Bullying Prevention Presentation
Coleen M. O'Connor, MS, NCC, LPCMH
President
Delaware Bullying Prevention Association
Background:
Incorporated as a non-profit in 2005 as a statewide community-based volunteer organization guided by a Board of Directors with professional experience and training in academics, counseling, pediatrics, child and adolescent psychiatry, justice, social work, bullying prevention, and child abuse prevention.
Mission:
To reduce bullying as a major, social, emotional, and psychological health problem among Delaware children and adolescents.
To create safe learning environments in all Delaware Schools.
To alleviate suffering from bullying.
Accomplishments:
Instrumental Advocates in the passing of Delaware’s Anti-Bullying Law written and passed in 2006 requiring all Delaware Public and Charter Schools to implement a Model Policy.
Board members helped write Delaware’s Model Policy which is located on DOE website and recommended to all districts as to not reinvent the wheel.
Facilitated the filming of “Strings of Fear,” a bullying prevention movie written and produced locally by Board Member Rhonda Denny, Esq. which was nominated for a prestigious 2007 Tinny Award in the International Swansea Film Festival held in Wales.
Ms. Denny has presented programs to over 70,000 students across the state since 1998.
Ms Denny is now a member of the Board of the International Bullying Prevention Association.
What is Bullying?
© The Olweus Bullying Prevention Group, 2007
“A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself.” Olweus et al., 2007
In everyday language:
“Bullying is when someone repeatedly and on purpose says or does mean or hurtful things to another person who has a hard time defending himself or herself.”
Three Key Components of Bullying Behavior:
Involves an aggressive behavior.
Typically involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time.
Imbalance of power or strength.
Bullying = Peer Abuse
Direct Bullying:
Hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting…
Taunting, name-calling, degrading comments.
Threatening, obscene gestures.
Indirect Bullying:
Physical:
Getting another person to bully someone
Verbal:
Spreading rumors
Non-Verbal:
Social isolation
Cyber-bullying
Relational Bullying:
Damaging reputations or social standing with peers.
Using threats or loss of relationships to manipulate.
What Motivates Children Who Bully?
Like to dominate others in a negative way.
Gain satisfaction from inflicting injury and suffering.
Receive “rewards” by bullying others (prestige, attention, possessions).
Cyber Bullying:
58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online
53% of kids admit having said something mean or hurtful things to another online
42% of kids have been bullied while online
i-SAFE America, Inc. – www.i-safe.org
Cyber bullying is a verbal harassment that occurs during online activities.
1. A threatening email
2. Nasty Instant messaging sessions
3. Repeated notes sent to cell phones
4. A web site set up to mock others
5. “Borrowing someone' s screen name and pretending to be them while posting a message
6. Forwarding supposedly private messages, pictures, or video to others
Group Mechanisms in Bullying:
Social contagion
Weakening inhibitions against aggression
A decreased sense of individual responsibility
Gradual changes in the view of bullied student(s)
Concerns About Children Who Bully:
Children who bully are more likely to:
Get into frequent fights
Be injured in a fight
Steal, vandalize property
Drink alcohol, smoke
Be truant, drop out of school
Report poorer academic achievement
Perceive a negative climate at school
Carry a weapon
|