BULLYING

1. BULLYING What it is, Who it is, and What to do about it

2. A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people. A person whointimidates another to gain a reaction from their victim. A person who manipulates to control the emotions of their victims. Bullying Defined

3. Bullying Defined • Intentionalattempts to cause discomfortor injury and can include name-calling, making faces, obscene gesturing, malicious ridicule, threats, rumors, physical hitting, kicking, pushing, and choking. • These things can be done in a variety of different ways…

4. Characteristics of Bullied Victims • Submissive • Shy • Whiney • Frail/ Small (Sometimes, not always) • Loners • Have physical or emotional quirks that are seen as different, odd, or unusual. • Have low self- esteem or show lack of confidence.

5. Types Of Bullying • Verbal • Sexual • Racist • Physical • Emotional • Cyber

6. Defining The Types of Bullies • VERBAL: Includes mocking, laughing at someone at their expense and name –calling. • SEXUAL: Making inappropriate comments, unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive. • RACIAL: Using racial slurs, offensive gestures and making inappropriate jokes about ones cultural back ground. • PHYSICAL: Threats of physical harm. Can be accompanied with verbal bullying which includes, hitting, kicking, biting, hair pulling and pinching.

7. Defining The Types of Bullies • EMOTIONAL: Most common among girls, this kind of bullying includes shunning or calling out the victims in front of a crowd. Laughing when the victim is in ear shot, but the bully denies they were laughing about the victim when confronted. Rumor spreading is a large component here. The use of “he said she said”, ‘stirring up the pot’ with the aid of the bullies friends, is most common. Isolating the victim where they feel they have no one on their side.

8. THE NEW BULLY TACTIC: CYBER BULLYING • Cell Phones • Text Messaging • Internet: E-Mail • My Space • Face Book • Twitter • Others?

9. Cyber space, the final frontier…ok, this isn’t Star Trek, but this is getting serious! Bullies are now using new technology to bring their issues to school. Texting, Internet Social Rooms and E-mail have made bullying faceless. You may not know who is really behind a vicious message. Bullies can deny any wrong doing, or say someone else was on their account, and it will be hard to prove their part in any of it. Students need to be pro active when it comes to cyber bullies. How Does Cyber Bullying Work?

10. What To Do If I Get Cyber Bullied • 1st. You must never answer the bullies message. When you respond you gave the power to them. They got exactly what they wanted, even if it is as simple as who is this? And why are you writing this to me? • 2nd. You must save everything the bully wrote to you. (Again, if you responded, the bully might save your responses, and now you could look equally as bad!) • 3rd. Bring the saved messages to a person you trust can help you. Parents, Teachers, SROs, Administrators, anyone that you feel can help solve this puzzle.

11. What To Do If I Get Cyber Bullied • Once the information has been released and an investigation has begun, the people in question usually understand that they are very close to being caught and stop the behavior. If it were to continue, the police could be brought in and harassment charges could be filed.

12. What Do I Do If I Am Being Bullied? • Always tell an adult. Students who keep this problem inside have high risks of depression and even suicide. Once you tell someone it will empower you. It can give you a sense of relief knowing others have been through what you are going through and that they found ways to defeat it. • Stay in a group. Bullies look for weak links. They want to go after the easy prey, those who are loners. When you are a part of a group, Bullies have a tendency to shy away.

13. What Do I Do If I Am Being Bullied? • If it feels safe, try to stand up to the bully. Bullies want you to get angry or sad, they want a reaction physical or whatever. Cut to the quick, give a short non emotional response to the bully, like “ Leave me alone” or “Cut it out”. Afterwards, turn and walk away. Then be sure to tell an adult ASAP! • Join Clubs or after-school activities. Finding people with similar interests, being part of a team, associating with new faces and people that can help you is key to avoiding bullies. You have now made new friends and contacts of people that will help you stay focused. These people create the groups that bullies tend to shy away from. You realize that you have more important things in your life than wasting time on a bully, and that maturity and self confidence is key to a healthy lifestyle.

14. Stop The Madness!!! Why We Must Take Actions!!! • Bullying will only stop if you make it. Telling someone does not make you a “tattle tale”, it makes you someone who wants to feel safe and protected in a place where you should everyday. • If you are a bully, put yourself in someone else's shoes, look at it from their perspective. Think about how it makes them feel, then STOP IT! Get some help, talk to an adult and see if you can stop this behavior before it gets you in a bunch of trouble. • Bullies lose their popularity as they get older and are eventually disliked by the majority of students

15. Stop The Madness!!! Why We Must Take Actions!!! • By age 24, 60% of identified bullies have a criminal conviction. • Children who are repeatedly victimized sometimes see suicide as their only escape. • Bullying is one of the most underrated and enduring problems in schools today. • Schools are a prime location for bullying.

16. Stop The Madness!!! Why We Must Take Actions!!! • Primary age children who were labeled by their peers as bullies required more support as adults from government agencies, had more court convictions, more alcoholism, more antisocial personality disorders and used more mental health services. • Many adults do not know how to intervene in bullying situations, therefore bullying is often overlooked. • Only 25% of students report that teachers intervene in bullying situations, while 71% of teachers believe they always intervene.

17. Stop The Madness!!! Why We Must Take Actions!!! • Bullying occurs once every seven minutes . • On average, bullying episodes are brief, approximately 37 seconds long. • The emotional scars from bullying can last a lifetime. • The majority of bullying occurs in or close to school buildings. • Most victims are unlikely to report bullying.

18. illcrest High School Prevention Plan • Students who feel bullied must be pro active! • Tell an Adult: Teachers, SROs Administrators, Guidance Counselors, Custodial Staff, Coaches, Others???…Do it ASAP, DON’T WAIT!!! • Save any evidence you can from a bully. Text Messages, e-mails, face book and my space messages, etc…Do Not Respond to these!! • Share evidence with an adult.

19. illcrest High School Prevention Plan • If you feel depressed or that you have know way out of this I assure you that you do. Go to an adult you trust. If that didn’t get the results you were looking for, go to another! We have many caring people on our staff, and they will all give you the help you need, or find someone who can! • Be a self advocate. If you know you can’t sit next to someone in a class, that you can’t be paired in a group, that the person waits outside the room for you, or looks for you at lunch, let someone know! Help is right around the corner, all you have to do is say something!!!! • Together we can stop the madness of bullying. Thank You.