Sue Scheff: How Do We Stop Bullying in Schools?
As many schools will be opening shortly, it is time to educate ourselves about bullying that goes on in schools. Kara Tamanini, Author and Therapist, just posted a fantastic article on this exact topic. Kara offers excellent advice and parenting tips. I hope you take the time to read this and educate yourself to be a better parent and be aware of how bullying can affect your child.
How Do We Stop Bullying in Schools?
Absolutely, the best way to stop bullying in schools is for parents to change the way they parent their children at home. Of course, this is much easier said than done and everyone parents their children differently. Bullies, however come from homes where physical punishment is used and children have been taught that physical violence is the way to handle problems and “get their way.” In addition, bullies usually come from homes where the parents are often fighting with each other and violence has been modeled for them. The involvement of the parents is often lacking in the bullies’ life and their seems to be little warmth. With all of that said, how can we ”fix” the bullying problem at school. Early intervention and effective discipline/boundaries is truly the best way to stop bullying, but we as parents of the victims or as therapists can not change the bullies home environment. What can be done about bullying at the school level:
1.) Most school programs that address bullying use a multi-faceted approach to the problem and this usually involves counseling of some sort either by peers, a school counselor, teachers, or the principal.
2.) A good place to start in a school in trying to address a bullying problem, which seems to have become increasingly prevalent, is to hand out questionnaires to all of the students and teachers discussing if bullying is occurring as well as defining exactly what constitutes bullying in the school environment. The questionnaire is a wonderful tool that allows the school to see exactly the extent of bullying occurring and what types of bullying are occuring. It serves a good benchmark of where to start to address the problem.
3.) Get the children’s parents involved in a bullying program. If parents of the bullies and the victims are not aware of what is going on at school, then the whole bullying program will not be effective. Stopping bullying in school takes a team and concentrated effort on everyone’s parts. Bullying should also be discussed during parent-teacher conferences as well as PTA meetings. Parental awareness is key.
4.) In the classroom setting, all teachers should work with the students on bullying. Often times even the teacher is being bullied in the classroom and a program should be set up that implements teaching about bullying. Children understand modeling behaviors and role-play and acting out bullying situations is a very effective tool that can be used. Have students ”act” out a bullying situation. Also, rules that involve bullying behaviors should be clearly posted. Schools could also utilize the services of mental health professionals in their area to come in and speak to the students about bullying behaviors and how it directly affects the victims.
5.) Lastly, schools need to look at where bullying is usually occurring from the questionnaire that students/teachers filled out. Look at the school environment and make sure their is enough adult supervision at school in order to lessen and prevent child bullying at school.
A child that has to endure bullying behaviors usually suffers from low self-esteem and their ability to learn and be successful at school is dramatically lessened. By implementing a good anti-bullying program, schools will be able to see a drastic reduction of bullying in their schools. For parents, education of bullying behaviors as well as talking to your children about bullying will help all children have a better school environment and allow children to feel safe and secure at school. Children that are bullies need to be taught empathy for others’ feelings in order to change their behaviors and a zero tolerance policy for bullying needs to be the “attitude” of everyone at the school.
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Tags: Bullying, Bullying in Schools, Cyberbullying, Parenting, Parenting Resources, Parenting Tips, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Peer Pressure, Sue Scheff, Teen Help, Teen Issues
