How To End Bullying
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Note to reader: This is an informal explanation for the consumption of busy decision makers of an approach that works without all the technical jargon. I am not a professional; I am a businessman and a pragmatist, a taxpayer and concerned citizen.
The process I describe was gleaned from 2 years of reading research and speaking with professional educators. In layman’s terms…
IT IS POSSIBLE to completely eliminate bullying in any school. It’s being done in Canada, England, and Norway. If it were a stock, I’d buy it.
It takes two years. The entire first year is devoted to converting the faculty and staff culture into one in which all rules are enforced, including the simple ones. No throwing paper on the floor, no loitering in the bathroom, hall pass required to be out of class, etc.
This is the hardest part. Led by the principal, teachers must act as a team, support one another, and be viscerally committed to enforcing rules through a nearly transparent process which reflects the principles of fairness, justice and punishment in a way that consistent, predictable and accessible to each student. The only real obstacle I’ve heard about here is lack of will on the part of the principal, or dysfunctional faculty relationships and petty politics.
During this process, the faculty receives training in how to handle bullying and reports of bullying. There are a variety of good programs.
The community and parents should be involved in a variety of capacities. The National PTA has strong anti-bullying initiative in place and so does most law-enforcement.
Once the kids see that the all rules are enforced fairly, they begin to trust the teachers.
At some point usually in the following year depending on how bad the school is, the faculty agrees that there is enough trust/control to introduce an anti-bullying policy and reporting. Ideally, students are involved in formulating the policy.
Once promulgated, the policy must be enforced. Each and every report of bullying MUST be addressed and properly. False reporting is an issue, but eventually solves itself.
At the same time, age appropriate anti-bullying curricula are begun in every grade. There many good, free programs.
The rest is common sense. Teachers must continue to work to earn the trust of students by working carefully with victims. This is where lack of training is a liability and mistakes are costly.
The victim must be able to trust the person they confide in, teacher, staff, or parent, NOT to confront the bully until the victim is ready. The victim must have some control (as appropriate of course) over how the bully is confronted. Otherwise they will not tell the next time.
Kids understand well that the teacher cannot always be there to protect them. Teachers must respect this. Trust between the kids and teacher’s is critical. You cannot force children to trust adults.
Last year in a Utah junior high school, a victim reported being threatened with a gun. The principal called both the victim and the bully into his office together. The victim refused to go back to school and had to be transferred. No student will report bullying in that school for a year at least.
As trust between teachers and students grows, the reporting increases eventually leading to the end of bullying because the bullies become the protectors and the enforcers of a zero-tolerance standard in an organic democratic environment where the good kids take over because their rights are being protected. Kids understand fairness and justice at young age. They also understand hypocrisy.
That’s it! It doesn’t really cost that much. “Band-aid” programs cost money and don’t change the school culture. Some professionals are unwilling to tell you that.
Changing the culture of a school is just plain hard work. But it is not rocket science. It requires will, consensus, good planning, broad participation, and a long-term commitment. But there is also much support for it everywhere.
If anyone is interested in speaking with a Principal in the Canadian Public School system who specializes in eradicating bullying, let me know.
One of the bigger challenges for schools is the lack of good reporting tools. HREC is working in conjunction with an advisory group of international experts on a free web-based anonymous bully reporting system for Utah. Click here to be kept informed of that process or be involved.
