Schools

When Back to School Means Back to Chaos, Fear and Embarrassment

A new assault on bullying at schools begins with a conversation. The National School Boards Association on Wednesday unveiled a new toolkit.

Chaos, fear and embarrassment aren't on your back-to-school shopping list, but statistics suggest that half of all students will see or experience bullying once back in their classrooms.

Not surprisingly, these silent disturbances get in the way of academic achievement, the National School Board Association said Wednesday as it unveiled a tool kit meant to help reduce the incidences of bullying.

The association asked school board members everywhere to pause and listen to what students might say if asked in just the right way.

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“Students cannot learn in chaos, fear, or embarrassment," the association said in a press release. Called Students on Board, the new tool kit emphasizes asking questions that help uncover problems that often go unreported and undermine student success

In articles and blog posts from neighboring Patch sites, high school students have reported being bullied or shunned. Click here to read 16-year-old Castro Valley student Justin McLean's insightful account and for the experiences of gay and lesbian students. Gay and lesbian students are about three times as likely to become targets of bullying, the association found.

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In its national survey, the school boards association found that:

•Half of all respondents see students being bullied at least once a month

•The most common form of bullying is verbal, either through insults, ridicule or being the subject of rumors 

•11 percent of students report being pushed, tripped or spit on, and 6 percent have been threatened with harm

The incidents of bullying that school officials hear about are just the tip of the iceberg, said Rick Phillips, executive director of Community Matters, an organization that helps schools prevent bullying.

One of the most indirect but potentially deadly forms of bullying is called "relational bullying."

That means "using social networks to be hurtful to someone by spreading gossip, encouraging exclusion and using other covert forms of personal attack," according to a handbook for adults who want to learn how to prevent bullying.

The handbook, called Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe, was created by an East Bay headquartered but internationally esteemed nonprofit group called Kidpower, which also offers training for kids and adults.

Kidpower says shunning, in particular, can lead to depression and even suicide in some. In others, it can lead to bitterness and aggression.

Bullying is harmful to the bully, too. The school boards association found that:

•Students who have been suspended are far more likely to repeat a grade or drop out altogether 

•Half of students who were disciplined 11 or more times end up in the juvenile justice system

“Feeling welcomed and connected at school can have a huge impact on student achievement,” said the association's executive director, Anne L. Bryant.

Only one third of students believe teachers are able to stop bullying, the association's survey found.

Kidpower's bullying-prevention manual for adults emphasizes the importance of adult intervention but also says that, as kids get older, they often become discouraged or frustrated about the ability of adults to help them.

Kidpower lists comments by students who were asked why they didn't ask for help even though they were being bullied. Among them:

  • I thought my teacher knew.
  • My teacher told me to fix it myself.
  • Everybody said it was a joke.
  • I didn't know the words to say.
  • My dad told me not to complain.
  • I felt embarrassed.
  • My mom got upset.
  • I didn't want to get into trouble.
  • I was afraid.

"In the pressure of budget cuts and student test scores, it can be hard to focus on something as seemingly secondary as school climate," the school boards association says on its website. "But we all know that what’s important is not always urgent."

A starting point, the school boards association says, is initiating conversations with students. Its new toolkit suggests questions like:

  • Have you seen someone be bullied?
  • Did another student or a teacher try to stop it?
  • Is this common or rare?

Erika Leonard, an East Bay resident and Kidpower trainer, recommends asking students about bullying while using spice bottles as stand-ins for the people involved.

When you name the characters in a troublesome scenario "Salt," "Cinnamon," "Basil" and the like, students who were previously reticent suddenly become animated, expressive and resourceful, she said, because they feel safer when they aren't naming names.

For more information about the NSBA's initiative, click here and here. For more about Kidpower training, click here.


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