Teachers and Bullies

A Teacher's Guide for Dealing with Bullies

He is walking home alone from school when a taller, stronger boy from his class approaches. The bigger boy calls him a geek, and demands money as other classmates form a circle in case the smaller boy wants to fight it out. The smaller boy opens his backpack and hands over his allowance as the others laugh and taunt him. “Bring more tomorrow,” the bully demands.

In a survey by Dr. Debra Pepler at York University, only 23% of students agree that teachers “usually or almost always intervene” when bullies attack, compared to 71% of teachers. Teachers think they’re on top of the problem – kids think teachers are clueless. The reason is most bullying does not happen in the classroom.

Bullies tend to operate in bathrooms, on bus stops, on the playground and in the lunchrooms – anywhere they won’t be caught. Dr. Dan Olweus, the foremost expert on bullying, says the problem belongs to school administrators, not classroom teachers. While teachers can create a caring atmosphere in their classrooms, what works against bullying is a formal, effective school-wide program.

Victims of bullies tend to keep quiet about their problem out of fear, but they desperately need adult intervention from their parents, teachers and monitors. Children can’t handle bullying alone—adults must take care of it--even on the high school level.

All fifty states have signed “zero tolerance” programs against bullying, guns, and other serious infractions, but most experts believe these programs are not working. Zero tolerance eliminates common sense and leaves the school more open to lawsuits.

Dr. Olweus designed a national anti-bullying program after three victims of bullying committed suicide in Norway. After his program cut incidents in half, it spread to Germany, Sweden and other parts of Europe. Elements of Dr. Olweus’s program include: measuring bullying through questionnaires, hiring a bullying coordinator, monitoring lunchrooms, bathrooms, corridors and playgrounds, and solving the problem through consistent intervention on both the classroom and individual level. Learn more about the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.

There are life and death consequences when a school ignores its bullies. Harvard sociologist Katherine Newman analyzed the school settings where students went on shooting sprees. Often there was a tolerance for cruel social structures that allow popular children to exclude and marginalize others. The social outcasts sent out many missed signals to their teachers and counselors.

In one such case, a teacher witnessed a student stomping a fish to death in biology class. A counselor knew that the same boy had a history of sexual molestation. The school newspaper had printed gossip about him. Other teachers had read very disturbing stories this boy wrote about using guns against people in his school and committing suicide. Twelve students later reported that this boy had warned them that he was ready to shoot up the school. All these things added together might have prevented a tragedy that left three dead and one paralyzed for life.

Newman suggests that school personnel coordinate their knowledge about students, although she acknowledges confidentiality laws may have to be changed to make such coordination possible.

Besides starting a school-wide program, a teacher can look for danger signs that a child is being bullied. The child usually is shy and timid, and often in special education. He or she may frequently miss school because of headaches or stomach aches. There may be torn clothing and physical injuries. He or she may not eat lunch because he has to turn it or his lunch money over to the bully. As the child’s stress increases, his grades may fall.

Many experts on bullying talk about three parties being necessary for bullying. Besides the victim and bully, bystanders are almost always involved. Bullies crave attention and enjoy performing in front of an audience. The challenge for teachers and parents is to turn bystanders into witnesses, perhaps through curriculum. Many bystanders often feel sorry for the victim, but they are afraid that if they speak up, they will become the next victim or lose popularity.

A brave bystander willing to report what he or she saw can make an incredible difference in the life of a bullied child.