What is a bully?

A bully is an overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimates smaller or weaker people.  Most bullying behavior is an abuse of personal power and a desire to intimidate and dominate others.  Bullying comes in various forms.  Physical bullying is any form of violence or threats, including pushing, kicking, hitting, pinching, etc.  Verbal bullying consists of name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumors and persistent teasing.  Emotional bullying is the excluding, tormenting, ridiculing and/or humiliating of peers.   

Research indicates that there is a direct relationship between peer violence/bullying and future battering behavior (Brengdon, 2000).  In response to this, we developed the Bully Prevention Project as part of our educational services. 

The effects bullying has in our community are overwhelming.

  • Over 5.7 million U.S. teens report that they have in someway been involved whether as a bully, the target of a bully, or both.  (Nansel, 2001)

  • 60% of boys who were bullies in middle school had at least oe criminal conviction by age 24.  (Olwens, 1993)

  • Both victims and bullies are more likely to skip school or drop out of school than those not affected by peer violence. (Nalsen, 2003)

Bully Prevention

When schools implement a comprehensive bully prevention program, the problem of bullying is significantly reduced (Shore, 2005).  Since the prevalence of bullying occurs among younger teens (Nansel, 2001), the Bully Prevention Project activities targets fourth through eighth-grade students.  The Bully Prevention Project uses three interconnected activity components to maximize the effectiveness of the program.  In 2005, SafeHaven partnered with 18 school districts to provide educational services to students, parents and educators. These activity components of this ongoing project are described as follows:

  • PALS provides classroom presentations to third through eighth grade students.  The program lasts from forty-five minutes to an hour-and-a-half (depending on the time that is made available by the school).  PALS topics include: the dynamics of bullying and its place in the cycle of violence; identification of bullying behavior; how to seek help in appropriate ways; specific actions aimed at reducing victim isolation.  The presentation also includes a video entitled “Gum In My Hair”. 

  • Bully Beware is a one-and-one-half hour companion workshop for parents.  The information presented increases parental awareness of the definition and statistics regarding the prevalence of peer abuse; increases knowledge of the consequences of peer abuse; and provides specific actions parents can take to help their child avoid being a victim or a bully.

  • Bully Proof Your School is a seminar provided to educators and other school personnel to teach prevention and intervention strategies for dealing with school violence.  This training increases awareness of the link between bullying and domestic violence, other high-risk behaviors and student school performance.  A forty-five minute video is part of the curriculum focusing on the effects of family violence on children and how children grow up to become either a victim or a perpetrator.  Strategies are presented to enable school personnel to implement anti-bullying programs in the classroom; develop school-wide initiatives; and lower student vulnerability.

  • Alternatives to Violence is a new 4-week program for middle school students designed to help them gain the social and critical thinking skills they need to be violence-free.  Sessions are interactive and include discussions about developing effective communication, understanding conflict resolution, learning empathy, and cultivating self-esteem.  These and other topics are critical to a youth’s social and intellectual development.  Participating in the Alternatives to Violence program will give youth the skills necessary to avoid abusive behavior, either as the victim or the aggressor.

 The Bully Prevention Program provides the community with valuable education which helps individuals to recognize and reduce peer abuse and bullying.  For more information about SafeHaven's Education Services, contact Penni Guerrero at 817-535-6462 ext. 111 or via email at pguerrero@safehaventc.org.

 

 
 

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