Antwone Fisher

1. Antwone Fisher • Who will cry for the little boy, lost and all alone?Who will cry for the little boy, abandoned without his own?Who will cry for the little boy? He cried himself to sleep.Who will cry for the little boy? He never had for keeps.Who will cry for the little boy? He walked the burning sand.Who will cry for the little boy? The boy inside the man.Who will cry for the little boy? Who knows well hurt and pain.Who will cry for the little boy? He died and died again.Who will cry for the little boy? A good boy he tried to be.Who will cry for the little boy, who cries inside of me?

2. School Issues • Bullying • Sexual Harassment • Violence • Depression • Suicide • Homosexuality • Trauma- dealing with grief

3. Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution at York University • 35% of the kids were directly involved in bullying incidents. • Bullying peaked in the 11-12 year old group. • 38% of students identified as special education students were bullied, compared to 18 % of other students. • 24 % reported that race-related bullying occurred now and then or often. • 23% of students bullied and 71% of the teachers reported that teachers intervened often or almost always.

4. Bullying Bullying is a life-and-death issue that we ignore at our children’s peril. It can no longer be minimized and trivialized by adults, taken lightly, brushed off, or denied.

5. Bullying • “Normal part of growing up”- “Kids will be kids” • Should be seen as… “Peer Child Abuse” • teasing, threatening, hitting, stealing, rumors, isolation

6. BULLYING BEHAVIORS • an imbalance of power • differing emotional tones, the victim will be upset whereas the bully is cool and in control • blaming the victim for what has happened • lack of concern on the part of the bully for the feelings and concerns of the victim • a lack of compassion

7. Who are the victims Those children who are more prone to be picked upon tend to have the following characteristics: • low self-esteem • insecure • lack of social skills, • don't pick up on social cues • cry or become emotionally distraught easily, • unable to defend or stand up for themselves

8. Bullies and victims naturally occupy key positions in the configuration of bully/victim problems but other students play important roles .

9. School Violence

10. Although school shootings have attracted public attention to violence associated with schools, the fact remains that the vast majority of America's schools are safe places. Of all homicides and suicides among children 5-19 years of age, less than 1 percent occur in or around school grounds or on the way to or from school (Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2000). Still, any amount of school violence is intolerable (Federal Activities Addressing Violence in Schools, 2000).

11. Family Characteristics • Absence of parent (father or mother) from the home • Family poverty • Parents’ education • Means of resolving conflicts within families • Effective discipline within the family • Constructive parental involvement in school disciplinary infractions • Parental support of appropriate school discipline policies • Parental support of appropriate school discipline efforts • Parental substance abuse • Parental criminal activities or involvement with the justice system • Presence of supportive extended family • Sibling criminal activities or involvement with the justice system • Sibling substance abuse • Family involvement with community groups (religious institutions, community centers, youth groups)

12. School Climate • Safe and secure school environment • Consistent and fair enforcement of school rules • Consequences, penalties, and punishments appropriate to infractions • Provision of due process with consistency • Teamwork in disciplinary processes • Degree to which students are insulted or humiliated by school teachers or administrators • Consistent reporting of infractions • Adequate training for staff • Parent support and involvement • Clear and frequent communication of school disciplinary code • Student belief that teachers and administrators care about them

13. Substance Involvement • Prevalence, frequency, and incidence of substance abuse • Drug trafficking in schools and student involvement in drug trafficking in the community • Possession of prohibited substances in schools

14. Student Engagement at School • Desire to do well or improve academically • Extent of student alienation • Involvement in extracurricular activities (sports, drama, community service) • Student participation in school government and policymaking • Desire to gain specific skills for future plans (either college or vocation)

15. Recent abuse Recent victimization Recent hassling or shoving Fight picked or started by another person Attempt by another person to boss him or her around Unfairness Someone cuts in front of him or her in line Criticism Insult Insult to a friend in his or her presence Insult to a family member Disrespect Meanness Annoyance Bullying Teasing or making fun of Bossiness Rumors spread by another person about subject or someone subject cares about Interpretation of a neutral interaction as negative Dare to other children to do things Picking on someone he or she cares about by another person Insulting someone he or she cares about by another person Desire to fight with him or her on the part of another person Name-calling Theft of something from him or her Flirtation with someone he or she likes Purposeful destruction of his or her property Hurting someone he or she cares about Not liking someone Occurrences That Instigate Violence

16. Admiring people who know how to fight with their fists (no weapon) Admiring people who know how to fight with weapons Believing people should defend themselves or those they care about at all costs Believing that not defending oneself shows cowardice Believing that fighting is the only way to defend oneself or those one cares about Believing that involving adults in a dispute will make matters worse Believing one must aggress to establish the expectation that one will fight when necessary Believing fighting will impress others Thinking fighting makes one important or powerful Enjoying fighting and/or hurting others Believing that fighting has no negative consequences Attitudes Favoring Violence

17. Type of Weapon Knife Brass knuckles Shot gun Handgun Rifle Club or bat Brick Board Box Cutter Scissors Explosives Mace Pepper spray Whistle Razor Blade Numchucks Lead pipe Taser Method of procurement Place of procurement Reason for obtaining or carrying Rounds held in handgun when fully loaded Size of gun barrel Frequency of carrying Location of storage Gang involvement in gun procurement Source of weapon Cost of weapon Weapon Possession at School or on School Grounds

18. Sexual Harassment • Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. • Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

19. Sexual Harassment in Schools • Sexual harassment in schools is illegal under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funds. This law applies to all school-sponsored activities -- athletics, field trips, extracurricular programs, and bus or school-sponsored transportation. Title IX protects all students, male or female, from Two Types of Sexual Harassment: (1) quid pro quo and (2) hostile environment. • Quid pro quo harassment occurs when a school employee explicitly or implicitly conditions a student’s participation in an education program or activity or bases an educational decision on the student’s submission to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature. • Hostile-environment harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature by an employee, another student, or a third party. This form of harassment requires that the harassing behavior be sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive so as to limit a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from an educational program or activity, or to create a hostile or abusive educational environment

20. Types of Sexual Harassment Experienced According to the AAUW survey these are the most frequently types of sexual harassment experienced in school in grades 8–11: Girls Boys sexual comments, jokes, gestures, or looks 76% 56% touched, grabbed, or pinched in a sexual way 65% 42% Intentionally brushed up against in a sexual way 57% 36% flashed or mooned 49% 41% had sexual rumors spread about them 42% 34% had clothing pulled at in a sexual manner 38% 28%

21. touching or grabbing being the target of sexual rumors sexual comments about your body being brushed up against in a sexual way comments about your gender sexual remarks or suggestions mooning and flashing behaviors that you do not like or want conversations that are too personal pornographic pictures or stories unwelcome whistles, gestures or noises dirty jokes obscene gestures verbal disrespect offensive displays of sex-related objects staring in a way that is too personal SEXUAL HARASSMENT CAN BE...

22. Hatred in the Hallways • Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth of school age in the United States often suffer daily harassment, abuse, and violence at the hands of their peers. These students spend an inordinate amount of energy figuring out how to get to and from school safely, avoiding the hallways when other students are present in order to escape slurs and shoves, cutting gym classes to escape being beaten up—in short, attempting to become invisible.

23. Estimates of the number of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth in the United States vary, but most researchers believe that between 5 and 6 percent of youth fit into one of these categories. Based on the 1990 census, there are more than 45 million school-age children in the United States.1 This means that as many as two million school age children in the United States are dealing with issues related to their sexual orientation.

24. Most lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender youth never consider suicide. A recent analysis of nationally representative data of U.S. students in the seventh through the twelfth grades found, for example, that 84.5 percent of boys and 71.7 percent of girls who reported same-sex attractions or relationships had never attempted suicide and had never had suicidal thoughts.But several youth reported to us that the harassment and violence they endured led them to consider suicide.

25. Suicide According to the Surgeon General, a youth commits suicide every two hours in our country. In 1997, more adolescents died from suicide than AIDS, cancer, heart disease, birth defects and lung disease. Suicide claims more adolescents than any disease or natural cause. Adolescents now commit suicide at a higher rate than the national average of all ages.

26. Suicidal behavior is the end result of a complex interaction of psychiatric, social and familial factors. There are far more suicidal attempts and gestures than actual completed suicides. One epidemiological study estimated that there were 23 suicidal gestures and attempts for every completed suicide. However, it is important to pay close attention to those who make attempts. 10% of those who attempted suicide went on to a later completed suicide. A suicide has a powerful effect on the individual’s family, school and community.

27. Risk factors for suicide include: • Previous suicide attempts • Close family member who has committed suicide. • Past psychiatric hospitalization • Recent losses: This may include the death of a relative, a family divorce, or a breakup with a girlfriend. • Social isolation: The individual does not have social alternatives or skills to find alternatives to suicide • Drug or alcohol abuse: Drugs decrease impulse control making impulsive suicide more likely. Additionally, some individuals try to self-medicate their depression with drugs or alcohol. • Exposure to violence in the home or the social environment: The individual sees violent behavior as a viable solution to life problems. • Handguns in the home, especially if loaded.

28. 11.3 per 100,000, or 30,575 Americans, completed suicide in 1998. More people die from suicide than from homicide. In 1998, there were 1.7 times as many suicides as homicides. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for all Americans. Males are four times more likely to die from suicide than females, but females are more likely to attempt suicide than males. In 1998, white males accounted for 73 percent of all suicides. Together, white males and white females accounted for more than 90 percent of all suicides. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24, after unintentional injury and homicide. Between 1979 and 1992, suicide rates for Native Americans were 1.5 times the national average. Native American males ages 15 to 24 accounted for 64 percent of these suicides. Three out of five suicides were completed with a firearm in 1998. In 1998, people younger than 25 accounted for 15 percent of all suicides. From 1980 to 1997, the suicide rate among those ages 15 to 19 increased by 11 percent, and among youngsters 10 to 14 by 109 percent. From 1980 to 1996, the suicide rate for African-American males ages 15 to 19 increased 105 percent. Suicide Facts and Figures.

29. Children & Trauma Video: Children & Trauma- The Schools Response