addressing bullying behavior transcript - sanford …...bullying at the beginning of the year. they...

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Copyright © 2017 Arizona Board of Regents, All rights reserved SanfordInspireProgram.org

For a complete list of references, refer to the On-Demand Module ‘Addressing Bullying Behavior.’

Addressing Bullying Behavior

Transcript

Chapter 1: Introduction

Module Purpose

Transcript:

Bullying exists in many of our schools and most teachers view it as a problem that needs to be addressed quickly and effectively.

When it comes to bullying, we don’t always know the best way to intervene, or what can be done to make sure it does not happen again. That is the purpose of this module. We will learn how to effectively address bullying and help all students involved learn and grow.

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Learn More About Bullying

Transcript:

Before we learn how to address bullying, it is important that we understand what bullying is and how it differs from other acts of aggression.

Being able to identify the presence of bullying is the first step in addressing it. Both bullies and victims try to

hide the fact that bullying is taking place, so it is important to know the signs. If you have not gone through the

Recognizing Bullying Behavior module click on the button provided to learn a little more about bullying and how

to identify it. If you have already viewed this module, press the proceed button.

Defining Bullying

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Transcript:

Being identified as a bully in the world today can carry heavy consequences. It is not a title we want to toss

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around lightly, so it is important to understand what is, and what is not bullying.

We can define bullying as “the process of establishing and maintaining social dominance through overt aggression” (Crothers, 2004, p.496).

One of the first individuals to research bullying, Dan Olweus, identified three essential criteria for determining if a pattern of behaviors constitute bullying. They include: intentionality, repetition, and power imbalance (Crothers & Levinson, 2004, p.496).

Three Steps

Transcript:

There are three steps involved in effectively addressing bullying: intervening when you discover bullying is

taking place, resolving the problem with the victims and bullies, and transforming the behaviors and attitudes of

all those affected by the bullying.

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Chapter 2: Intervention

Overview

Transcript:

The first step for addressing bullying is intervening when you find out it is taking place. If you discover that

bullying is taking place, it is important to act quickly, investigate the situation, and seek help. This is true if you

see bullying happening with your own eyes, or if a victim of bullying comes to you for help.

Act Quickly

Transcript:

Richard Hazler, author of Breaking the Cycle of Violence, states, “Conveying the moral commitment through your actions to fight injustice is more important than making the perfect response” (Hazler, 1996, p.149).

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Acting quickly does not mean you must resolve a bullying situation immediately or by yourself. What it does

mean is that you quickly remove the victim from any unsafe environment, and prioritize addressing the problem.

Investigate

Transcript:

After ensuring that the victim is safe, take time to investigate.

It’s important not to jump to conclusions or dish out consequences based on circumstantial evidence or

hearsay. Take time to talk to the victim, the students who took part in the bullying, and student bystanders to

gather as much information as possible before taking any further action.

Seek Help

Transcript:

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After getting the facts, you will want to inform your administrator of what is going on, contact parents, and seek help from colleagues.

Present the facts to your supervisor and seek guidance for next steps. You should not feel like you have to handle bullying on your own. Victims and bullies need extensive guidance and support to change their mindsets and develop necessary prosocial skills, such as anger management and cooperating with others. Teachers are not always trained to provide this guidance on their own.

After speaking with your supervisor, you will want to contact the parents of the students involved. Let the parents know that you are working to resolve the issue and taking action to help the victim and the students who bullied. Answer any questions parents may have, and make yourself available for contact in the future. Do not make any promises you are not positive you can keep. For example, don’t tell parents that you guarantee their child will never be bullied again.

Once the school administration and parents have been informed of the situation, seek assistance from other

teachers, guidance counselors, and support staff. These individuals may know the students involved, and may

have experience addressing similar situations.

Check for Understanding

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Transcript:

Let's practice addressing a bullying situation with what we have learned so far. You have just discovered a student of yours, Caden, is being bullied. Here a set of steps he could take to address the issue. Place these action steps in the proper chronological order. Click proceed when you are ready to move on.

Chapter 3: Resolution

Approaches

Transcript:

Once you have taken the initial steps (acting quickly, investigating the situation, and seeking help) it is time to resolve the problem at hand. Before taking any action, make sure you check to see if there is already an anti-bullying policy in place at your school. If there is a policy in place, be sure to follow the procedure for that program.

Dealing with students who bully can be a tricky matter. If you just issue punishments, there is a chance that the perpetrator’s anger will increase and more bullying will occur. If you issue no consequences, the students who bully may feel that you think their behavior is okay.

There is no magic solution for bullying, but there are research-based interventions you can perform to support all of the students involved. We are going to look at three approaches for dealing with bullying: the moralistic approach, legalistic approach, and humanistic approach. Each one has some merits and drawbacks.

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Moralistic Approach

Transcript:

In the moralistic approach students who bully are convinced to change their behavior because their actions go against the school’s moral code. This approach only works when the school or teacher already has a moral code in place, and the students know what it is and have bought into it. The teacher works with the bully to help him align his values to that of the school. It should be made clear that other students honor and adhere to these values willingly. Schools that use the moralistic approach often require students to write an apology letter to the victim explaining why their actions were wrong. This can only be effective if the bully actually comes to believe that his actions were wrong. Although the moralistic approach can be effective, it does not always address the needs of the students who do the bullying. These students are pressured to adhere to the moral code of the school, but there is little attempt by the teacher to address the underlying causes of the bullying behavior (Rigby, 2007).

Legalistic Approach

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Transcript:

In the legalistic approach, teachers and/or schools have in place a set of rules students are expected to follow, and sanctions in case these rules are broken. Teachers using this approach teach about the potential harms of bullying at the beginning of the year. They then get students to buy into the sanctions for bullying as a necessary form of accountability. The sanctions can vary based on the severity of the bullying (Rigby, 2007).

Although this method can be effective in deterring students from taking part in bullying, it may do little to rehabilitate the bully. There may be a reoccurrence if the perpetrator feels that he or she can get away with it without being caught.

Humanistic Approach

Transcript:

The humanistic approach looks at the bullying student not as an evil-doer who needs to be punished, but as a misguided student who needs help as much as the victim. These students are people who deserve to be listened to and understood.

In this approach, teachers do not lecture the bullying student about how his or her actions were wrong. Instead, the teacher has a conversation with the student about his actions, and helps him come to the conclusion of wrongdoing on his own. Questions are asked, such as:

Why do you think you did what you did?

How do you think that made the victim feel?

How would you feel in that situation?

How can we work together to resolve the problem?

Using this approach will take time. You should not expect to make a breakthrough with the bully after meeting

with him or her only once (Rigby, 1996).

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Chapter 4: Transformation

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Transcript:

To prevent future instances of bullying, it is important to help victims, bullies, and bystanders develop their social skills. Victims may need help with self-esteem and standing up for themselves. On the other hand, students who bully may need to learn that they can build and sustain a friend base without harassing physically- or socially-weaker students. Click on each graphic to learn specific strategies to help develop the social skills of all of your students.

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Chapter 5: Example and Practice

Introduction

Transcript:

Meet Ms. Hahne, an experienced middle school ESL teacher. One day during class she noticed a group of boys picking on a student who recently moved to the United States from the Middle East. This is not the first time Ms. Hahne has seen these boys picking on the new student. Click on the image of Ms. Hahne to hear her explain what she saw in her classroom.

Video

Transcript:

Ms. Hahne: We were finishing up our lesson. There was about three minutes left before the bell. I allowed the students to pack up all their books and everything. And the students stood up… It was a group of about three boys and they started to make fun of the other boy. They were even kind of chicken-chesting him a little bit.

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Kind of pushing him and just teasing him. I could see that the other boy was very uncomfortable with the situation in my classroom.

Why is it bullying?

Transcript:

If you would like to hear why this scenario meets the criteria for bullying, press the button provided. If you would like to move on press the proceed button.

Learn More

Transcript:

In this scenario there most likely is intentionality. Ms. Hahne states that she can tell the victim was uncomfortable with what the other students were doing. If Ms. Hahne could tell that the victim was uncomfortable, then most likely the aggressive students also knew their words and actions were hurtful.

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Ms. Hahne has seen these boys pick on this student before in her class. This proves that there has been repetition.

There is a clear power imbalance. Three boys corner and pick on one student. He is outnumbered and feels defenseless. Although she does not yet know if this was an act of bullying, it is important for the teacher to respond to any act of student aggression.

Intervention

Transcript:

Take a moment and think about how you might have intervened when noticing this bullying taking place. What would you do in the moment? Remember that it’s important to act quickly, investigate the situation, and seek help. When you are ready to hear how Ms. Hahne responded to the situation, click on her image.

Video

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Transcript:

Ms. Hahne: “As soon as I saw this situation happening in my classroom I asked all of the students to sit down. I’ve dealt with these situations before. And then I spoke to the boys that were bothering the victim and asked them what their problem was. Why were they bothering him? The boys responded, ‘Oh we were just having fun with him.’ But it was obvious that the victim was not happy. So, I used that opportunity in the classroom to talk about why some kids bully other kids.”

Debrief

Transcript:

Ms. Hahne acts quickly by having all students in the class take their seats. This action stops the bullying from happening and provides immediate safety for the victim, without making other students aware of the bullying taking place.

Since Ms. Hahne saw the aggression occurring, she did not feel the need to go into a deep investigation. She quickly asked the aggressive students why they were harassing the victim.

Ms. Hahne did not seek help. She is an experienced teacher and states that she has dealt with similar problems in the past. She felt comfortable handling the bullying on her own.

Remember, if you are a new or inexperienced teacher, or have not had to deal with bullying in the past, it is important to seek help from other professionals.

Ms. Hahne’s strategy for dealing with the bullying is not the only way to address the problem. If you feel uncomfortable with bringing up the topic of bullying with the whole class in the moment, you could instead just speak to the bullies. After discussing the matter with other professionals and creating a plan, you could then address the class about the issue.

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Resolution

Transcript:

There are a variety of approaches you can take to resolve a bullying situation. Do what makes the most sense for your style, the students in your class, and the management structure in place at your school. Click on the image of Ms. Hahne to hear how she resolved the situation.

Video

Transcript:

Ms. Hahne: “They talk about teachable moments. So, I took this as a teachable moment in my classroom. We discussed why some students bully other students. Usually it’s because they feel bad about themselves. Other students were able to participate in the discussion, and we said, ‘Well if you’re bullying this kid, the victim, it is usually because you have a problem with yourself and you feel bad about something with you.’ It worked out great because then students started kind of policing each other. And, so if they would see someone making fun of another student or bullying another student then they would say, ‘Hey, what’s your issue? Why are you bothering this student?’ I think if the situation would have… I know if the situation would have escalated, then I

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would have needed to refer them to the office and spoke with our dean about the situation and got help from other people.”

Check for Understanding

Transcript:

(no audio)

Feedback

Transcript:

Ms. Hahne uses a humanistic approach to address bullying. Instead of punishing the bullying students she works with them to help them better understand their motives and actions. Ms. Hahne mentions that most of the talking during her class discussion was done by the students. She does not lecture the students on the harms of bullying, but lets the students discuss its harmful effects among themselves.

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Transformation

Transcript:

Ms. Hahne followed up with the victim and bullying students a few weeks after the occurrence to make sure that the bullying had stopped. Ms. Hahne could have also chosen to work closely with the students to help them develop more prosocial behaviors.

As a final consideration, it’s important to reflect on how you handled the bullying once it has ceased. Take time to consider what went well and what you could do differently. Click on the image of Ms. Hahne to hear her explain her thoughts and reflections on how she handled the scenario.

Video

Transcript:

Ms. Hahne: “I chose to handle this situation the way I did because I don’t think when you do a zero-tolerance policy students learn from that. They learn from discussions, from talking about maybe the reasons for bullying, and helping them empathize with the victim. Understanding when this happens to you, how do you feel? So, realize what you’re doing is affecting this other person in this way negatively.”

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Conclusion

Transcript:

To effectively address bullying it is important to: intervene in a timely fashion; resolve the issue to establish a positive relationship between students who bully and their victims; and help the students involved demonstrate more prosocial behaviors.

addressing bullying behavior transcript - sanford …...bullying at the beginning of the year. they...

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