According to noted bullying expert Dan Olweus, bullying is an accumulation of negative actions -- including threats, physical or verbal attacks, and social exclusion -- directed toward one person by another person of greater strength or power. The repercussions of classroom bullying are rarely limited to its victims and perpetrators, however. Students in classrooms with serious unaddressed bullying problems report feeling less safe and less satisfied with school and, over time, are likely to become more aggressive as well. Bullying, Olweus says, affects the social climate -- and learning environment -- of the entire classroom.
Set the right tone in your classroom this year by making it clear to students that bullying -- or harassment of any kind -- will not be tolerated.
Learn More About How to Prevent Bullying
Education World has published many articles on dealing with bullies and their victims and on preventing bullying in your classroom or school. Read the following articles to learn more.
Dealing with Bullies
Bullying can create a climate of fear and anxiety in a school, distracting students from their schoolwork and impeding their ability to learn. Dr. Ken Shore describes strategies educators can use to deal with bullying -- and to prevent it.
Bullying Intervention Strategies That Work
"Bullying," according to noted expert Dan Olweus, "poisons the educational environment and affects the learning of every child." Learn what you can do to keep bullying behavior from poisoning your school.
Sticks and Stones and Names Can Hurt You: De-Myth-tifying the Classroom Bully
Bullies are raised in the home, but their victims are too frequently created in the classroom. Learn how what you believe about bullies can hurt your students. Included: Ten myths about bullies, and the research that helped identify those myths.
Stop Bullying Before It Starts
Bullying is no longer seen as the norm in the school or the community at large, and prevention has become the name of the game. Included: Poor and good solutions to bullying.
Don't Get Even; Get Help: Support for Victims of Bullies
Students in one Canadian school decided to do something about bullying in their school. They created www.bullying.org, a Web site designed to help victims of bullies deal with the problem in nonviolent ways.
Bully-Proof Your School
Recognized as more than just a problem between kids, schools are called upon to put forth a team effort to end bullies' longtime reign of terror.
Stop Bullying Now
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has called on teachers to discuss diversity and tolerance with students. Education World responds with ten activities designed to teach students to respect diversity and resolve ideological differences peacefully.
Using Literature to Teach About Bullying
This lesson plan uses literature to teach students to recognize the different types of bullying, their causes, and ways of dealing with them.
A Child's Plea Becomes an Adult's Crusade
Jodee Blanco talks about her book, Please Stop Laughing at Me... , which details her treatment at the hands of bullies, and her efforts to help schools stop bullying. Included: Tips to prevent bullying and aid bullying victims.
Picture Books Help Kids Handle Anger and Bullying
Education World reviews Bullies and Gangs, The Ant Bully, and When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry... These three new picture books support classroom discussions of anger, bullying, violence, and tolerance.
Taking the Bully By the Horns
All kids know how to recognize bullies -- or do they? Taking the Bully by the Horns, a book by Kathy Noll and Jay Carter, teaches kids how to spot a bully, how to recognize bully "games" --- and how NOT to play.
Bullying
