NCMS taking a stand against bullying

Anti-Bullying Educational Goals * Educate about bullying * Address bullying * Prevent bullying

What is bullying? Bullying is repeated aggressive behavior that is intended to cause harm or distress in a relationship in which there is an imbalance of power or strength.

Bullying

Who is involved in bullying?

Bully One or more persons who intentionally intimidate or harm another person. A bully has power or social support. The harm they cause can be physical, emotional or both.

Victim The person who is being bullied. The victim has less power or social support and often blames him/herself for the abuse.

bystander One or more people who stand on the sidelines and passively witness acts of bullying-bystanders might also actively provide encouragement and support to the bully. Bystanders may not seek help/intervene because they fear for their safety, may lose friends, become a target or be labeled a tattletale or snitch.

Why does bullying occur? Bullying can be related to hostile acts perpetrated against racial and ethnic minorities, gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual youth, and persons with disabilities.

Forms of Bullying Emotional: Upsetting, excluding, or embarrassing a person. Intentional Exclusion Nasty Notes Tormenting Threatening Humiliation CYBERBULLYING

Forms of bullying Physical: Harmful actions against another person’s body. Biting Kicking Pushing Tripping Pulling Hair Hitting Punching Verbal: Speaking to/about a person in an unkind or hurtful way. Sarcasm Name-Calling Teasing Put-Downs Hurtful Gossip Phone Calls Spreading Gossip

Forms of bullying Sexual: Singles out a person because of gender and/or sexual orientation and demonstrates unwelcome sexual behavior. Sexual Comments Abusive Comments Unwanted Physical Contact Racial: Involves rejection or isolation of a person because of ethnicity Racial Slurs Taunts Making fun of: Customs Skin Color Accent

Cyberbullying Cyberbullying: “The willful and repeated harm influenced through the use of computers, cellphones, and other electronic devices.

Traditional Bullying Cyberbullying Witnesses usually limited to those who are actually there In front of the whole world Face-to-face with the bully Usually anonymous Adults jump in to break things up Lack of supervision in cyber space Once home the victim is safe 24/7 on the internet – No escape Once victim walks away the bullying ends Lack of closure

Cyberbullying examples……… Sending mean texts, e-mails, or instant messages Posting offensive pictures or messages about others in blogs or on websites Using someone else’s user name to spread rumors or lies about someone Forwarding supposedly private messages, picture, or videos to others Threatening or harassing others with offensive language Cyberbullying is more difficult to detect!!

Cyberbullying: call to action Prevent Educate Address “Students need to have a better understanding of family, school, and legal limits on online speech, negative influences of online behavior and Internet privacy protection.” - Nancy Willard, Educator’s Guide to Cyberbullying

The abc’s of bullying Abuse of Power: Bullying is an act of aggression toward another person. There are many forms and types of bullying. Be a Responsible: Bystander: Look for signs of bullying – seek help immediately. Communication and Caring: We can achieve more if we care and communicate with one another.