School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

SCHOOLS NEED A BETTER ADMINISTRATIVE APPROACX TO BULLYING AND HARASSMENT.

 

Ok.  Call me Captain Obvious, but I feel I have to take a trip into the mediocre Midwest town of Duhville today.  I mean, goodness only knows how many articles, trainings and posts I have done on approaching Bullying by addressing the role of teachers and parents as Safety Coaches, by training children and teens to protect themselves.

 

But, seriously, Hammer fans, you know and I know that what is really needed is an aggressive, consolidated and indefatigable approach by our schools systems to, if not end, mitigate the epidemic nature of Bullying in our schools.

 

CAPTAIN OBVIOUS SAYS

 

• Bullying and other forms of harassment must not be tolerated in our schools.  These are abusive acts that harm and scar students and detract from the school’s learning environment.
• Schools – meaning administrators, board members, teachers and students – need to join with parents and community leaders in a determined and concerted campaign to:

 

Ø     Clearly define what constitutes bullying.

Ø     Communicate that definition to teachers, students, parents and staff.  This definition must include physical, verbal, and psychological aspects of bullying.

Ø     Establish specific rules prohibiting bulling activities as well as reasonable and enforceable consequences for same.

Ø     Establish a reporting mechanism by which incidents of bullying can be reported, recorded, and acted upon immediately after they occur.

1.  Care should be taken to protect witnesses and victims from retaliation.

2.  Meet standards for confidentiality.

3.  Schools must act with integrity and honesty.  By that I mean, schools have to live up to their promises and establish a truly open atmosphere to encourage reporting of incidents. This may take some time.

4.  Protect the accused from false information.

 

Ø     Notify parents/guardians of both victims and perpetrators whenever a report of bullying is formally filed.

Ø     Establish a policy regarding the circumstances under which parents of bullies and/or their victims should be called in for an on-site conference.

 

And, by the way, just because something is obvious doesn’t mean it is being acted upon.

 

Stay Safe.

Hammer

Don't miss another post -- subscribe by email or RSS today!

Share this post

Posted on June 8th, 2009 by Harry A Widger
Filed under: Administrators, Bullying, High School, K-6, Pages, Parents, People Involved, School Grade Level, School Safety Issues, Students