 Bullying is any ongoing physical, verbal or non-verbal mistreatment where there is an imbalance of power and the target is exposed repeatedly to negative actions on the part of one or more people. WHAT IS IT NOT... OK !!

 - physical: hitting kicking, punching, pushing, stealing, destruction.  - Verbal: name calling, insult, threat, teasing, lies.  - Non-Verbal: gestures, eye rolling, writing graffiti, grouping.  - Relational: refusal to talk to someone, excluding someone on purpose, spreading lies and rumors.  - Cyberbullying: text, chat, pictures, , web page postings, for the intention of being cruel, spreading lies, and making someone feel bad.

 May not know they are a bully unless someone tells them.  Might come from a rough home life where its ok to be treated in such a way, they learned it from somewhere.  May be popular out of fear, not respect or friendliness, usually not trusted, have feelings of Jealousy.  Tend to have reduced academic success and underachievement, greater risk of drop out.  Feel they have to be hurtful to make themselves feel more powerful, lack empathy and understanding.  Possible drug and alcohol use.  Tend to be violent as adults – Prison

 Put yourself in others shoes before making a comment or doing an action.  Apologize to the people that you have bullied.  Be kind and friendly to others, even a smile can go a long way.  Once behavior changes, give it time for others to see that you are not a bully any more.  There will still be fear and broken trust, but give others time to heal from their hurt.

 Student is in most need of support from peers, though they are less likely to receive it.  Might feel compelled to take “vengeance” such as fighting, carrying a weapon or even suicide.  Fear leads to absenteeism and low grades.  Future problems with social development, emotional expression and uncertainty about a career.

 Ignore them : Pretend you didn’t hear them, don’t even look at them.  Remove yourself from the situation  Turn comment into a joke, but not about the bully.  Try not to respond emotionally with anger or sadness “laugh now, cry later”  Talk to someone (adult or friend) about what is going on.  Tell an adult  Write the incident down  Tell the person to stop, let them know how they are making you feel and tell them what you are going to do if the bullying does not stop. YOU ARE NOT THE ONE WITH THE PROBLEM, THEY ARE!!

 Don’t involve your self with rumors, gossip or slander.  Just get your friend out. Do not become involved with a verbal or physical altercation, it will escalate the situation more.  Tell the bully in a calm and firm tone of voice that it is not ok to hurt others.  Offer a way out for the victim “Mrs. Sullivan needs you right now.”  Tell an adult, anonymously or not.  If weapons are involved immediately get adult help or call 911

 Sit with the target at lunch, before or after school.  Call or text something like “You don’t deserve to be treated like that.”  Offer kind words and actions to the target.  It takes your act of courage to speak up against injustice in a way that will be heard.  You can empower others to speak up to take a stand against wrong doings. It only takes 1 and that 1 is YOU