How can schools best address bullying?
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Bullying. (MGN)
About 15 minutes into his opening speech, Sioux City Superintendent Paul Gausman spoke the word that became the underlying theme of the statewide bullying prevention summit Tuesday.
“Be an upstander, not a bystander,” Gausman said.
An upstander, he said, is a person who stands up for what they believe and who stands up for others. It’s a message Gausman’s been trying to sell roughly 14,000 students ever since his district was featured in the documentary “Bully.”
Gausman opened the day-long summit that officials say brought more than 1,100 people to Hy-Vee Hall in downtown Des Moines Tuesday with a story of the district’s response, including a partnership with the Waitt Institute for the Prevention of Violence and the establishment of the MVP (Mentors in Violence Prevention) program.
Throughout the day, speakers and panelists covered topics ranging from cyber bullying and culture in the classroom to the legal limitations of trying to prosecute bullies as the state looks, once again, at how best to stop bullying.
Read the story linked above for more background. How do you think schools can best address bullying?
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schools can’t get guidance from the adult population. The Heartland Institute put up a billboard comparing people who believe we are experiencing global warming to the UNIBOMBER. The Gazette then rewards them by printing every article they can by them.
I don’t agree with your first sentence and am at a loss to see what the rest of your post has to do with the subject. That being said, the Heartland Institute is not a neutral/objective source and certainly not remotely a credible source on scientific issues. Apparently whoever picks the guest columnists on climate change denial, 9-11 conspiracy theories, and such ilk, is ignorant of real science and perhaps gullible. In some cases only a few minutes of fact checking could expose nonsensical and nonfactual statements made by the authors. Such is a display of irresponsibility — deserving of contempt. I suspect the Gazette will be out of business in a few years largely because of changing times but partly because of loss of respect.
Cedric
The debate about climate change is a clear example of bullying. A simple examination of the geological history of the Earth and an examination of the climate change models reveals that the only science behind the promotors is political science. As an engineer I have examined some of the supposed science behind the arguments and frankly find most of it entirely laughable. It is amazing how many people repeat is who who zero knowledge of the specifics.
Off subject! Name one profession scientific organization that has taken a contrary position to climate change happening and primarily human caused. Provide one contemporary scientific paper published in a peer reviewed scientific journal that clearly takes contrary position. ( Not what some blog CLAIMS what a paper says but the actual paper. ) The climate denial industry basically follows two claims: 1. Climate change is not happening. 2. Climate change is happening but is natural. Both can’t be right. Which is ?
I worked in engineering for many years, so what? Your engineering experience is irrelevant. Only experts in climatology need apply.
Ellis,
Exactly how is the debate over climate change a clear example of bullying? You can’t state something like that as fact and then expect people to believe you just because you say so.
Ellis is employing a technique — a variation of “playing the victim card”. The subject is bullying so he’s co-opted: “The debate . . . is . . . bullying.” We’ve seen other variations of this ploy such as claiming an assertive but relatively innocuous comment is a “vicious attack”, or “shouting down” ( how does one shout-down in text?), or “ganging up on”. It’s typically employed when the position is weak or baseless and the “victim” has run out of credible arguments. (By the way, when it come to debate in the scientific community regarding CC, the only significant debate is over magnitude, rapidity, and consequences.)
As to how schools can best deal with bullying – teach students to stand up for each other and put bullys in their place. Standing up for what you believe takes courage. Standing up for others who are being bullied takes even more courage but it is the right thing to do.
climate change argument is easily settled by the fact that the countries and corporations have already started to argue over the rights to the Northwest Passage. They believe it is opening up and that is because the heat is melting the ice.
What does climate change have to do with school yard bullies?
Dean Owens, schoolyard bullies do not respond to positive role models. They do not care. What’s going on is essentially a pecking order thing. Human beings bully each other because we are pack animals and bullying is one way to establish who gets to be alpha dog.
The trouble with bullying with regard to group cohesion, not to mention mental health, is that not only is the behavior cruel, it’s also destructive and dysfunctional. Schoolyard bullies grow up to be workplace bullies, neighborhood bullies, bullies in positions of power.
Dealing with them? I don’t know. A good hard punch in the face is usually effective except the victim fighting back gets people upset.
Yes I agree. The way to fix bullies is violence.
Like I said, Williamson, the very idea of the victim fighting back gets people upset.
Which means the bullying must serve some essential function or it wouldn’t be tolerated.
So what essential function does it serve.