STOP THE BULLY By MARIA LEWIS

DIRECT BULLYING  Teasing  Taunting  Threatening  Hitting  Stealing

INDIRECT BULLYING  Spreading rumors  Social isolation

EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM  15% of students are bullied  6% of teenage suicides may be a direct result of being bullied

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BULLY  Needs to feel powerful  Satisfaction from others suffering  Has little or no empathy  Usually says victim provoked him  Defiant toward adults  Apt to break school rules

THE VICTIM  Considers school as an unsafe, unhappy place  Is isolated because peers do not want to associate with them  Leads to depression and low self-esteem  Causes problems that can carry into adulthood

WRONG PERCEPTIONS  Telling teachers will only bring more harassment from bullies  Students feel adult intervention is ineffective  So won’t tell parents either

SCHOOL INTERVENTIONS  Must involve entire school  Implement curricular measures  Conflict resolution  Assertiveness training  Peer counseling

CLASS AND INDIVIDUAL INTERVENTIONS  Increase adult supervision at key times (PE, lunch, hall)  Class rules  Role playing  Inform parents  Activities to reduce social isolation