School Bullying: A Closer Look and Possible Interventions (43 pages)
A Report of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars® program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Definition of Bullying in law
Chapter 92 of the Acts of 2010 legislation:
The repeated use by one or more students [aggressor(s)]
of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or
gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a target
that:
(i) causes physical or emotional
harm to the target or damage to the target's
property;
(ii) places the target in reasonable fear
of harm to him/herself or of damage to his/her
property;
(iii) creates a hostile environment at school for the
target;
(iv)
infringes on the rights of the target at school;
or
(v) materially and substantially disrupts the
education process or the orderly operation of a school. For the purposes
of requirements related to this law, bullying shall include
cyber-bullying.
See section 5 of the legislation
for more details on the definition of cyber-bullying and
more.
Lack of safety
Is one of the top concerns of young people, and bullying is a
real and constant threat. A child's emotional development is just as
important, if not more so, than academic development. In fact, a safe,
healthy emotional environment is essential to academic growth and
success.
Humiliation,
fear, anxiety and depression are the constant companions of a child
that is bullied. It can lead to harmful, shocking and unexpected
behavior from an otherwise shy or timid child.
Victims
feel ashamed and tend to view themselves as failures. They are more
prone to stress related illnesses such as headaches and stomachaches.
In extreme cases, the victim of a bully can experience sever depression
and entertain thoughts of suicide.
When the bully targets a student
because of the student's
disability, that is a civil rights violation (akin to sexual harassment
in the workplace).
Bullies! Every classroom has at least
one. Whose name comes to mind
when you hear the word
"bully"? Who was the kid who could upset your day
with his verbal, physical, or
emotional insults? Most adults who were
bullied remember such
childhood events vividly.
Bullying among elementary school
children and teenagers is a growing problem in many schools in the United
States. It's happening in urban,
suburban, and rural schools. Kids who
have learning disabilities (LD)
http://www.greatschools.org/...
or
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder (AD/HD) Kid a Victim?
Is your child teased and tormented at school?
How to find out the truth and help your child prevent
further bullying.
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/1595.html
Being bullied or bullying is not just a part of growing up! Use this information to help you better understand bullying.
Bullying among elementary school children and teenagers
is a growing problem in many schools. It’s happening in urban, suburban and
rural schools. Children who have learning or other disabilities seem to be
especially prone to bullying. While bullying isn’t new, professionals today have
a new level of understanding of the problem. Bullying is a learned behavior that
can be prevented! Effective bullying prevention programs are being used in many
school systems throughout New Mexico. It’s important for parents, students,
teachers and school administrators to understand and learn to manage bullying
that occurs at school and elsewhere.
. . .
For the complete article:
http://www.cesdp.nmhu.edu/toolkit/promoting-positive-parenting/bullying.asp
School
Bullying: A Closer Look and Possible Interventions (43
pages)
A
Report of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars® program at the University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (was refer to as MA DOE, now DESE):
Bullying Prevention and Intervention Resources
http://www.doe.mass.edu/bullying/#1
Safe & Drug Free Schools info
www.keepschoolssafe.org
www.jodeeblanco.com
www. familiesandwork.org
http://www.nldline.com/antibull.htm
http://www.edpubs.gov/ProductCatalog.aspx?KeyWordSearch=&TypeofSearch=exact&searchterm=bullying
The Attorney General's Disability
Rights Project will also
come into
schools to speak to staff if there is
bullying or harrassment based on
disability. There is a reference
to G.L. C. 265 sec 43A
regarding
criminal harassment.
http://www.mass.gov/ago/about-the-attorney-generals-office/community-programs/bullying-and-cyberbullying/the-law-and-regulations/commission-on-bullying-prevention/
Protecting
Students from Harassment and Hate Crime, A Guide for Schools
(January, 1999)
US DOE OCR SITE, put out as a joint
publication by the U. S. Department
of Education Office for Civil Rights
National Association of Attorneys
General Endorsed by the National
School Boards Association.
A threat to kill should
be a police and District Attorney's Office (DA's) matter, no
question about
it, and a school matter as well, but it is against the law to threated
to kill someone. Contact the OCR office.
Your District Attorney's Office (DA's)
office (county based, Middlesex
County,) should have a Bullying/School Programs department.
They are also funded to provide FREE
workshops (great for a PAC topic).
You can consider asking your high
school adjustment counselor for leads
and resoures.
You can suggest this topic to your
PTA/PTG/PTO as a parent workshop
because bullying is prevalent and it parents need to have their
awareness heightened on this issue. Not only about what happens to
targets, but what happens to unchecked bullies.
Stand
up for your child. Don't diminish their concerns over a teacher's
attitude or behavior. You have the right to question school
authorities, and you owe it to your child to do so.
If you
suspect a teacher is bullying your child, request a meeting with the
teacher.
Before your meeting, get as many
details as possible from your child.
Speak to other parents to see if their
child has voiced any complaints or observed mistreatment of your child.
Take
notes and prepare yourself. When you speak to the teacher or
administrator, try to keep calm, but make sure you get answers.
If
your concerns are dismissed without resolution, take it a step further.
Document your efforts, meet with the
superintendent, write an article
for the newspaper, or attend a PTO or school board meeting to voice
your concerns.
Our children have enough to deal with;
a bully for a teacher shouldn't be one of their problems.
Schools Where Everyone Belongs:
Practical Strategies for
Reducing Bullying
by Stan Davis.
Based on research by Olweus, Davis's
book discusses practical programs
for schools to deal with bullying. He lays out the step very
clearly, and stresses that bullying is not the fault of the victim and
needs to be dealt with systematically by schools. You can
see samples from the book at his site:
Massachusetts Bullying and Cyberbullying books and links:
http://www.stopbullyingma.org/Book___Links.html
http://www.doe.mass.edu/bullying/#1
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), as part of the HRSA's;
Take a Stand. Lend a Hand. Stop Bullying Now! campaign.
http://www.stopbullying.gov/resources-files/sbn-discussion-guide.pdf
PACER
Center's new innovative curriculum, "Is Your Child a Target of Bullying?
Intervention Strategies for Parents of Children with Disabilities," addresses
these and other types of bullying. An engaging and superbly produced resource,
the curriculum is meant for professionals and parent leaders to present to
parents at meetings, workshops, trainings, and myriad other
occasions.
http://www.pacer.org/publications/bullying.asp
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Our Concord SPED PAC webpages, created
October 14, 2005, by Melody Orfei
Webpage
last
modified on March 16, 2015 - V9, by Melody
Orfei
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