ACTION PLAN FOR BULLYING
First and foremost, teachers must make it safe
for students to report bullying. It is crucial that teachers,
administrators and other school personnel respect the anonymity of the
victim and/or reporting students. Until students trust this will happen,
bullying will go unreported, and bullies will continue to thrive.
Second, adults must be aware of all forms
of bullying behaviour. All of these types of bullying behaviours can be
categorized under four main headings; Physical Bullying, Verbal Bullying,
Relational Bullying and Sexual Harrassment (Bullying). Many bullies try to
pass off acts of aggression as rough-housing between friends, just having
fun. However, there is a difference between bad play and bullying. An
episode of bullying has three identifying intentions:
- There is a power difference between the
individual being bullied and the bullier
- There is a negative intent on the part
of the bullier to hurt, embarrass or humiliate the other
- The behaviour is repeated, perhaps with
others, perhaps with the same person, perhaps with the same person
over time
Third, there must be a clear and effective
plan for dealing with both the bully and the victim. It is important that
all students know the consequences for bullying. Victims need to be taught
how to develop friendship skills and learn to interact with assertiveness
and confidence.
Fourth, school personnel need to know about
the different kinds of bullies. Some apparent victims are actually
provocateers, and change their role from victim to bully, depending on who
they are interacting with.
Finally, the most effective tool for
dealing with bullying is to mobilize the masses of students who are
neither victims nor bullies to take action against bullying. These
students have the potential to significantly reduce bullying simply by the
way they react when they witness bullying incidents. Students can take
action in many different ways. Refusing to watch bullying, reporting
bullying incidents, using distraction with either the bully or the victim
are all effective ways of making a difference.
For more information on setting up an
anti-bullying program in your school or classroom, please refer to the
book "Take Action Against Bullying".
- Thanks to Cindi Seddon from Bully B'ware
Productions for this wonderful information. Please visit www.bullybeware.com
for other helpful material on bullying.
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