A Short Piece on Bullying
By: Justin Garritt
Recently there has been increased attention in the subject of bullying in our nation’s schools. Last week there was legislation being debated in regards to cyber bullying which made me want to research and reflect on my experiences at a school in Vermont where the administration made aggressive strides to stop bullying without some state-driven mandate.
86% of students between the ages of 12-15 have been bullied at school. Every seven minutes there is a bullying incident at recess and every 25 minutes there is a bullying incident in the classroom according to a study by Dorta in 2007. Webster’s Dictionary describes bullying as the repeated harmful actions by one child or children against another. Physical, or direct, bullying includes kicking, pushing, and engaging in rough play. Physiological bullying includes name calling, making faces, harassment, and threats. Gerald Walton, an educational researcher from Queen’s University says that it is impossible for a student to fully engage in their school work if they have to worry about being bullied.
All over the news and in legislation, bullying and bullying prevention seem to have become a very hot topic for Americans. We constantly see stories about how bullying has resulted in suicides, attempted suicides, intentional overdosing, depression, etc. Personally speaking, throughout my two years in Baltimore, I have seen an unbelievable amount of bullying take place in almost every section of the school environment. I have seen hundreds of bullying episodes happen, reported, and nothing be done about the situation beyond at the teacher level. I believe we must do more to address the issue of bullying so that all our students can have a safe place to learn.
Educational Researcher, G. Walton, believes that, “The most important piece to bullying prevention are school administrators because they are the ones that usually create the Bullying Prevention Plan, create in-service professional development days and the ones usually handling the bully when he or she is sent to the principal’s office. He states, “A school administrator needs to have a clear vision and implement plans on ways to deal with bullying.”
In college I had the opportunity to be mentored by a Principal at my local elementary school during my student teaching experience. Her school had the lowest accounts of bullying out of anyone else in the state of Vermont. Although the environment and culture is much different than Baltimore, I decided to use this blog entry to learn new strategies to prevent bullying from a veteran principal.
Carol Pickett is the Principal of Castleton Elementary School and has been there for a dozen years. She has taken on bullying at her school through a variety of ways. First, she developed a short and concise four page Bullying Prevention Plan that first states what bullying is and then describes ways that the school will deal with it. She says that what she believes characterizes a successful school-based action plan is that it must include clear and logical consequences for those children who bully, support to those children being bullied, and instruction to all children that emphasizes respect and compassion for others, and positive ways that children can resolve disagreements or conflicts. She said, “Justin, the key is to just immediately end it. If I hear even the slightest complaint of bullying from students or teachers, I hold a meeting in which I listen to the event and then immediately act on it. I do not tolerate any bullying! The staff, the students, and the parents know that.” Pickett recognizes that the most frequent areas of bullying occur in the hallways and at recess. Mrs. Pickett requires that teachers stand outside their door while students are switching between classes. She also requires there to be a 1-10 teacher to student ratio during recess. At every activity (kickball, capture the flag, basketball. . i.e.) there is at least one teacher or aid to watch what is going on. Sheri Nichols, the administrative assistant, posts many opportunities for employees to get professional training for free on how to deal with bullies in the “AM Morning Notes” that get sent out to the teachers daily. In an interview with her she said, “At least one in-service day per year is dedicated to bullying. On top of this, all teachers have the opportunity attend other conferences to get better trained if they want to. The school pays for it and it does not count as a sick day.
What really sets Castleton Elementary so far above most schools is their “Program Strategies” that Principal Pickett and her teachers have implemented. She teamed up with the nearby college to get mentors for all middle school students. Not only are the students learning about setting goals, and steps to college but having an extra 50 supervisors at recess daily will surely minimize any chance of bullying at lunch or recess. There is also a Leadership Team and a Gentlemen’s Club where a selected group of student’s meet once a week with either the Principal or a teacher to discuss being a good role-model and leader. These students get trained on how to handle a bully and who to tell about it. Mrs. Pickett and the teachers have also created a warm and positive school by having encouraging posters with bright colors that surround the school
Since I was a child I witnessed all types of bullies. I remember kids getting beat up in the hallway because they wore nice clothes. I remember my friend getting name-called in 4th grade because he couldn’t successfully throw a football yet. These were the same students who either later on dropped out or never graduated from high school or had severe depression issues. Very similar to my current experience in Baltimore, the school I attended as a child and its employees seemed to never address the situation and just let it happen. I thought most schools were run like this until I walked in to Castleton Elementary School where the Principal has set up a great system of prevention along with a clear set and fair plan of how to deal with issues when they arise.
I look forward to hearing any comments you have in regards to bullying at your school and what, if anything, is being done at the administrative or teacher level to address it so that all students feel safe to learn, free from bullying.
Thanks for reading,
Justin Garritt
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/04/cyber-bullying-bill-passes-maryland-senate-87099.html
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