(c) 2005 Take a Stand. Lend a Hand. Stop Bullying Now! Bullying Among Children & Youth Conrad Weiser Middle School Mr. C’s Health Class

Bullying, Prejudice and Cyber Bullying

What do we know about bullying?

Bullying is not … a “conflict” “conflict” implies that two people are more or less on an equal footing.

What is bullying?

What does a bully do? A bully takes advantage of an imbalance of power or strength. A bully uses aggressive behavior to cause distress … or harm. A bully repeats the aggressive behavior.

Direct Bullying Hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting. Verbal harassment such as taunting, teasing and ethnic or racial slurs. Gestures that are threatening or obscene.

Indirect Bullying Getting a person to bully for you. Spreading rumors. Deliberately excluding someone from a group or activity. Cyber-bullying.

How common is bullying? 19% admit bullying others ”sometimes” or “often”. 9% admit bullying others weekly. 8% reported being bullied weekly. 17% reported being a victim. 6% only 6 percent reported the bully to an adult. –Nansel et al. (2001): national sample of 15,600 students in grades 6-10

Who bullies more? Studies say boys bully more than girls. Boys mostly bullied by other boys. boys & girlsGirls report being bullied by boys & girls. Girls are more likely to be bullied by rumor-spreading, hurtful comments and exclusion. Boys are more likely to be physically bullied.

When does bullying happen? Common places are playgrounds, classrooms, halls, bathrooms or at lunch. Bullying is more common at school than on the way to school, or from school.

Why do people bully?

Because they see others doing it.

They think they need to bully to be accepted by others.

Because it makes them feel like they’re better than the person they’re bullying.

To keep others from bullying them.

What do bullies and their victims have in common? Both can be “ill-tempered” or angry. Both can appear lonely. Both tend to be avoided.

Both appear not interested in school. Both have difficulty concentrating. What do bullies and their victims have in common?

Both choose fighting if angered. Both aggravate the problem by bullying younger or weaker children.

Why be concerned about bullying?

Habitual bullies are more likely to … Display a negative attitude. Become involved in underage drinking. Steal or commit vandalism. Get into fights. Carry a weapon. Drop out of school. Be arrested for a crime in later life.

Children who are bullied … Report more headaches and stomach aches. Have more difficulty sleeping. Are absent more from school. Display a lower self esteem. Display signs of dejection and depression. Display signs of self-harming behaviors.

Responding to to Bullying. Bullying.

What do students usually do when they see bullying? Many observers don’t tell anyone. 38% feel … it’s none of their business. 27 % think they should help but don’t. 35 % report trying to help the victim.

What do teachers need to know? Many children say that they’re not aware that the school staff think it’s important to stop bullying. Some adults over-estimate their success in preventing bullying and helping it’s victims. Some victims feel dissatisfied with how teachers and principals handle complaints.

Why don’t children report bullying? Many think it’s wrong - but acceptable. Some see it as not being very harmful. Older children are least likely to report being a victim.

How can bullying be stopped?

What can be done to stop bullies and help victims? Promote awareness and establish rules. Provide help and support for victims. Provide counseling for children who bully. Establish conflict-resolution programs. Include classroom bully-prevention lessons. Teach appropriate communication skills. Keep track of incidents and review progress.

Most adults care about bullying and will be glad that you told them. Report bullying to a teacher, counselor, nurse, parent, or coach. Many kids are afraid to tell an adult because their afraid of the bully. It might be a less scary if you ask a friend to go with you. Reporting bullying is the right thing to do. It's not tattling – it’s helping.

What’s required to reduce bullying is nothing less than a change in attitude about what a school’s “emotional climate” should be.

Hate Crime: A criminal offense directed at a specific group.

People hate what they do not understand.

Hatred stirs up strife. Ancient Proverb

Love is blind to another’s faults. Hate blinds one to their own. Ancient Proverb

Terms you need to know.

Stereotyping: Generalizing about an entire group.

Intolerance: Acting hostile towards others … or to other views.

Prejudice: negative attitude against an entire group of people.

Denigration: “Dissing” someone … including spreading gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation.

Harassment: Repeatedly sending offensive, rude and insulting messages.

Cyber-stalking: Repeatedly sending message that include threats of harm or are highly intimidating; engaging in other online activities that make a person afraid for his or her safety.

Discrimination: While prejudice is an attitude and not against the law …. discrimination refers to real actions taken against someone based on prejudice.

Discriminating against people because of their religion, sex, age or the color of their skin is illegal … it’s a “crime”.

Hate words and symbols do more than just demonstrate prejudiced beliefs - they are meant to instill a sense of fear and insecurity in the people their directed towards.

Cyber Bullying

A cyber bully ostracizes another person – by intentionally excluding someone from an online group.

A cyber bully takes advantage of technology to infiltrate another person’s privacy to cause distress.

A cyber bully sends mean, vulgar, or threatening messages or images.

A cyber bully posts private info about another person online so others can see.

A cyber bully pretends to be someone else to fool or humiliate another person.

Be aware Internet Service Providers have rules about online behavior. If you break them, your account - and every account in your home - could be canceled. If you break the law, you may also be reported to the police.

No message is completely private, including and text messages. Messages can be traced to the computer that was used to send them. Police can recover all messages, even if after they’ve been deleted.

If you are using the Internet to harm others, chances are you will be caught and punished.

Never say things that might violate the safety or rights of others, even if you mean it as a “joke.”

If you’re the target of online bullying or inappropriate messages don’t respond - save them as evidence.

Always report any online bullying, hate incidents, threats of harm, inappropriate messages or online incidents that make you feel uncomfortable to adult family members, school authorities or to the police.

Ask parents or guardians about their rules when online, such as the time of day and length of time online, and sites allowed to visit.

Resources Available on the web at stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov or HRSA Helpline: ASK-HRSA

Resources Available on the web at

Bibliography Anti-Defamation League Cyber bullying: Understanding and addressing online cruelty. Retrieved May, 2008 at ety%20Strategies%20for%20Students.pdf U.S. Department of Education Health Resources & Services Administration. Office of Safe & Drug-Free Schools. The original version is available for viewing at This presentation is an edited version of the original for presentation to sixth grade children.