B ULLYING P REVENTION AND R UMOR C ONTROL

W HAT I S B ULLYING ? Bullying is when a person is picked on over and over again by an individual or a group with more power, either in terms of physical strength or social standing Bullying is when a person is being mean to someone for no good reason

E XAMPLES OF B ULLYING ARE : punching, shoving, and other acts that hurt people physically spreading bad rumors about people keeping certain people out of a group teasing people in a mean way getting certain people to “gang up” on others

O THER EXAMPLES OF BULLYING INCLUDE : sending mean texts or s posting mean pictures or messages about others in blogs or on websites

W HY DO PEOPLE BULLY ? Because it makes them feel stronger, smarter, or better Because they see others doing it Because it keeps others from bullying them

T HE E FFECTS OF B ULLYING As many as 160,000 students stay home everyday in the U.S. because they are afraid of being bullied. Students who bully are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, get into fights, and drop out of school than kids who don’t bully. In fact 2/3 of middle school bullies have a felony by the age of 24.

H OW TO S TOP B ULLYING FROM C ONTINUING TO H APPEN Tell an adult Stay in a group If it feels safe, stand up to the bully When dealing with online bullying, don’t reply

W HAT NOT TO DO IF YOU ’ RE GETTING BULLIED : Don’t think it’s your fault Don’t fight back or bully a person back Don’t skip school or avoid clubs because you’re afraid of getting bullied Don’t let it keep you from doing your best at school

B ULLIES A RE E VERYWHERE !

S HARE A SITUATION TO YOUR GROUP WHEN YOU WERE BULLIED OR SAW SOMEBODY GET BULLIED. ( 2 MINUTES )

BYSTANDERS STAND UP! Studies show that people do nothing because they think someone else will take care of it Person Being Bullied BullyBystanders

R UMOR A CTIVITY Pass It On Play the “telephone” game. Whisper a secret to a student and then have them pass it on from classmate to classmate. Share the “secret” at the end and discuss the results.

R UMORS There’s an old saying: Don’t believe half of what you see and none of what you hear Be skeptical: don’t conform Don’t react before thinking: Sometimes people just want to see a reaction from you Sad to say, some people use rumors as a form of entertainment

C ONCLUSION Don’t bully If you are being bullied, tell an adult If you see somebody being bullied, do something! Don’t believe everything you hear. Bullying has real consequences People are different, value diversity