Let’s Talk About Bullying Introduction

We are going to talk about bullying and what we can do to stop it. What is bullying? What are some examples of bullying behavior? What are ways you can respond to bullying? What is a bystander? What should you do if the bullying continues after you tell the bully to stop?

What is Bullying? Intentional hurtful acts against another carried out repeatedly and over time. When one person uses power to hurt another person.

What is Bullying? 5 Types Physical Pushing, shoving, hitting, kicking, scratching, spitting, and excluding someone Emotional Rumors, gossip, name calling, exclusion, isolation, stares, and dirty looks Body Bullying/Sexual Harassment Sexual innuendos and jokes, inappropriate touch or comments about someone’s private body areas, taunting based on someone’s real or perceived gender identity, anti-gay slurs

What is Bullying, cont. Cyber Any bullying using a technological device such as texting, , Facebook, etc. Property Stealing, damaging/destroying someone’s property, knocking their belongings off the desk, etc.

Bullying happens when… Someone hurtfully teases or threatens you. Someone physically hurts you or says they are going to hurt you. Someone touches you inappropriately. Someone takes something that belongs to you without your permission. Someone leaves you out of activities on purpose.

Why is Bullying Bad? Bullying can be physically and mentally damaging. Students being bullied may: Have trouble concentrating Be absent from school Become anxious or depressed Even drop out of school

How do you know if you’re being bullied… Is something someone saying or doing making me feel uncomfortable? Are my feelings hurt repeatedly by what someone says or does? Do I feel threatened by someone else? Do I feel like there is nothing I can do to stop someone’s poor treatment of me?

What can you do to stop someone from bullying you? Any ideas?

Possible ideas include… Walk away from the bully Confront the bully CALM strategy Cool Down Assert Yourself Look the bully in the eye – be confident Mean it! – Use a firm voice and say what you feel using an “I” statement. Don’t be insulting Find an adult for assistance.

What should you do if you see someone being bullied? What is a bystander?

A bystander is… A bystander is a person who is not the bully or the target, but who watches the bullying occur. Most kids are bystanders, and they can help stop bullying. Standing by and doing nothing when bullying occurs helps hurt the target of the bullying behavior. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Bullying starts and stops with YOU! If you see another student being targeted by a bully or a group of bullies, tell someone. Offer a positive comment to the target. DO NOT LAUGH OR PARTICIPATE in the bullying behavior. Adults are willing to help and listen.

What would you do? You are standing in line waiting to get lunch when another student cuts in front of you. You ask her nicely to go to the back of the line. She sneers at you and begins talking about you to another girl in line. They both begin to laugh and you are very upset.

What would you do? A friend passes you a note and in it she has written negatively about another classmate. Your friend mentions that you should no longer be friends with this classmate.

What would you do? A friend of yours starts posting mean things online about another student they got in a fight with. The posts include calling the other student names and encouraging others to do the same and suggest leaving the student out of school and social activities. The student being bullied is even tagged in several of the posts.

If you’ve been bullied or witnessed bullying Report this to an adult at school Playground assistants, Your Teachers, Ms. Sharyn Entrop, Ms. Branch, Mr. Choe, Shannon in the Den, other adults who work in the school. The adult will make a note of this and take action… Bullying is NOT acceptable!

Wrap up: What’s the point? The reasons why we need to stop bullying: Everyone has the right to be respected and accepted for who they are. Everyone has the right to be educated in a safe environment.

Anti-Bullying Contracts Review the contract Will you make a commitment? Take a copy home to your parents for their signature.

Thank you!

Additional Examples

What would you do? You are at gym class and you are picking teams for a practice basketball game. All of your friends keep telling you not to pick a particular student, because she does not play very well. You know no one will want to pick her, and she looks very sad.

What would you do? You see a group of boys take another boy’s backpack. The boy is yelling for them to give him back his pack. The other boys start to play keep away with the backpack.