How Teachers, Parents, Students Can Prevent Bullying

Bullying is a form of violence that hurts others and it can happen at school or during school-sponsored activities, according to the National School Safety Center. A bully's power can come from their physical strength, age, financial status, popularity, social status, technological skills or by association. Both boys and girls can be bullies.

What can educators do about classroom bullying? What can students and their parents do to reduce the problem?

There is much everyone can do, according to the NSSC. For teachers, preventing and responding to classroom bullying should not create an additional burden. In fact, the same atmosphere that promotes effective and successful teaching and learning will address student bullying. Here are some strategies teachers can use, as offered by the NSSC:

•     Modeling desired attitudes and behaviors.
•     Fostering student-shared responsibility for the classroom's overall social and physical environment.
•     Establishing and communicating rules and sanctions regarding bullying and applying those rules fairly and consistently.
•     Identifying and intervening on "gateway" behaviors and attitudes that could lead to harassment.
•     Teaching students how to ask for help and how to report cruelty, harassment and bullying.
•     Referring critical bullying cases to sources of support.

Parents can help by remembering that they are their children's first teachers. The words and actions they see and hear at home become words and actions used in other settings, such as at school. Parents are encouraged to be positive role models for their children and teach by example. Instruct your children that bullying is unacceptable and can be dangerous. Teaching basic manners will also help, as will teaching children how to show respect for others.

As for students, there are bullies, there are targets and there are bystanders. Bystanders are a powerful majority at any school, and they also have the power to create safe and comfortable schools for themselves and others. They can use their social power to promote respect.

Bystanders should be warned against trying to protect a student or group of students who are being bullied, but their parents and teachers can let these students know that the most important thing they can do is to report bullying when they see it happening to others.

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