Preventing Bullying In Secondary
10 Steps to Stop and Prevent Bullying:
Whether you are a parent, an educator, or a concerned friend of the family, there are ten steps you can take to stop and prevent bullying:
- Pay attention. There are many warning signs that may point to a bullying problem, such as unexplained injuries, lost or destroyed personal items, changes in eating habits, and avoidance of school or other social situations. However, every student may not exhibit warning signs, or may go to great lengths to hide it. This is where paying attention is most valuable. Engage students on a
daily basis and ask open-ended questions that encourage conversation.
- Don’t ignore it. Never assume that a situation is harmless teasing. Different students have different levels of coping; what may be considered teasing to one may be humiliating and devastating to another. Whenever a student feels threatened in any way, take it seriously, and assure the student that you are there for them and will help.
- When you see something — do something. Intervene as soon as you even think there may be a problem between students. Don’t brush it off as “kids are just being kids. They’ll get over it.” Some never do, and it affects them for a lifetime. All questionable behavior should be addressed immediately to keep a situation from escalating. Summon other adults if you deem the situation may get out of hand. Be sure to always refer to your school’s anti-bullying policy.
- Remain calm. When you intervene, refuse to argue with either student. Model the respectful behavior you expect from the students. First make sure everyone is safe and that no one needs immediate medical attention. Reassure the students involved, as well as the bystanders. Explain to them what needs to happen next — bystanders go on to their expected destination while the students involved should be taken separately to a safe place.
- Deal with students individually. Don’t attempt to sort out the facts while everyone is present, don’t allow the students involved to talk with one another, and don’t ask bystanders to tell what they saw in front of others. Instead, talk with the individuals involved — including bystanders — on a one-on-one basis. This way, everyone will be able to tell their side of the story without worrying about what others may think or say.
Preventing Bullying In Secondary
Working in a middle school, I have seen first hand the effects of bullying. Bullying can take on many different forms, from boys trying to be the dominant male, to girls using cyberbullying. Being observant is key. Noticing anything that may look out of the ordinary to the teacher.
When confronting students about possible bullying separate them and get all the different sides of the story.
Dealing with young teen-agers, bullying can be nearly impossible to stop, but by being alert we can put the students in a better learning environment.
Working in a high school you can see that bullying is worse in the ninth graders. It gets better as they get older but, they still continue to do it.
Bullying is getting worse as social media grows. The kids have access to several different avenues to bully someone or to get bullied. As a teacher you have to pay attention to the kids behavior. Sometimes a kid can get bullied and a grownup will never know because it’s on social media. Parents need to realize how important it is to monitor all social media groups their child uses.
I agree. Social media is dangerous for middle school and even high school students. So much goes on that teachers can’t see. I also agree that parents should monitor their child’s usage on social media.
Bullying is a big problem in middle school today. Kids bully each other in the classroom, hallways, bathrooms, lunchroom, just about everywhere. One of the main places bullying takes place in my school is the hallway. Teachers are constantly reminded at my school to stand on duty, remind the students not to talk or touch, and to try to keep the students calm.
Cyberbullying is also a big problem. I talk to all my kids about digital ink and how anything you post or say never goes away. I encourage them to think before they post anything!
Bullying is a big problem, it starts out as friendly playing and it becomes totally out of control, I stops it before it get started, I tell them to stop oe go to the office
It honestly frightens me, as the mom of a 2 year old, that bullying occurs literally EVERYWHERE. It is so difficult to shield our children and our students from it. We can only protect them for a small portion of the day.
Bullying is an epidemic in our society these days mostly due to the extensive amount of social media available to students. We may not necessarily see the bullying occur in the school, but it could be happening online. When this type of bullying gets brought to a teacher’s attention, that teacher needs to immediately bring it to the administration’s attention. By doing this, there will be an opportunity for the student to show the administration what type of bullying they are dealing with and get it handled accordingly.
I agree with you, Jimmy, about taking the case of bullying to the administration. The administration has more options available to help research and resolve a cyberbullying or face-to-face bullying issue than a teacher does. Thank goodness, my administration is great when
it comes to responding to student as well as teacher needs and issues.
I think that we as educators have teach our students how dangerous cyber bullying is. It can traced to them and connected to them the rest of their lives. Affecting their college and careers for years come. When we were students, we did dumb things but we could out live the rumors and the stories. I am 53 so I am older than Facebook and instant messaging. I could come home late, and not see it on the morning Facebook posts. Our students need to know if it is in writing anywhere, someone somewhere will see it. Dont chance it!
And lets help raise these kids to be kinder to each other. Every one has a problem or problems hiding in their closet and/or backpack. I dont know the solution, but I know what we are doing isn’t enough.
Bullying has always been a problem in school. I may have the “bad” opinion here, but to me, the things that have changed is that once upon a time, kids got in a fight at school, got their butt kicked, got in a little trouble, then that was it. Now, the law it called, they go down town, mom has to pick them up from the station, etc. Johnny shows back up with a gun. When they beat the crap out of each other, they learned, “oh man, I can’t say that,” or ” I need to watch what I say to certain people.” AND three days later they were friends again. They also realized, dang, maybe I’m 4’5″, and he’s 5’9″, maybe I should shut my mouth. Or, he may be different, but his gigantic friend isn’t. I was picked on all throughout middle & high school, I even had to go to a friend’s house to ride the bus. I hated school, but as I write this, yesterday the news said that we have had an average of 1 school shooting a week since school started.
Bulling has become a bigger problem in our school. I believe the staff has brought it to the forefront so much so that every small action is considered bulling by the kids. I agree with taking all claims seriously, however I think it is important to properly educate students as well as teachers on what bulling actually is. Working in a district that is considered one of the lowest economic areas in the state of Mississippi I can not understand why or how students find room to discuss what each other have. Students can be so mean even when they have less than the student they are picking on I guess this is one way they feel they can have some type of control.
As a former victim of Bullying, I can tell you just how much of an effect it can have especially when it is a long-term problem. I can destroy the self-confidence of the person being bullied. I have taught middle-school and high-school and I also drive a bus full of elementary kids. I see some, but not much difference in the three as far a bullying goes. The main difference is, in elementary school, it is more of a team sport. A group of kids harass one child. As they get older, they get more independent. The main bully emerges and the others just become background noise. Always urging it on, but not really participating. It is a vicious cycle. As a teacher, bus driver, and parent, I would love to see fewer dress code rules and a stricter policy on bullying. Instead of sitting through the hundredth PD on classroom management, bring in someone to teach us how to spot bullying and put a stop to it. Especially in the younger grades. if we can change our school culture to STOP giving these kids attention and train our kids to say NO, you won’t do that in our school, we would see a huge change over time.
I’m a former victim of Bullying, and I can tell you first hand how hard it is to get over the emotional scars Bullying leaves. As much as I would love to be able to tell you that time has healed my wounds, it hasn’t. 20+ years later, and I still carry around the low self-esteem the bullying I endured caused.
Kids today are completely unaware of how harmful what they say and do, not only in the real world, but also in cyberspace, can affect people. As part of my curriculum each year, I am required to teach students about Bullying and Cyberbullying. Each year, I lose a little more faith in humanity as I listen to students say, “Well, if they are too weak to stand up for themselves then they deserve to be bullied.” or “If someone doesn’t want to be picked on about what they’ wear, they should tell their parents to get a real job and quit buying their stuff at Wal-Mart.” or “The Constitution gave me the right to express my opinion and if I think someone is fat, ugly, stupid, or a (enter curse word here), then it’s my God given right to let them know. If what I say hurts their feelings they need to grow up and get a tougher spine. I shouldn’t have to censor myself because people can’t handle the truth” If we really want to put a stop to bullying, it needs to start at home. In my experience, it’s always either the spoilt rotten entitled child who gets everything they want, who talks to their parents away they want that does the bullying; or, it’s the child who gets bullied so much at home they feel they have to be the bully at school so they can gain so sense of control back in their life. Either way, if we ever want it to stop we need to educate the parents and the students and come together as a community to stop the hate.
Bullying has become a hot topic in my school district over the last few years. I think a lot of the bullying that I have seen as a teacher has come in the form of social media. The students hide behind their screens and think they are invisible. This is such a dangerous form of bullying for the harasser and harassed. It stays out there for others to see as well which creates even more bullying. I think we as teachers can look for the signs in the classroom, but when it comes to what’s out there on social media, we feel helpless. We are doing more these days to educate students and parents on it, and I think that’s a good thing.
Bullying has become a greater issue the past few. years. Even in the elementary schools, bullying has become a big deal. Third graders can tell you the affects of bullying and how a bully acts. A fourth grader who has a become a bully himself. Fifth graders who stay on social media and hide behind their screens to speak negatively about their “friends”. I think we as teachers have an even harder time trying to look for the signs in the classroom and the behaviors to stop. I believe that some of their parents are at fault for this issue as well. These children see their parents speak negatively to/about one another, and to/ about their friends and coworkers. They see their parents post negative comments on Facebook and Instagram. They are hearing all of this at home and them coming to school and applying to someone who “got on their nerves”. We as teachers needs to speak to parents as well about setting a positive example in the home as well as in the school.
In the world we live in now, bullying is displayed in so many various ways from little kids to grown adults. As an educator, I believe my role is to always try and pay close attention to my high school students and their attitudes, actions, and appearances. Being available for my students is what I try to assure them that I am no matter what the situation. Unless my students know that I truly care about all of their needs, academic, physical, and mental, they will not be willing to share anything with me. My goal is to educate and encourage and to protect their dreams.