What Is Bullying?  Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful, (physical and psychological), and/or threatening and persistent (repeated). There is an imbalance of strength (power and dominance).  The above definition includes the following criteria that will help you determine if a student is being bullied:  The mistreatment must be intentional.  The mistreatment must be hurtful (physical or psychological).  The mistreatment is threatening. The individual fears harms. Fear their safety.  The mistreatment must occur more than once. However, some disagree with this. They say one very hurtful event is enough to label it bullying.  There must be a power imbalance

What Does Bullying Look Like?  Direct Bullying Behaviors  Physical Bullying (a few examples)  Hitting, slapping, elbowing, shouldering (slamming someone with your shoulder)  Shoving in a hurtful or embarrassing way  Kicking  Taking, stealing, damaging or defacing belongings or other property  Restraining  Pinching  Flushing someone’s head in the toilet  Cramming someone into his or her locker  Attacking with spit wads or food  Verbal Bullying (a few examples)  Name-calling  Insulting remarks and put-downs  Repeated teasing  Racist remarks or other harassment  Threats and intimidation  Whispering behind someone’s back  Indirect Bullying Behaviors

What Does Bullying Look Like?  Social/Relational (a few examples)  Destroying and manipulating relationships (turning your best friend against you)  Destroying status within a peer group  Destroying reputations  Humiliation and embarrassment  Intimidation  Gossiping, spreading nasty and malicious rumors and lies about someone  Hurtful graffiti  Excluding someone from a group (social rejection or isolation)  Stealing boyfriends or girlfriends to hurt someone  Negative body language (facial expressions, turning your back to someone)  Threatening gestures, taunting, pestering, insulting remarks and gestures  Glares and dirty looks, nasty jokes, notes passed around, anonymous notes  Hate petitions (promising to hate someone)  Other Bullying Behaviors  Cyber bullying: negative text messages on cell phones, , or voic messages, Web pages, and so on Direct and indirect forms of bullying often occur together. All of these behaviors can be interrelated.

Who Are the Victims of Bullying?  Children who are bullied are often insecure, socially isolated, anxious, and have low self-esteem  They are unlikely to defend themselves or retaliate  They tend to be weaker than their peers  Parents of children who are bullied are often overprotective or enmeshed with their children  Children who are bullied perceive parent or teacher intervention to be ineffective and are unlikely to report the problem

Bullying Rational of Adults  Bullying is often perceived as a harmless rite of passage that all children will experience  Unless bullying is likely to lead to physical injury, many adults believe it is best left to be resolved by children and their peers

Long-Term Implications of Bullying  Children who are bullies are likely experience legal or criminal problems as adults  Children can carry bullying behaviors into adulthood and experience difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships  Children who are bullied often experience low self- esteem and depression even into adulthood  Children who are bullied perceive school as an unsafe place and are likely to miss more days of school than their peers, as a result their education is negatively affected

How Do We Stop Bullying?  Develop a school-wide bullying policy to: raise awareness of teachers and administrators create a framework for responding to bullying improve overall school environment ensure change is occurring in the classroom empower students through programs such as peer counseling, mediation, or conflict resolution

How Do We Stop Bullying?  Develop a school-wide bullying policy  Implement classroom curriculum: Develop classroom rules against bullying Develop cooperative learning projects that encourage teamwork and reduce social isolation Create activities or assignments that teach problem-solving or conflict-resolution skills Participate in role-playing or other activities to help children understand the perspectives of others and identify feelings

How Do We Stop Bullying?  Develop a school-wide bullying policy  Implement classroom curriculum  Raise awareness of bullying: Allow students to fill out surveys to better understand their perspective of bullying Inform caregivers of bullying policies/curriculum through conferences, newsletters, or PTA meetings Encourage parent involvement in anti-bullying initiatives