Dealing with Bullying - Part 2

If you are seeking a teaching position, or other education position that puts you in connection with students, you will more than likely see evidence of bullying within the student body. In my last post we started to look at some of the issues surrounding bullying between students, and ways that have been less than effective in the past. Now, we turn to look at some recent studies in the field to see what has had better effectiveness.

Bully behaviorism includes physical aggression, verbal aggression, and social rejection. Once a school system defines a consistent platform for what is considered unacceptable behavior, that standard must be made clear to all school staff and student body. Having a uniform knowledge of this standard across the board for all staff and students sets the boundaries and establishes a defined guideline for a proper and consistent application for the enforcement of that standard.

A plan needs developed that states what the penalty is for this verbal or physical aggression and it must be consistently applied. It is of most importance that the standards and penalties be consistently applied in order to reduce the behavior issues, or else it will wreck the whole system. The consequences should start off relatively small, and can build with any repeated aggression. The penalty should be openly known and predictable by the offender, and it must be followed through with immediately. Most parents already understand much of this, as it is a common practice when disciplining their own children, but for some reason is not always applied when crossing over to the education field.

Also, there needs to be a definite positive connection between the staff and student body which helps to build a positive atmosphere. The staff must be willing to step in and be a part of resolving the problem, and the students should feel comfortable in approaching and speaking with the staff about such issues.

I have seen a recent rise in television commercials on topics like this, where someone is picking on a person, and one of the bystander kids ran for assistance from a staff member. This is the type of assistance that all must be willing to do. If a student sees another student being abused, they should feel comfortable with seeking help from a staff member, and there should be a ready willingness from that staff member to quickly assist.

Reports show that the key to the success of this type of system stems from a firm sense of fairness and consistency in the standard and application of the penalty, and a feeling of security that comes from both adult and student intervention when an issue arises.

 

Jeff McCormack resides in Virginia Beach, VA. where he works as a web designer by day. In his off time he is a husband, father, mail order book store manager, and musician. Aside from being a freelance writer for this Education Jobsite blog, he also seeks to assist in career choices and information by contributing to other Nexxt blog sites.