Bullying in Schools – Inspiring Bystanders to Become Heroes

I recently came across an article on WOWT.com claiming that parents at one Omaha school were “waging war on an alleged sixth grade bully”.  One parent reported, “Not only verbally and physically assaulting our children, but it has gone into sexual harassment…I personally have had problems for the last two years with this boy against both my children and have gotten no response.”

The parents claim they have reported the problems to the school and to the district multiple times. The story indicates the school did not respond until last week when the bully was pulled from class.  Parents say the school hasn’t followed discipline guidelines and they have taken their concerns to the Nebraska state Department of Education, the police and to their attorneys.

Nebraska’s State Anti-Bullying Law (LB 205) was approved in February 2008 and defined bullying as “any ongoing pattern of physical, verbal, or electronic abuse on school grounds, in a vehicle owned, leased, or contracted by a school being used for a school purpose by a school employee or his or her designee, or at school-sponsored activities or school-sponsored athletic events.”  All Nebraska school districts were required to develop and adopt a policy concerning bullying prevention and education for all students on or before July 1, 2009. 

Bullying has become one of the most serious issues students, parents, teachers and administrators face in schools.  A school policy on preventing bullying is not enough as students can still experience bullying in the hallways, on the bus, after school and even outside of school as cyber-bullying via social networking sites, text-messaging, etc. continues to increase.  

A recent article stated, “Sometimes it is the status quo of a group and often bullying happens because students let it.  People don’t talk about it or say stop. These bystanders usually don’t say anything.” 

So why don’t people say anything?  Lessons learned show that students do not trust the school policy or the program will be followed and do not feel their confidentiality will be protected if they come forward.

It is critical for administrators, teachers, parents and students to encourage victims and bystanders to report bullying and it is just as important for schools to consistently respond to all incidents to ensure the program is not just a piece of paper in a binder or on a bulletin board.

How are you inspiring bystanders to become heroes within your schools?