CONTENTS

About This Course

Table of Contents

1. School Bullying: What It Is and Why It Hurts
2. The Role of Bullies, Victims, and Witnesses
3. Factors Contributing to Bullying and Violence
4. Screening and Assessment
5. Treatment For Children and Adolescents
6. Prevention and Intervention
7. Legal and Ethical Issues

Supplements
Case Studies
Fact Sheets
References
Resources

The ABCs of Bullying
Addressing, Blocking, and Curbing School Aggression

What About Teachers?

Teachers are the single most effective deterrent to bullying. Schools that have actively reduced bullying have teachers that are committed, can recognize bullying, and know how to safeguard their students against it.ref Teachers need to use their influence to get curricula to implement that promotes kindness, communication, cooperation, and empathy.ref

Teachers can also:

• Discuss and post rules as to how to behave. Increase student ownership of rules by soliciting input from students.
• Implement immediate consequences for aggressive behavior and immediate rewards for inclusive behavior. Possible sanctions include having the bully:ref
  1. Discuss the incident with the teacher, principal, and/or parents.
  2. Pay for damaged belongings.
  3. Spend time in the office or another classroom.
  4. Forfeit recess or other privileges.
• Conduct class meetings to discuss bullying and what to do about it.
• Model respect for individual differences and develop empathy.
• Explain that "reporting" and "tattling" are not the same.
• Acknowledge improved behavior by those who bully.
• Institute a "bully box" for students to report bullying instances confidentially.
• Teach bystanders to make friends with the victims of bullying.
• Keep a log of bullying incidents to identify patterns in bullying behavior.ref
• Do not expect students to resolve things themselves. Mediation between victim and bully has been shown to be ineffective. ref^, ref^, ref

A condensed version of this page is available as a Fact Sheet in HTML and PDF formats.