Bullying: Part 2 And 3
by Anna Donaldson
CBS 42 News
2007-11-23 10:05:00.0
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Many students are bullied in life for years and are pushed to the point to lash out in violence.
"The fact is it's in every school. Every school, no matter how small."
Dr. Allan Beane says bullying is expanding in schools. Even worse, the victims are getting hit even harder with physical and verbal abuse.
"Some kids get as many as 30 verbal put downs a day. Can you imagine what that is like being verbally put down 30 times a day," said Beane.
Martha Spina, the guidance counselor at the alternative school in Shelby County, says she sees the problem growing on a daily basis.
"Our numbers are increasing consistently, and a lot of students here are here for bullying or related incidents," said Spina.
Bullying is no longer limited to fighting on the playground or calling names. Spina says it has expanded into many different forms, such as, “racial bullying, sexual bullying, cyber bullying."
Cyber bullying is especially evident on sites like myspace and Facebook. Just last month, a 15 year old Florida girl allegedly invited another girl to her house for a slumber party and then beat her as her friends taped it. That video was posted on myspace. The teens face assault and kidnapping charges.
The problem is also spreading to kids of young age, even to toddlers and pre-schoolers.
"One parent told me a boy walked up behind their daughter who was four years old and grabbed her hair and shoved her face in the desk," said Beane.
Bullying has gotten so intense, some victims push back to the point of retaliation.
"We know that 75% of all the school shootings we've had in our country were boys who were bullied," said Beane.
Those who retaliated at Columbine High School in Colorado and Heath High School in Paducah, Kentucky were students who encountered intense bullying.
"There are kids thinking about retaliating right now. I meet them," said Beane.
Trying to curb the problem
"We as educators are charged with providing a safe environment for all of our children," said Spina.
Spina says the Shelby County School System has taken big steps in fighting against bullying.
"Just in recent years it has been added in our code of conduct as a specific offense for which there are specific consequences," said Spina.
But what else can schools do to stop the problem?
"I think where schools can help is cut out when they walk between classes cut this time out, so the kids didn't have as much unstructured free time," said UAB Psychologist Vivian Friedman.
At Cherokee Bend Elementary in Mountain Brook, the Fair Oaks Adventure Curriculum, or FOAC, was developed ten years ago specifically to guard against bullying. The activities include ropes courses and other problem solving challenges.
At the end of each period, Rick Hedrick moderates an open forum among the students. He says it's productive.
"Someone gave somebody a bad glance or someone got excluded from an activity, a put down or name calling. It's going to be dealt with right away," said Hedrick.
Meanwhile, recently in Shelby County, Dr. Beane promoted his 17 step program which has been implemented in school districts across the country.
"There are strategies to be used by the teachers and promote a sense of belonging in the kids. So it’s not only curriculum, it's strategies as well," said Beane.
Dr. Beane says school must be consistent to win the war against bullying.
"It's has to become a way of living. It isn't a program you do in one month. You don't have bully free month. It has to become something you live each day," said Beane.
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