What does the “A” in KAS mean? For that matter, what does KAS mean? And what does any of this have to do with Bullying? There are a number of reasons bullying exists and two of them are related to the “A” in KAS.
1). Bullying continues because no one believes it's their job to stop it. Teachers see bullying as a disruption of the academic process. If teachers stop the disruption and get to the academic learning – then we've done our job. Our attitude is that dealing with bullying is not our job, and even if it was, it's not something that we can change.
2). Bullying is reinforced by models in society. Some talk show hosts, politicians, corporations, and leaders are in “attack” mode and seem to get what they want by attacking others. (Logic and persuasion are viewed as either a long lost art or for wimps.) No one speaks up against these societal bullies and they seem to “get away with it”. Is it surprising that students don't confront peers when they see bullying? Or that some students bully to get what they want?
Both of these are related to the “A” in KAS. In Bloom's taxonomy of learning objectives, the “A” stands for attitude – Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills. It is our job, as teachers, to work with parents to help shape the attitudes of our students.
Bullying is about attitude. We need to examine our attitudes and beliefs if we are to make any difference in student attitudes and change the bullying epidemic.
Here are a few common bullying myths to examine.
Myth: There's not that much bullying at our school.
Fact: Bullying occurs at times and places teachers are not aware. A recent study indicates that 28% of high school students are victimized by bullies. (Teachers predicted less than 10%.) 81% of students experience sexual harassment during their school years.
Myth: Bullying is a normal part of growing up.
Fact: Bullying has become a problem at all stages of the lifespan—not just one age of growing up. I regularly conduct workshops for employers about “the respectful workplace” – it seems many adults have not “outgrown” bullying.
Myth: It is impossible to stop bullying.
Fact: Research indicates that schools with positive adult leadership, positive student leadership, and healthy relationships have less bullying.
Myth: Bullying prevention and intervention are complicated and expensive.
Fact: Stopping bullying is about developing healthy social relationships, and once the foundation is set in a school – it's free.
I've been asked, “Which Anti-bullying program should we use?” You might not like my answer, because there is no quick fix to dealing with bullying.
Summarizing my previous articles, I mentioned that bullying continues because school atmosphere encourages it. Each school takes on the personality of adult leaders. If even mild bullying goes unchallenged among staff members, it is unlikely that any program will stop student bullying. To stop bullying we need to realize that shaping student attitudes is part of a teacher's job.
That being said, there are many good anti-bullying programs available. I encourage you to adapt one that fits with your philosophy and beliefs.
When looking at philosophy and beliefs, I'd encourage you to consider the following:
Do what you do best, teach. We teach as much by the content of our character as we do by the content of our curriculum. Make sure that there is a district and/or building philosophy that supports respect for each person—staff-to-staff first. Be a person of character. Challenge each staff person to be a person of character.
We don't have “anti-illiteracy programs” in our schools. What we do is teach kids to read. Likewise, instead of an anti-bullying program, let's teach kids peaceful and respectful attitudes and behaviors. It has a whole different feel than anti-bullying.
Following the Reading analogy, we don't find the best “vowel program” for all kids. Learning vowels is part of the reading curriculum. Those that have difficulty with vowels, get special help as needed. Likewise, some kids won't “get it” by the respectful atmosphere and positive behavior approach alone. Anti-bullying specifics can be implemented for those students.
Schools have too many stand-alone programs. Adding anti-bullying to the long list of programs makes us look good, but runs the risk of being ineffective. Anti-bullying should be “nested” within a total initiative of respectful interactions. First start with respectful workplace policies for staff, followed by school culture and positive intervention strategies, then character education initiatives, and finally anti-bullying specific interventions.
Programs don't teach kids, people do.
That sounds like a lot more work that just picking one of the top anti-bullying programs. I agree that the process of coordinating all the components above will be a lot of work. I think it boils down to whether you want to be efficient or effective.
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Jerry Jensen, MA, LP is a Licensed Psychologist at Cedarbrook Center in Baxter and currently serves as the Chair of the Minnesota Board of Psychology. He is a former elementary and middle school principal and high school teacher. The opinions expressed are his and do not reflect the opinions or policies of ISD #181 or the Minnesota Board of Psychology.