An Anti-Bullying, Finding our Humanity & Decency Movement
Creating a Safe Environment Outside the Classroom.
There are two places that should be safe havens for children. One is the home. The other is the school.
In both cases children are in the care of adults
For most children the home is a refuge from the world. Is the school also a refuge?
Yes, the dynamics are very different. You can not compare a home to a school setting. We do not mean to do that. Nevertheless, the responsibilities are the same even if the institution, the dynamics, and the interactions are very different.
In order to create a safe learning environment for students, we must look at the whole campus as the realm of our responsibility.
What happens to Shawn when he left his class? What happened to him in the hallway before he entered his next class? Is it condusive to a learning environment? Can he even concentrate on his assignment or test? Bullying not only robs a child of his dignity and mental well being, it also robs his or her motivation and academic progress.
What happens to Amanda at lunch? Are there "mean girls" deliberately spreading rumors and seeking to inflict psychological damage on her before she makes it to the next class?
If these things are occurring often (which they are), and have been for the last few decades, then we are not doing enough nor have we taken it seriously enough to stop it.
In order to know how to stop the bullying, we must also know where it is occurring.
Studies and surveys have shown that bullying in the hallways and cafeteria account for between approximately half to 2/3rds of bullying incidents. Another 20% occur outside on school grounds.
With so much of the bullying occurring in these three areas it behooves schools to ensure that children being entrusted to them are not being abused between, before, and after classes.
Bullies prey on weakness. Not just weakness in their victim, but also weakness in supervision.
How can schools create safer lunchrooms and hallways, and outside common areas for their students?
Cafeteria
Assigned seating.
There are positive and negative aspects to assigning seats. If seats are assigned without other interventions, cafeteria monitoring, clear communication of school expectations, and teaching of empathy and inclusion, the results can be negative. Bullying and harassing other students may actually increase. But, if done as in conjunction with an overall plan, and monitored appropriately, assigned seating can provide your students with new opportunities to expand to know and learn from each other. Assigned seating is most effective when assignments change at regular intervals, perhaps once a month.
Round tables
These allow for greater communication among students. Also, it is less likely that bullying will occur when it can be witnessed by a larger group of students. When round tables are used with assigned seating, they help facilitate conversation and a greater understanding of diverse groups of students.
Logistics
Is lunchtime a fairly calm time for your student? Can he/she relax and refresh before their next classes? Or is lunch a time of added stress? Are students literally pushed into each other because of cramped space and cramped time restraints?
Consider increasing the lunch times, adding additional times as needed. This worked well for Jackson High School in Georgia, according to principal Duane Kline.
"The best thing we've done in the cafeteria is to move from three lunches to four. In a school of about 1,000 students, having less crowding, shorter lunch lines, and less commotion in the lunchroom has been way worth the extra time we added to our fourth-period class to accommodate that change."
"We've seen a reduction in the negative interactions between students," said Kline. "Having a calmer lunchtime in the middle of the school day has helped us to reduce significantly the number of physical altercations..."
Simply put, creating a more structured lunchtime and facility reduces bullying behaviors.
Emotionally intelligent & socially conscious groups/clubs
There are groups and clubs out there that have been created so that children do not need to feel alone and left out. These groups emphasize mentoring, befriending, and including all students. They could be included in your school as part of your overall effort to teach the minds and the hearts of your students.
Here are a couple we recommend.
Clubs are being formed at the school level organically all over the United States. Many of these clubs are to stop bullying. Others are to provide friendship to students who are overlooked. Some create lunchroom groups so kids do not have to sit alone. You can read about many on the web. Of course, this is the ideal scenario, when students become socially aware and care for those around them. Sometimes they just need a few words of encouragement and direction and they will take off.
Monitors
It is important to have monitors in the lunchroom. This may be a paid position or your school may choose to incorporate volunteers. Although, truthfully, the term "monitor"is really outdated and should be changed. Imagine at your place of work the company hires "monitors"? I am not sure that this would inspire trust or go over very well. Why not call them "Student Support" or "Student Advocates"? This would change not only how students looked at them, but also how they viewed their role and job in the school.
Those chosen for these positions within the school should be trained to recognize children who are bullied, or ostracized, or alone, and work with school staff and clubs to make them aware.
Those chosen for these positions must be role models who teach kindness and caring through their demeanor and communication.
Food Service Employees
Just like monitors, those chosen for these positions must be role models who teach kindness and caring through their demeanor and communication. Condescension, yelling, and disrespect of our youth is never a lesson that should be taught in school.
Food Service Employees should also be trained in bullying prevention and be included in communications regarding bullying initiatives. They witness bullying and teasing and aggressive behavior regularly. Here are some stats from the NEA.
Half reported witnessing bullying as frequently as several times a month. Nearly 10% saw bullying daily. They viewed bullying as a significantly greater problem at their school than did other ESPs.
Approximately one in four of the food services ESP surveyed indicated that a student reported bullying to them within the past month.
Nearly all the food services ESP surveyed report that their school district has a bullying policy, but fewer than a third of them said they received training on that policy.
More than two-thirds of food services workers reported that they need additional training on how to address different forms of bullying
Among all ESPs, food services workers are the group least likely to be involved in formal bullying prevention efforts in their schools. Only 12% reported being involved in formal school teams, committees or prevention programs dealing with bullying.
The NEA survey found that 73% of food services ESPs live in the school community where they work, a rate about twice as high as that of teachers. This means they know the students and their families, and can be an invaluable resource when seeking answers to bullying incidents.
We should recognize that food service workers have more insight and ability to help beyond food preparation.
Hallways & Outside
Sometimes it is hard to find solutions through regulations, rules, policies, and action plans. Sometimes you cannot find external solutions for internal problems.
We have had some debate as to the appropriate solution to bullying that occurs in the hallways and outside on campus.
Schools are unable to monitor firsthand all interactions between students. And the truth is, they shouldn't. Decency cannot be regulated and too much monitoring and supervision tends to create a climate of control, distrust, and rebellion, rather than any change of heart.
We are not against monitoring of hallways and outside premises as needed. If the bullying and aggressive behaviors merit such actions, then the first priority should always be the protection of our children. But this solution should be temporary and underscore the message that we have not taken this problem serious enough yet, as well as the need for effective communication and teaching of emotional intelligence within the school.
Monitor as much as needed at school depending on the extent of the problem. And work to change the climate so that mistreatment of others is no longer accepted and the need for external controls will be replaced by internal controls. This must began with teachers, administrators, and all staff.
It is not a bad thing to have teachers and administrators in the hallways between classes. The interactions can be positive and students tend to behave better with the adult presence. But in and of itself, it is is not an effective solution to bullying behavior. Only changing students and staffs minds and hearts.
In the end, while we agree that monitoring hallways and school grounds can lessen bullying incidents, and is a semi-effective deterrent. the true changes that will transform your campus will be found through other initiatives that include students and staff.
Watch these common areas with school employees and volunteers as needed until that transformation takes place in both your students and staff.