Gangs, Bullying, and Violence

1. Gangs, Bullying, and Violence What teachers need to know By Kaylen Palmer and Kailey Schlosser

2. The 4 Elements of Bullying • A bully: an individual who voluntarily seeks out and attempts to victimize others • A potential victim: a student who is substantially weaker than the bully in one or more significant ways • A location in which it can occur • School locations where bullying is common are often those with limited adult supervision, such as hallways, bathrooms, and playgrounds • Student bystanders are a fourth important element that often impacts bullying • if witnesses are present when bullying occurs, these bystanders can play a pivotal role by choosing either to encourage the bully or to protect the victim.

3. Types of Bullying • Shift from direct to indirect bullying takes place as children advance from elementary to middle and high school • Direct • bully confronts the victim face-to-face • situations in which the victim is verbally harassed or threatened, physically attacked, or socially embarrassed • Indirect • bully attacks the victim’s social standing or reputation—usually when the victim is not around • if he or she spreads malicious gossip or writes insulting graffiti about a classmate, or organizes a peer group to ostracize that classmate • http://www.youtuberepeater.com/watch?v=EYL0a1aQRbA

4. Boys vs Girls • Boys are more likely than girls to report that they are victims of physical bullying. • Schools may also tend to overlook the possibility that girls take part in bullying, both because of gender stereotypes (i.e., that girls are ‘less aggressive’ than boys) and because girls may prefer to bully using indirect means such as hurtful gossip that are difficult for adults to observe

5. Why bully? • The bully may enjoy watching a weaker child suffer • The bully may like the increased social status that comes from bullying • The bully may covet the money or personal property that he or she can steal or extort from a victim • A common myth about bullies is that they bully others to cover up their own sense of inadequacy or poor self-esteem

6. How would we know if a child is being bullied? • the presence or absence of friends in a child’s life • Older children often bully younger children • Passivevictims may be physically weaker than most classmates, avoid violence and physical horseplay, and be somewhat more anxious than their peers • Lacking friends, these children are an easy target for bullying • Provocativevictims may be both anxious and aggressive • They may also have poor social skills and thus tend to irritate or alienate their classmates • Bullies often take pleasure in provoking these provocative victims into an outburst through taunts or teasing, then sit back and watch as the teacher reprimands or punishes the victim for disrupting the class

7. Why does it happen in schools? • Adults seldom see it occurring • School staff may misinterpret aggressive bullying as harmless physical horseplay • When questioned by adults, victims often deny that bullying is taking place • There may be too few supervising adults in those unstructured settings where bullying is most likely to occur • Supervising adults may not be trained to intervene early and assertively whenever they see questionable behavior between children

8. What can you do? • All staff must to be committed to a common response to bullying when it does happen. • Immediate intervention is crucial • Clear procedures must take place when a case of bullying is discovered • The school needs to provide necessary support for the individual teacher • There must be clear guidelines that stipulate the responsibilities teaching staff have when dealing with a case of bullying

9. What can you do? • Develop clear statements of what is appropriate behavior in the classroom. • This may be in the form of a school-wide Code of Conduct or in an individual classroom or school statement. • A good teacher will: • Notice when a pupil is isolated and sad. • Look for the reasons for this. • Not see it as just play-fighting, name-calling, a bit of fun or just part of growing up. • Work with the victim to stop the offending behavior. • Not tell the victim to ignore it, to sort it out themselves or to hit back.

10. Why do you need to know this? • Research indicated that beginning teachers are less likely than veterans to respond to incidents of bullying • 75% of 8 to 11-year-olds reported bullying in their schools • More than 85% of 12 to 15-year-olds reported bullying in their schools • One third of students have reported being bullied or had been bullying • More common in the middle school level

11. Acts of Violence • 23studentsdied in schools • 15 from homicide • 8 from suicide • Students aged 12-18 were victims of 1.9 million nonfatal crimes, including 1.2 million thefts and 740,000 violent crimes • Incidents of violence are highest at the middle school level and decline as students are older

12. Crime • Physical bullying is a crime • 3 trends • 1) incidence of violence in schools is declining • 2) students are safer in schools than on the streets where they live • 3) school violence is more common in some school contexts than in others

13. What is a Criminal Street Gang? • A criminal street gang may be defined as a group of people who form an allegiance for a  common purpose, who engage in criminal activity, and who conform to one or more of the following traits. • 1. Share a common group name 2. Share common symbols, tattoos, or graffiti3. Share a common style of dress 4. Frequently congregate upon, or lay claim to a geographic location 5. Associate together on a regular or continuous basis

14. Why do Students Join Gangs? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlS3cXT3aoY&feature=related Belonging Protection Popularity Family Tradition Dysfunctional Family Racism Strong Ties to Neighborhood Cultural Awareness Monetary Gain Drug Addiction

15. How do you tell??? • Gym Shoes and Athletic Clothes • The color of shoes vs. the color of laces • Two different colors of laces • "Converse" shoes with the five-pointed star shaded in • Tongues -- one side up, the other down • Laces -- halfway laced on one side • Wearing two different color shirts (E.g. Black tank top over gold tee shirt) • Specific professional or college team colors may match gang colors. • Specific team logos may carry gang meaning.  (L.A. Kings - Latin Kings, Chicago Bulls - People, etc. Jewelry Five- or six-pointed stars Rabbit heads Italian horns Crescents Crosses Knitted with gang colors Earrings Right ear, gangs affiliated with the Disciples (Folks) Left ear, gangs affiliated with the Vice Lords or Latin Kings (People) Latin King Grillz

16. Grooming “Money Over Bitches OR (Member of Blood) Blood burn mark Surreno

17. Hand Signs BLOOD Latin King Crip Sur-13 Gangster Disciple

18. Notebook Doodling

19. Types FOLK nation gangs accent everything to the right side of the body PEOPLE nation gangs accent everything on the left side of the body

20. Naperville, Aurora, Plainfield, Downers Grove, and Cicero Gangs Latin Counts, Sin City Boys, Surenos 13, Satan Disciples, Latin Kings, Vice Lords, Gangster Disciples, Insane Deuces, Maniac Latin Disciples, Ambrose, Four Corner Hustlers, Imperial Insane Vice Lords, Mafia Insane, New Breeds, Insane Popes, Imperial Gangsters, Gangster Two Six, Noble Knights, La Raza, Two Two Boys, Conservative Vice Lords Ashland Vikings, Party People, Spanish Cobras, Bishops, 12th Street Players, Insane Majestics 27 Gangs in our Surrounding Areas

21. What Can You Do? • There are three “R’s” of gang mentality • Reputation, Respect, Revenge • Despite common belief, those involved in gangs respond better to authority and rules. In a gang, members are punished if they do not adhere to authority or guidelines. • As a teacher, you can have individual rules and goals for a student whom you believe is involved in gangs. • Keep your kids involved

22. What Else? Keep yourselves informed! Bullying: What Educators can do about it (A guide for educators) – http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ui367.pdf Bullying Prevention Resources (to use in classroom) – http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/wes/projects/bullying/bullying.html Preventing Classroom Bullying – http://www.jimwrightonline.com/pdfdocs/bully/bullyBooklet.pdf Stop Bullying – Guide for Schools – http://www.nobully.org.nz/images/guide.pdf Gang Definition – http://www.gangsorus.com/definition.html Resorces for Parents and for Kids involved in Gangs – http://chicagogangs.org/index.php?pr=RESOURCES

23. Bibliography "[ CHICAGOGANGS.ORG ] CHICAGO GANG INFORMATION WEBSITE." [ CHICAGOGANGS.ORG ] CHICAGO GANG INFORMATION WEBSITE. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://chicagogangs.org/>. "[ CHICAGOGANGS.ORG] GANGS IN THE SUBURBS." [ CHICAGOGANGS.ORG ] CHICAGO GANG INFORMATION WEBSITE. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chicagogangs.org//index.php?pr=BURBS_SECTION>. Cleary, Mark. "Stop Bullying!" Web. <http://www.nobully.org.nz/images/guide.pdf>. "Gangs OR Us Gang Identification." Gangs OR Us Gang Identification. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.gangsorus.com/>. Kauchak, First, and First Eggen. Introduction to Teaching. 4th. Boston: Pearson, 2011. 85-87. Wright, Jim. "Preventing Classroom Bullying: What Teachers Can Do." Web. <http://www.jimwrightonline.com/pdfdocs/bully/bullyBooklet.pdf>.