Bully Prevention
There is a form of violence in our schools today that is chronic, pervasive, and harmful to a large number of our students. It is called bullying. Not as easily identified as the overt, violent acts that make headline news, bullying is a more subtle form of violence that, if undetected and untreated, is far more damaging to a greater number of our students. In an environment where bullying has created a climate of fear and anxiety, students pay a terrible price physically, emotionally, and academically.
The Bullying behaviors that are represented in our schools today include physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual behaviors both overt and covert, direct and indirect. The bullying dynamic can include boys or girls, individuals or groups, but it always involves an imbalance of power with one individual or group chronically victimizing another individual or group and exhibiting little or no remorse for the victims. And it is not only the direct victims of bullying who feel unsafe. All students who know about and witness these incidents are deeply affected as well. When students observe incidences of bullying behaviors happening daily and conclude that adults either do not notice or choose to ignore these situations, their sense of security in the school environment and in their own well-being is shaken, and their availability for learning is significantly compromised.
A power imbalance is found at the heart of the bullying dynamic. A student who is stronger, more aggressive, bolder, and more confident typically bullies students who are weaker, more timid, and tend not to retaliate nor act in an assertive manner. Bullies may choose to “pick on” the students who are disadvantaged by being younger, new to the school, new immigrants, or from a cultural minority group.
As with other interpersonal violence such as date violence, racial harassment, child abuse, spousal assault, the power imbalance is a main factor in understanding the problem. Interventions must take the power imbalance into account.It is a myth that bullies are insecure underneath their bravado. It appears that bullies tend to come from homes where aggressive strategies to conflict resolution is modeled; however, more research is being done on this connection.
Victims tend to be timid and, in the case of boys, physically weaker and less skilled than bullies. Victims tend to lack assertive responses to peer aggression and they tend to be low on social skills. They generally do not retaliate when they are picked on; therefore, they come to be seen as “safe” targets for bullying.
Acts of “bullying” do not include the minor behavior problems that are a part of growing up such as horseplay, occasional good-natured teasing, or even the odd physical scrap between children of equal strength.
