CBS Airs Program on Anti-Bullying Effort In North Providence School

http://www.cbsnews.com/2718-18559_162-1249.html

Cyberbully on ABC Family

Cyberbully

Cyberbully follows Taylor Hillridge (Emily Osment), a teenage girl who falls victim to online bullying, and the cost it takes on her as well as her friends and family. Taylor is a pretty seventeen-year-old student dealing with her parents' recent divorce and painfully aware of her lower social status in high school. When her mom gives her a computer for her birthday, Taylor is excited by the prospect of going online to meet new friends without her mother always looking over her shoulder. However, Taylor soon finds herself the victim of betrayal and bullying while visiting a popular social website. Obsessed with the damaging posts, she begins to withdraw from her family and friends, including her life-long best friend, Samantha Caldone (Kay Panabaker). Tormented and afraid to face her peers at school, Taylor is pushed to an extreme breaking point. It is only after this life-changing event that Taylor learns that she is not alone – meeting other teens, including a classmate, who have had similar experiences. Taylor's mom, Kris (Kelly Rowan), reels from the incident and takes on the school system and state legislation to help prevent others from going through the same harrowing ordeal as her daughter.
© ABC Family

http://abcfamily.go.com/watch/abc-family-movies/SH55106935/VD55138824/cyberbully?adsales_q4fy11_secretmean_cbmovie_showhero

Ways for Kids to Prevent Bullying

http://www.stopbullying.gov/teens/being_bullied/index.html

Bullying State Law in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

Bullying/Harassment
H1067 (2008) requires each school to adopt or amend an existing policy on bullying and incorporate it into the school code of conduct. Bullying is defined as an intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act or series of acts directed at another student or students which occurs in a school setting. The act is severe, persistent or pervasive and has the effect of substantially interfering with a students education, creating a threatening environment, or substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school. "School setting" is defined as the school, school grounds, in school vehicles, at a school bus stop, or any activity sponsored, supervised or sanctioned by the school.

The policy must delineate disciplinary consequences for bullying and may provide prevention, intervention and education programs. A school may define bullying in such a way as to encompass acts that occur outside of a school setting if they meet the definitions of bullying outlined in the statute. The policy must identify the appropriate school staff person to receive reports of incidents of alleged bullying and must be posted on the school's website and in every classroom, if possible.

Cyber Bullying
H1067 (2008) includes an "intentional electronic act" in its definition of bullying in the school setting and requires each school to adopt or amend an existing policy on bullying and incorporate it into the school code of conduct.

Hazing
No state policy addressing elementary or secondary schools.

Source: National Association of State Boards of Education
Last Updated: 4/6/2009

Bullying Statistics

Go to http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/ to find out more about statistics on bullying

Ways for Parents to Prevent Bullying

http://www.parentfurther.com/resources/enewsletter/archive/bullying

http://www.newswise.com/articles/bully-busters-six-ways-to-prevent-bullying

How to Respond to an Adult Bully

1. Remember that this is not your fault. If you've been on the receiving end of bullying treatment from an adult for some time it's possible that you will be blaming yourself for how this person has reacted to you. However this is not true. Everyone is responsible for how they choose to treat others. This can be a lot easier said than done. Particularly if the bully has aroused strong feelings of anger in you. However, a reaction such as this will only prove to the bully that he/she has succeeded in getting to you - which is what they want. Bullies feed off negative emotions, because deep down in some way they feel inferior/insecure about themselves and it's only by making others feel bad that they can raise their self esteem. Reacting to a bully in this kind of way is likely to only further encourage and possibly worsen their unwanted behaviour towards you. The adult bully is a coward.

2. See if killing them with kindness helps. This doesn't always work. But in circumstances when you've not long known the bully (such as if for example you've just been introduced to them at work) it can. Often what inspires a bully to be nasty towards others is an assumption that their target is a threat towards them in some way, as well as an experience of a lack of kindness from others throughout their lives. By demonstrating that you don't intend harm towards them and are willing to be friendly, this can encourage more positive responses from them. This might be anything from a friendly good morning 'hello' to an offer of help with something. However, if after trying this 2-3 times they still continue with their behaviour cease this approach. This won't work on every bully, and being nice to them every time they choose to bully you is likely to send the message you are rewarding their behaviour/find it acceptable.

 

3. Try assertive responses against the bully . Examples of this could include assertive body language (looking the bully firmly in the eye while standing straight), an assertive tone of voice (clear and firm without sounding threatening) and assertive choice of words such as "I've recently noticed signs that you are trying to bully me and want this behaviour to stop." That said, choosing an appropriate assertive behaviour will - to a certain extent - be dependent on the specific bullying situation. What might be effective in a work bullying situation might not work so well in a family or cyber bullying situation. See the related wikihow article on being assertive to get a few ideas.

 

4. If all else fails, consider enlisting somebody's help. This might be a trusted colleague or supervisor (if it's a work bullying situation) or a family relative or friend (if it's a family bullying situation. Speaking to your doctor is also an option, if you feel the situation is heavily impacting upon your physical and/or mental health.

 

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Respond-to-an-Adult-Bully 

Ways to Help Kids Deal With Bullying

http://ezinearticles.com/?3-Effective-Ways-to-Deal-With-School-Bullying&id=4863636

http://kidshealth.org/kid/grow/school_stuff/bullies.html

http://us.norton.com/familyresources/resources.jsp?title=ar_deal_with_cyberbullies

What Effects Can Bullying Have On A Person

http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/00117/bullyingconsequences.html 

http://www.k12academics.com/articles/psychological-effects-bullying-last-lifetime

http://www.business2community.com/health-wellness/bullying-lasting-psychological-effects-on-the-brain-during-its-most-formative-years-020331

Signs of Bullying

Recognizing the Warning Signs

There are many warning signs that could indicate that someone is involved in bullying, either by bullying others or by being bullied.  However, these warning signs may indicate other issues or problems, as well.  If you are a parent or educator, learn more about talking to someone about bullying.

Being Bullied

• Comes home with damaged or missing clothing or other belongings
• Reports losing items such as books, electronics, clothing, or jewelry
• Has unexplained injuries
• Complains frequently of headaches, stomachaches, or feeling sick
• Has trouble sleeping or has frequent bad dreams
• Has changes in eating habits
• Hurts themselves
• Are very hungry after school from not eating their lunch
• Runs away from home
• Loses interest in visiting or talking with friends
• Is afraid of going to school or other activities with peers
• Loses interest in school work or begins to do poorly in school
• Appears sad, moody, angry, anxious or depressed when they come home
• Talks about suicide
• Feels helpless
• Often feels like they are not good enough
• Blames themselves for their problems
• Suddenly has fewer friends
• Avoids certain places
• Acts differently than usual

Bullying Others

• Becomes violent with others
• Gets into physical or verbal  fights with others
• Gets sent to the principal’s office or detention a lot
• Has extra money or new belongings that cannot be explained
• Is quick to blame others
• Will not accept responsibility for their actions
• Has friends who bully others
• Needs to win or be best at everything

 http://www.stopbullying.gov/topics/warning_signs/

Different Types of Bullying

1) Physical: hitting, kicking, pinching, punching, scratching, spitting or any other form of physical attack. Damage to or taking someone elses belongings may also constitute as physical bullying. 

2) Verbal: Name-calling, insulting, making racist, sexist or homophobic jokes, remarks or teasing, using sexually suggestive or abusive language, offensive remarks. This is the most common form of bullying. 

3) Cyber: any type of bullying that is carried out by electronic medium such as :

1. Text message bullying
2. Picture/video clip bullying via mobile phone cameras
3. Phone call bullying via mobile phones
4. E-mail bullying
5. Chat-room bullying
6. Bullying through Instant Messaging 
7. Bullying via websites

4) Emotional: spreading nasty stories about someone, exclusion from social groups, being made the subject of malicious rumors.

http://www.schools.norfolk.gov.uk/index.cfm?s=1&m=1096&p=1263,page&id=548

What is Bullying?

Bullying is a widespread and serious problem that can happen anywhere.  It is not a phase children have to go through, it is not "just messing around", and it is not something to grow out of.  Bullying can cause serious and lasting harm.
Although definitions of bullying vary, most agree that bullying involves:

• Imbalance of Power: people who bully use their power to control or harm and the people being bullied may have a hard time defending themselves
• Intent to Cause Harm: actions done by accident are not bullying; the person bullying has a goal to cause harm
• Repetition: incidents of bullying happen to the same the person over and over by the same person or group