Reducing rampant bullying in schools

Schools need to find ways to reduce the problem of bullying. This means having all teachers, staff and administrators on board to prevent bullying. Firstly, there must be a clear definition of bullying.

Bullying is defined as being characterised by intentionally aggressive behaviour that involves an imbalance of power and strength. It can be exemplified through physical, verbal/non-verbal, and/or relational means. It is a repeated offence, even when teachers observe it for the first time.

Staff should be able to distinguish between teasing and bullying.

According to Sweeting and West (2001), teasing is reported more frequently than bullying because teasing is done to irritate or provoke another with persistent distractions or other annoyances.

Bullying, on the other hand, is an imbalance of power. Bullying occurs in different forms such as threats, teasing, name calling, excluding, preventing others from going where they want, pushing, hitting, and all forms of physical violence (Mahoney 2012). The severity of bullying varies from case to case.

When addressing students’ bullying behaviour, be non-judgemental.

First, find out what happened before deciding whether or not the incident qualifies as bullying.

Looking at specific behaviours that occurred is important so that they can be addressed at a later time.

Keep in mind that each student involved in a situation comes from circumstances. Everyone has baggage.

There may be a reason that the child who engages in bullying behaviour is acting this way. To fix the problem, involve the student who is doing the bullying. He/she needs to know what his/her actions are doing to the student he/she is bullying.

Ensure that the person who is doing the bullying knows what behaviour is wrong, why it is wrong, and what the consequences are for engaging in the behaviour. If the behaviour keeps occurring the parent will need to be involved.

The Ministry of Education has a huge role to play in dealing with bullying in schools. There must be a policy which will include strategies, directions and guidance for the teaching staff when handling bullying. I must admit that a scare always comes over me when the Minister of Education begins to speak. It’s not the same feeling with the more articulate Minister of Agriculture or the Attorney General or Stuart Young.

Does the Minister of Education understand his role now? Does he feel the role of minister and the role of trade union president is one and the same? How on earth can the minister openly say that he cannot see a nine-year-old abusing a teacher? How can he say he cannot see a nine-year-old engaging in sexual abuse, without the requisite investigations? When bullying is occurring, there may be warning signs. When a child is being bullied, he can show different signs that indicate that bullying is occurring. Teachers may not witness every incident, and that’s why it’s necessary to involve other students, as well as parents. There are also signs that a child is bullying another.

CUTHBERT SANDY Point Fortin