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[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"39285","attributes":{"class":"media-image","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","alt":"Jeanne White-Ginder Bullying Prevention Summit"}}]]The State of Indiana is taking steps to address the seriousness of bullying in schools, and today The Children's Museum hosted the Bullying Prevention Summit in support of this effort to prevent bullying. Students had the opportunity to hear a special presentation from Ryan White's mother,Jeanne White-Ginder, and learned ways to handle conflict resolution. Learn how you can make a difference with these takeaways from today's event, courtesy of Tim Nation, Cofounder and Director of Peace Learning Center. Based in Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis, Peace Learning Center partners with schools, community and faith organizations to implement social emotional learning, bully prevention, and character education programs. The center aims to educate, inspire and empower people to live peacefully.
While there are many things you learn about bullying, we should start with words and definitions. If youth, teachers, parents and administrators share common skills and approaches, our schools, homes and communities will begin to change.
Here are five takeaways:
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Bullying: Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Often, it is repeated over time and can take many forms.
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Target not Victim: Someone can be a target of bullying but we should not call them victims. Bullying behavior is wrong. Calling someone a victim makes them feel helpless. Targets can learn ways not to be targeted.
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Upstander not Bystander: Bullying must stop—an Upstander is anyone who believes that everyone deserves to be in a healthy relationship free from abuse of any kind and is willing to take action when that is not happening around them.
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Social Norming is a process where the entire school community participates in a survey to find out where, when and why bullying happens, as well as personal knowledge and beliefs about how to stop it. Results are presented to the entire community by students. Many times large majorities of students possess the character and skills to be upstanders and results confirm they are in the majority.
- Ultimately, it is criminal: Bullying is peer abuse defined as one who brings mistreatment, insult or deception in excessive amounts to another individual of the same peer group.This is done physically, mentally, emotionally or sexually.
There is a myth that most kids who exhibit bullying behavior are socially awkward kids who are bigger than their peers—they only represent 25% and are called “ineffective aggressors.” 75% of students who bully are known as “effective aggressors” because they are accepted by their peers, involved in school activities, and not as likely to be named as someone who bullies.
To learn more, great resources include www.stopbullying.gov and www.peacelearningcenter.org.
The Bullying Prevention Summit at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is presented by Aéropostale.
