Commentary; Posted: 4/12/06
Anti-bullying measures needed in schools
By Don Heinzman
Minnesota schools are drawing up plans to prevent students from being bullied, but the task isnít easy.
The focus on bullying becomes more intense in Minnesota, where two high schools have experienced student shooters, whom some say were bullied. Shooters in schools throughout the nation have said bullying and teasing were factors leading up to the shooting.
A group of parents in Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 has organized to create greater awareness of the problem in school districts throughout the area. One of the members is the mother of a son, 12, who took his life because he was bullied. The mother believes officials at the school knew he was being bullied but didnít inform the parents.
Bullying no longer is viewed as a ìboys will be boys and girls will be girlsî mentality. The problem was deemed serious enough to have the Minnesota Legislature recommend that every school district develop an anti-bullying plan.
In a survey taken in the Anoka-Hennepin school district, 20 percent of students in grades four, six, eight and 10 when given the definition of bullying, said it had happened to them.
As a result of the survey, the school district had a year-long anti-bullying campaign which encouraged kids to speak out against bullying. Anoka-Hennepin is developing its plan with some teeth in it, eventually having the student in detention or expulsion.
One effective anti-bullying campaign is to involve the courts with good linkage to the schools. The Sherburne County Attorneyís office has teamed up with local school districts to deal with the bullies and their parents. School principals, counselors, probation officers or the court refer those who bully students. They are required to attend an hour-long presentation on bullying and its consequences.
In a no-nonsense presentation, Victoria Powell, an attorney, outlines what actions the court can take on students who are bullies and cause disruptive behavior, actions such as being removed from the home, being sent to a correctional institution or losing their drivers license. Parents, a guardian or grandparents are required to hear the presentation.
If students fail to come to the presentation, their file is reviewed and they could get a ticket, requiring them to go through the court system.
The program is effective. From 2002 through March 2005, a total of 487 students heard the presentation, and of those 68 were referred a second time.
Powell said most of the referrals come from middle schools, and lately more girls are doing the bullying. In her lectures, she explains that victims need to tell someone in the family or at school they are being teased. They should try to ignore the bully, stay away from hallway corners and not be the last to leave school.
Karen Dahl, who coordinates the bully prevention program in the Anoka-Hennepin school district, says they will learn more about the results of the program after a survey of students this fall.
Bully-prevention programs like those in Sherburne County and in Anoka Hennepin school districts need to be supported and replicated. While itís true schools are asked to do too much to solve societal problems, anti-bullying policies are necessary to keep student learners safe.
The campaign may have even a more profound effect. The sister of the boy who committed suicide said, ìWith my brother, if one kid would have stood up for him, heíd still be here now.î
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