Safe and Caring Schools

By Susan Grinder

Opening Song

Don't Laugh at MeBy: Mark Wills

What is bullying?

• It is one-sided (bad behavior does not go back and forth)

• Involves a power imbalance (older against younger, group towards individual, popular versus less popular)

• Repetitive/ongoing• Intention to hurt

Types of Bullying

• Physical (hitting, kicking, destroying property)• Verbal (name-calling, rumors, gossip, threats)• Social (leaving someone out, mean texts, dirty

looks)

Why do people bully?

• The bullies have problems; something is bothering them

• Someone has bullied them in the past• Because they can! (No one reported the bad

behavior)• Poor choices were modeled by others• They are unable to handle stress or anxiety• To gain power

What role do you play?Are you a bully, target or bystander?

• Bully: Intentionally and repeatedly hurting others

• Target: Being humiliated, hurt, left out (over and over)

• Passive bystander: Seeing bullying behavior and doing nothing to stop it

• Active bystander: Standing up for a person who is being treated badly

What can we do?

• Try not to take it personally (stay calm)• Be kind, compassionate and polite• Report the bad behavior• Ask: “What’s wrong?”• Use words to say:– How we feel – What we do not like – Please stop– What we will do to be safe

Role Plays

Scenario: Someone has been refusing to let you play at recess (this has gone on many times)

1) When you ____________________________2) I feel ________________________________3) I need _______________________________4) If this doesn't’t stop, I will have to __________

Key Points

• We want to help ourselves, our friends, our community and the person engaging in bullying behavior

• By being silent, we help no one• We can report to: parents, teachers,

educational assistants, school counsellor, principal, vice principal, supervisors, bus drivers, etc.

• We can help ourselves by being assertive

Time for Reflection

• http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/329735