Japan responded swiftly to investigate bullying among all of its primary and middle schools following a recent teen suicide. I shared an excerpt from an earlier story when the news first became public. The national response has been impressive to see. The question in my mind is, “When Japan completes its investigation will they implement new programs and reporting systems or will the government step to the forefront to create a nationwide media campaign. Given the short time needed to mobilize a nationwide investigation I would expect Japan has already started work on changing their approach to bullying prevention. Watch this story develop in the coming weeks.
Archive | July 2012
Complaint alleges School District ignored bullying at junior high school
In the first of what I expect to be a growing trend in bullying investigation this year, the Clark County School District in Nevada, has come under fire for their failure to adequately respond to incidents involving two junior high students. The school year has yet to start and already we are beginning to see articles like Paul Takahashi‘s in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper today. Although the school named in the article (excerpt below) does not use Sprigeo as an online reporting system for bullying incidents, some of the CCSD schools do use this tool as a safe way for students to anonymously report incidents. School officials may have been alerted to the incidents earlier if a system had been in place. The school district did implement their own version of an online reporting system this past school year. Although students can access the reporting form from their home computers, the form requires a student number and name, which creates a formidable barrier for students who want to keep their identity anonymous.
Article excerpt:
The Clark County School District failed to adequately protect two Greenspun Junior High School students from bullying this past school year, according to sexual discrimination complaints lodged Wednesday against the district.
The sixth-graders were discriminated against and harassed by other students based on the boys’ perceived sexual orientation, according to the two complaints jointly filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the boys’ parents with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.
The bullying – which allegedly took place between August 2011 and February 2012 – started with verbal taunts, but quickly escalated to physical assaults, said Katrina Rogers, a staff attorney with the local ACLU representing the two boys.
Letter: Education can help us end bullying
In a recent letter to the editor (excerpt below), YMCA Youth Programs Director, Ruth Sazama, expressed a concern that is shared among many adults who work with kids today. The answer to, “What is bullying?” varies depending on what state you are in and the laws governing the response to reported bullying incidents. Although the Department of Education has taken steps to create a common definition of what constitutes bullying, individual states are left to legislate and subsequently fund their bullying prevention and bully reporting programs. The result, a mixed bag of intervention programs attempting to identify and respond to the continually evolving problem of bullying. States live New York, California and New Jersey passed recent legislation that provides further clarity on the actions that constitute bullying and the mandated response to these incidents.
Article excerpt:
EDITOR: Recently the whole country heard about the school bus monitor, Karen Klein, who was physically and verbally abused by a few middle school students. Their behavior and comments were so cruel that America was horrified.
One article from Good Morning America stated, “Klein has worked at the school district for 20 years, mostly as a bus driver. She said this verbal attack was not the first time she had been taunted.”
I have been presenting the YWCA anti-bullying program, “Bullying is Never Cool,” for eight years in Marathon County. This problem is very widespread in all communities. My question about this story is: How much training did Klein get in strategies to combat bullying?
Rochester Middle School bullying specialist to be first of kind in district
Forward thinking Rochester School Board members have taken proactive steps to confront bullying before the school year begins. The creation of a student safety and behavior support specialist in Rochester will be the first of its kind since the Governor’s new cyberbullying legislation passed. Reports of bullying are submitted by students using traditional paper and pencils forms. The forms will then be investigated by the support specialist. Looking at the school district’s web site I couldn’t find evidence of the reporting form or an online reporting system that would allow students to send in an anonymous report. Without an online reporting system in place, schools rely heavily on students taking the time to complete a report in the front office, while under the watchful gaze of their peers. The threat of retaliation keeps many students from completing a traditional report form.
Article excerpt:
sallen@fosters.comSaturday, July 14, 2012ROCHESTER — The School Board voted unanimously Thursday to hire a “student safety and behavior support specialist” to address bullying and harassment at the Rochester Middle School, to be the first ever of its kind in the district, according to Principal Valerie McKenney.
McKenney said before the meeting, the position is one she crafted with the district this year after several complaints came forward from the community regarding student behavior issues.
Superintendent Michael Hopkins told the board on Thursday the middle school administration will still meet with parents to address behavioral issues with students, but the specialist will work to investigate initial complaints that come in from students.
“Aside from dealing with all the initial reports,” he added, “(the specialist) can really focus on what we call ‘red zone’ students.”
Group aims to curb bullying
Thanks to Chansi Long for introducing us to an incredible new group of students (see article excerpt below).
Wonderful solution to what has become an overwhelming challenge for adults to overcome. Educators and parents can support the efforts of kids and teens by encouraging programs like Friends Don’t Let Friends Bully. Like many of the student groups we have identified in the Sprigeo Heroes Project, this organization understands that for true change to occur, kids and teens must take responsibility for creating change and holding each other accountable, every moment of the day. A tall order I know, yet when youth come together and recognize the power they have to impact a community, their energy is unmatched. Kudos to the group mentioned hear. The coming school year is going to be amazing.
Article excerpt:
Nationwide, people are addressing bullying, seeking to stop it. A new organization in Lawrence is taking up the cause.
Crystal Shepherd, of Lawrence, has created an anti-bullying group called Friends Don’t Let Friends Bully. The organization will launch this fall at South Middle School. Shepherd hopes to galvanize students, parents, teachers and community members in the anti-bully movement.
From left Crystal Shepherd, Shari Hicks and Christina Johnson gather for a Sunday lunch and to talk about a new support group they have started for South Middle School called Friends Don’t Let Friends Bully. The group has already had one fundraiser and has plans for another one soon.
“The idea is that it’s a community effort, that bullying is not in the dark anymore,” said Shepherd, the group’s organizer. “Instead of a program focused on protecting the victim, (Friends Don’t Let Friends Bully) is designed to draw the bullies out. … Maybe they don’t even realize what they are doing is bullying and the ones who do realize they are bullying aren’t in the dark anymore; they need to be held accountable for their own actions within themselves, including by the people around them.”
School Bullying
In a recent post (excerpt below) on JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association), writer Mike Mitka shared an illuminating idea that rarely shows up when bullying statistics are reported. Differences among both researchers and educators as to what constitutes bullying leads to skewed data. Although few people today would disagree with the statement that bullying affects children, we don’t know the extent to which bullying impacts specific groups of children. Sexual orientation and gender identity are among the leading motivating factors linked to bullying when kids and teens report bullying incidents.
Article excerpt:
Millions of children and adolescents are estimated to be subject to bullying in schools, and the extent of legal protections for vulnerable groups needs to be more fully assessed, reported the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a June 7 release (http://tinyurl.com/82ga4oe).
The GAO found that nationally representative surveys conducted from 2005 to 2009 suggest that up to 28% of youth, primarily at the middle school and high school levels, reported having been bullied during the survey periods. But the GAO noted that differences in definitions and questions posed to youth make it difficult to discern trends and affected groups. For example, the surveys did not collect information about respondents’ sexual orientation or gender identity.
Pearl River Students, Teacher Accept Award for Design for Change
Thanks to Ryan Buncher for sharing a wonderful story (excerpt below) that highlights the impact you can have in creating a culture that values kindness and respect over bullying. The group of students from Pearl River Middle School sound like great candidates for the Sprigeo Heroes Project. Like many of the heroes, the focus on creating change and having a lasting impact were two traits that made the Pearl River story stand out.
Article excerpt:
Students from Pearl River Middle School were honored with the Rockefeller Foundation Young Innovators Award along with others who took part in Design For Change, a program that helps students learn to change their communities for the better.
Late in 2006, Pearl River Middle School fifth graders received the Ghandi Prize for their Design for Change project, called Add Vertisements, an anti-bullying campaign.
Two of those students, Katelyn Freedman and Abigail Frankel, accompanied teacher Jim Guerci June 26 of this year to join to accept the Innovation award from the Rockefeller Foundation as part of a group representing Design for Change.
Just finished reading an article about a 13 year old who killed himself after being taunted mercilessly day in and day out at school. He endured everything from the verbal to the physical including being tied up, having duct tape put over his mouth and making him practice suicide. This happened with teachers looking on and doing nothing, or worse, laughing. There are more examples, but I won’t go into them here, because if that doesn’t send chills up your spine and a tear to your eyes, nothing will.
In the end the kid did jump to his death. He texted one of his tormentors “I’m going to die,” before he did and got the reply, “You Should.”
In what world is this acceptable? School authorities stood by, saying there wasn’t enough evidence. Teachers actually saw it happeneing and did nothing. I guess the answer is pretty clear.
This one.
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School board says bullying caused suicide
UPI.com released the following report (excerpt below) from Japan. Although bullying cannot be linked to all youth suicides, the education board of Otsu, Japan has gathered substantial evidence that links bullying to the teen’s suicide. Statistics on youth violence show suicide to be the third most common cause of death among young people.
Article excerpt:
OTSU, Japan, July 13 (UPI) — The education board of Otsu, Japan, told a news conference the suicide of a teenager in October was caused because he was bullied at Otsu middle school.
Kenji Sawamura, the head of the education board, said Thursday he believes bullying was the primary cause of a 13-year-old boy’s suicide, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
Mom Banned From School: Kathy Lindsay, Mom Of Allegedly Bullied Girl, Banned
In line with our last post, parents have become increasingly frustrated by what they perceive to be a lack of response to bullying incidents. Although schools must adhere to clearly defined bullying prevention policies, the communication between parents and schools often falls short of what could be considered an effective partnership. As a parent of two I recognize the heightened emotion that accompanies any event affecting either of my children, whether the event has a positive or negative consequence. Parents see their children as an extension of themselves. What affects a child, affects a parent.
Bullying incidents strike at the heart of a parent-child relationship. Parents of bullied children have often, themselves, been the target of bullying. Reliving earlier memories, parents storm the school’s front office looking for immediate action in response to the report of a bullying incident. The resulting discussion becomes heated and leaves parents and schools at odds.
Implementing a consistent approach to parent education that involves frequent and ongoing communication between parents and schools can help to lessen the tension on the topic of bullying in schools. Identifying an answer to, “What is bullying?” sets a foundation for developing a partnership between parents and schools.
Article excerpt:
Many parents feel helpless when they discover their child is the victim of bullying at school, but for Kathy Lindsay, the matter truly feels like it’s out of her hands.
According to The Sault Star, Lindsay, whose daughter was allegedly bullied throughout her school year, was banned from the grounds of Queen Elizabeth Public School in Sault Ste. Marie at the end of June.
Lindsay says she’d walked her daughter to class and made phone calls to the school in an attempt to cease the bullying. She finally felt compelled to employ a lawyer to get the administration’s attention. In response, the school hired their own lawyers and sent Lindsay a letter which stated, “The school and the board will not continue to discuss this matter with you and we ask that you cease contacting the school in this regard.” It also noted “safety concerns” for children at the school and warned of trespassing charges if she’s found on school grounds without written permission.
Report Bullying with Sprigeo 