net/library/2007-cspc%20youth%20fact%20sheet.pdf
Youth and Violence. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/html/nfntsyjviolence.ehtml
Whitted, K. S., & Dupper, D. R. (2005). Best Practices for Preventing or
Reducing Bullying in Schools. Children & Schools. 27, 167 – 175.
Jennifer
Jilks-Racine