Even with the upsurge of mandated antibullying programs and continuous increased awareness of the effects of bullying and the need to support those being bullied, schools are faced with a dynamic that is much easier to talk about than implement.  Guidelines suggesting all areas be monitored, no area left unsupervised and increased teacher and staff visibility sound great, but the reality is questionable as limited staff and funding challenges the knowledge of what should be done.

Perhaps the better option resides not in increased visibility but in increased support networks.  (1) Principals and supervisors may want to examine the possibilities of combining forces with administration, teachers, staff and organizations as Student Council, Beta Club, Honor Society, soccer team, music clubs, PTO etc… to create task forces that take on the challenges of bullying prevention and assisting those who have been victimized.

Students and staff can work together to provide “tattle-tale squads” that immediately report to administration all witnessing of bullying and suspicions that bullying may occur. (The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development advocates the “Be a Tattletale Approach”.) (2) These task force students and teachers then work together with the bullied student to change mindsets and provide 24 hour support to the victim. Those bullied at school have high probability that they will also be bullied on social media; therefore, task force peers are readily available to text, tweet and/or Instagram encouragement to the victim.  Task Forces need to concentrate on three self-actualization areas:

Support Training for the bullied should include working toward changing the mindset of the victim through repetitive teachings as:

1. DO NOT GIVE YOUR POWER AWAY.
2. YOUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH IS INSIDE YOU.
3. NEVER LET ANYONE FRIGHTEN YOU INTO MAKING ANY DECISION.
4. BULLIES OPERATE FROM WEAK CHOICES; MAKE STRONG CHOICES FOR YOURSELF IN ORDER TO AVOID THE CONSEQUENCES OF WEAK CHOICES FROM OTHERS.
5. REMEMBER YOU WILL EXPERIENCE AS MUCH PAIN AS YOU ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT.
6. DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU NEED FIXED PHYSICALLY, DYNAMICALLY OR EMOTIONALLY.  YOU ARE NOT BROKEN!   (3)

Concurrently with the Support Training is the Action Training to include:

1. IF BULLIED, STAND STRAIGHT, GIVE EYE CONTACT AND MAINTAIN DISAPPROVAL IN NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION.
2. TELL SOMEONE OF AUTHORITY IMMEDIATELY, NOT 2 DAYS LATER, BUT ONE MINUTE LATER.
3. REQUEST ADULT INTERACTION IMMEDIATLEY TO AVOID REPEAT TACTICS.
4. TAKE ADVISE ONLY FROM THOSE TRAINED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE.
5. WHEN POSSIBLE, AVOID REACTING. PAUSE; THINK; MAKE WISE CHOICES.
6. DO NOT RESPOND TO BULLIES IN PERSON OR ON LINE OR PHONE.   (4)
7. DON’T WALK ALONE. AVOID PLACES WHERE BULLYING OCCURS.
8. DO NOT BRING VALUABLES TO SCHOOL.
9. KEEP SERIAL NUMBERS OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN A SAFE PLACE AND PERMANENTLY LABEL ALL PERSONAL ITEMS.
10. IF PHYSICALLY INJURED, HAVE AN ADMINISTRATOR CALL THE POLICE. PHYSICAL ABUSE IS A CRIME.

The final phase of a Bullying Support Task Force is the Follow-Up. Keep in mind the succeeding:

1. FOLLOW-UP; FOLLOW-UP; FOLLOW-UP!  The Task Force should monitor and record all signs of bullying behavior or behavior that promotes bullying to provide documented behaviors and work toward prevention.
2. BRING THE VICTIM INTO THE SOLUTION. ASK THE VICTIM WHAT HE/SHE WOULD LIKE TO SEE. (5)
3. KEEP OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION WITH VICTIMS.
4. CONSIDER TRAINING VICTIMS TO BECOME ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE TASK FORCE.

Remember Intervention is the best Prevention. For assistance and ideas in developing and implementing Anti-Bullying Task Forces, contact All In Generation at www.allingen.com

1. National Association of School Psychologists; “Bullying Prevention:What Schools and Parents Can Do”;www.lebanonct.org/district/ims/support_services/nasp/bullying.html.
2. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development;”Dealing with Bullying: What Teens and Kids Can Do”; Robert Segal, MA and Jeanne Segal, PhD; www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/dealingwithbullying.html; update April 2017.
3. Why Your Life Sucks; Alan H. Cohen; Bantom Dell; 2002.
4. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development…
5. Florida Department of Education; www.fldoe.org/schools/safe-healthy-scshools/bullying-prevention.stml “Bullying Prevention”.

Bullying is not the only problem in schools. In fact, it is difficult to address bullying effectively sometimes because it is one of an endless list of problems that might range from academic struggles within a school, faculty morale, attendance, pressures from stakeholders outside the school building, and countless other issues.

The problem with trying to address every problem at once is that efforts can become diluted and resources can be stretched thin. It is difficult if not impossible to try to focus on everything at once. There is an interesting effect that comes with addressing bullying within a school in an effective manner. Often times, when one problem is impacted greatly by an effort, there is a peripheral effect that reaches into other issues connected to that original problem in ways we never saw. By focusing on bullying and making a difference there, other things will be fixed too.

By impacting the lives of bullies and their victims in a way that changes behavior and outlook, many more things are changed within a school. Referrals will drop which frees administrative time to address other issues. Attendance may improve which then benefits other aspects of the school report card. Better behavior in the building increases teacher effectiveness and morale. A significant impact on a bullying problem within a school can have far reaching and lasting effects.

Sometimes we feel paralyzed to act because we see every problem at once and don’t know where to begin. Whether we are helping one student or an entire school, it is good to begin with one thing. Solving one problem effectively can have a lasting impact on so many things at once. I have looked at the scale of the problems facing this generation and I have chosen bullying as the one problem to solve that changes so much more around it.

Don’t be overwhelmed. Don’t feel like you are facing this alone. Use the resources available from ALL IN GEN to help you deal with bullying in your school.

Students are the first line of contact when it comes to encountering bullying behavior. If students can be educated and empowered to make the right choices, it will make a huge difference in dealing with bullying within a school. There are some simple steps that can be employed by students to help the adult authority deal with bullying to help protect the victims and the school from violence involved with bullying behavior.

Check with the target and see if they need help.
The one thing you don’t want to do with bullying is face it alone. It is important to check in with the target after it is safe to do so to be sure that anything severe is dealt with immediately, but also to let the person know they are seen and respected. It could save a life.

Send for authoritative help. Tell an adult.
Do not keep bullying a secret. This empowers the bad behavior, hurts everyone, and prevents adults in a position to help from being able to do so. Involve adults. Schools are full of trusted adults who care and they will intervene if given the knowledge of the problem and the opportunity to do so.

Confront the harasser.
This does not mean answering violence for violence. Confronting the harasser does not require a fight. It does not have to be done alone. It can be as simple as calling out the behavior as wrong to let everyone including bystanders know that this is not okay and it is seen. Other students will be empowered when they see one student take a verbal stand to defend a fellow student.

Distract the harasser.
This does not have to be complicated. The goal is to take the attention off of the target. The more divided a harasser’s attention is, the less likely the behavior is to continue in that moment. It saves the target anymore embarrassment and buys time to check in with the target and to involve an adult before another incident occurs.

Protecting students from harm is everyone’s responsibility and we can do it together if we know what to do. We would not be in this profession if the well-being of the students was not important to us.

Make the students, teachers, and administration a team when it comes to preventing bullying. With all these groups on the same page and educated on the right things to do, a lot can be accomplished within a school.

Violence is an epidemic in our country and our schools and it is an issue that has lasting impacts on young people throughout their lives whether they are the perpetrators of violence or the victims. As studies bear out, violent experiences often lead to more violent behavior. So, seeking to reduce violence in a school environment is important because it is part of an effort to break an ongoing chain of violence through many lives.

Violence is often witnessed in the school setting through bullying. The intimidation and power dynamics of bullying are part of a larger trend that can include criminal activity and destruction outside the school and in the future.

Bullying and other violent behavior arises from an improper mindset. Many factors contribute to this mindset including media observed and experiences from home. This mindset also includes a low view of one’s self and others. It is built off of a sense powerlessness and a struggle for power and meaning.

This mindset can be changed through engaging students with the modes of communication that speak to them. A message that counters this mindset and empowers students to make better choices can effect change which turns students away from the choices of violence.

Mindset is everything. We create our destiny through mindset. This is true for individual students and leadership within a school. Do not feel defeated. Use the resources ALL IN GEN provides in order change the destiny of your school by changing the mindset of the individual students now.