Anti-bullying Policy.....?

Question

What can we as teachers, other school staff members, parents and students do to enforce the anti-bully policy in our schools?

And what action would you take if harassment, intimidation, and bullying continued despite your efforts?

I meant "we" as a whole group, I did not intend to be portrayed as a teacher. I am a parent of a student whom has been repeatedly bullied for 6 years and have had no relief from the matter, and my child is the one who continues to get into trouble for defending herself.

Answer 1

you cant stop students from bullying others ......... but those who get bullied have to learn to stand up for their self ........i used to get bullied a lot in school, then i decided to stand up for myself and i fought one of the bullies ......i total whopped his ***.......after that i got respected by all them bullies

Answer 2

There are both pros and cons to the policy, but both categories are limited. It is a fantastic policy because any bullying action observed by a staff member will lead to punishment due to zero tollerance. Regardless of the surrounding circumstances, any student will be punished for any actions percieved as bullying whether verbal or physical. The obvious part that is not included above is all of the bullying that occurs unsupervised, which unfortunately is a majority of it. Students are smart enough not to pick on kids when there are teachers standing around, so they find opportunities such as overcrowded halls, lunchrooms, locker rooms, and busses. One way to minimize hallway problems is to encourage/require all teachers to stand at their doorway during passing periods. This does take some prep time away from teachers between classes, but it's not that difficult.

So the main problem with any bullying policy is that students who get bullied are terrified to report it if it is not observed by a teacher. The bully will obviously know that the victim reported him, and likely go after the kid again. What is most important is that the deans and other administration need to enforce the penalties regardless of the student. Many times students are given breaks if they have no prior problems, or if they're football or basketball players. Zero tollerance needs to mean zero tollerance.

Penalties need to be very strict to discourage follow up bullying or repeated bullying by the same person. I would suggest that penalties get more severe, such as 5 day suspension for 1st offense, 10 day second offense, and recommend expulsion for a 3rd offense in one year.

I'm excited to hear you're interested in this, as many teachers out there only pay attention to their own classroom. I make the safety of my students and all students in my school a major priority. Granted, I am 6'1 and 210 pounds with a beard, so most of the time nobody tries anything around me. But I think that the authority of the position of all staff members can discourage bullying. Keep up the great work!

Answer 3

Hmm... I'm not a teacher... however.. as a parent who's kids have come home with bully problems before, I'll tell you what we did. We went to the school principal. When that didn't work, we taught our daughters how to stand up for themselves. Bullies notoriously only pick on those they feel they can push around. Our daughters all know self defense, and the proper context in which to use it. I understand that schools and teachers loathe violence, but sometimes the only way to fight fire is with fire. So many times the parent's of the bullies have the mindset, "Oh not MY little precious! He / She's an angel!", and they refuse to do anything about it.
When I was a kid, I got bullied too. Unfortunately my mother and father decided to go the way the school told them to. My bully problems got worse, with these kids actually following me around outside of school, until my older sister (she's 10 yrs older than me) went to them and promised them a beating if they didn't stop. I learned something that day... and I don't allow my kids to be pushed around by small minded people like bullies. They also have been taught that to stand up for their friends against bullies is the right thing to do.

Answer 4

Bullying needs to be openly discussed at the beginning of the schoolyear. If the school is really bad with bullies then it may need to be discussed monthly. The victims need to know they have someone to talk to about the problem and not feel that they are "bothering the teacher" or being a "tattle tale". In addition bullies need to understand the consequences of their actions. In-school suspension, detention, out school suspension and even lawsuits. I think this new policy is great because too many times teachers turn their heads the other way not wanting to deal with the issue.

Answer 5

honestly my son has had to put up with that crap for years and his school is supposedly enforcing the no bullying policy. It is a bunch of BS. I personally told my son that if it happened again he should whip the kids *** and let me deal with what happens. I can tell you this. It is only a matter of time before some kid kills himself as a result and some school gets sued. So what ever you are going to do, you better damn well start doing it fast. I suggest an absolute zero policy and take it hard core. Physical contact between the bully and the kid gets the law called.

Answer 6

Most people will not like this answer but here goes....

Teach your kid to fight.

Yes, I said it. And not just fight, but kick the living sh*t out of the bully. He only has to do this once and the bully will leave your child alone.

It is a fact that bullies intimidate others because they are concerned about their own inadequacies. Confront it head on and shame him in front of his peers and he will run with his tail between his legs. Be the Alpha male, don't back down, but don't become a bully yourself.

Answer 7

You answered your own question in your last sentence,"Whether they’re black, white, gay, straight, Christian, or Hindu makes no difference, bullying is wrong no matter what group the victim may belong to." . Why should anyone group get preferential treatment? And I am not a republican, nor a democrat.

Answer 8

step in. don't just be a bystander! make kids apologize and start using the time out system again! only dont let them go out in the hall, they'll probably leave. make them sit in the corner of the room away from their friends and the person they were harassing.give them detention and do whatever it takes to make it stop. these things traumatize kids for life

Answer 9

Totally ignoring, is a wise policy for most bullies: they tire easily and give up, if there is no response!

Answer 10

it has been attempted, but never accomplished. there's no way to stop bullies from ruining students lives.