Students

When Your Child is the Bully

June 29, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Physical bullying at school, as depicted in th...

Having your child be subject to teasing and bullying while at school can be heart-breaking for most parents. The feelings of helplessness often overwhelm parents and leave them unable to assist their child in coping with and solving the problem. However, the situation can be even more difficult for parents who discover that it is their child who is doing the bullying. When kids bully others at school, daycare or in other situations, parents often fail to recognize the signs. They may even praise their children for ”standing up for themselves” or ”not taking guff” from other kids. When they are forced to realized that their child’s behavior is unacceptable, they often blame themselves.

Of course, applying blame isn’t helpful and only diverts attention from the real issue, which is responsibility. When parents take responsibility for what they are teaching their children, they are also helping kids take responsibility for their own actions. This cycle is much more conducive to interrupting the trend of bullying and related school violence and is much healthier for all parties involved.

If your child is exhibiting bullying behavior, you must take immediate steps to stop this. Once you feel you have convinced the child that what he is doing is wrong, take a look at some possible causes for his behavior. You may need to consider counseling or at the very least schedule some conferences with his teachers, principal or guidance counselor. Your child needs to understand that bullying is a serious problemand that you are committed to helping him stop.

Filed Under: School Violence, Students Tagged With: Bullying, Child, Parent

School Violence and Bullying

June 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Image via Wikipedia

School violence came to the forefront of the news when two students brought guns to Columbine High School in Colorado and opened fire on the students, faculty and staff. Thirteen people were killed in the attack and another 21 individuals suffered injuries of varying degrees. This wasn’t the first incidence of school violence, nor was it the last, but it did focus America’s attention on the need for better prevention of bullying and other types of school violence.

Since then, the Columbine tragedy and other similar instances have initiated questions concering the causes of this type of behavior, including violence in movies and video games, medications for juvenile depression or attention-deficit disorders and even the discipine that American children do and do not receive at home. So far, there have been no definitive causes and thus no absolute solutions. What we do know is that horrific school violence situations can stem from what was previously considered to be ordinary bullying.

There is no such thing as harmless bullying. Not only does this type of behavior do massive amounts of harm to the victims, but also those guily of the bullying. When parents send the message that bullying is a part of growing up or should be handled by the children themselves, they are validating the emotional causes in the bully. When kids grow up believing that ”might makes right,” they have a difficult time adjusting to situations in which they enjoy little power, and may even have a higher incidence of adult criminal behavior.

Filed Under: School Violence, Students Tagged With: Bullying, Columbine High School, School violence

Our Educational Priorities

March 28, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

As educators and school administrations struggle with decreasing funds, higher violence and myriad of social factors that influence the ability to provide a successful learning environment, many are forgetting to keep in focus what really matters.

Teaching and modeling a love of learning will help students to be life time learners. If all of the focus is on the negative or how many sports events a school district has won, then those students who are in sports or causing trouble get overlooked.

The facts are what they are and they do have to be addressed, but at the same time an educational system that encourages the positive and works toward the betterment of everyone will be a successful educational experience for the students and faculity.

Could it be that with less you could potentially do more? Having groups of students who mentor and tutor struggling students could create an atmosphere among a larger group of students.

Physical education is important to the health and well being of everyone. But does a school really need the latest and greatest gym equipment?

What if students were taught the importance of growing food, while also receiving exercise, while also learning science, economics and green living at the same time.

There is more to art then sitting in a classroom drawing and by getting students and faculity excited about learning in a slightly bolder and broader thinking way, then students will experience the joy that really comes from learning.

More money may solve some of the problems of our schools but creative thinking will certainly open the doors of a student’s mind.

Filed Under: Education, Students Tagged With: Education, Learning, Student

Rules that Work

March 24, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

A safe educational environment is the ideal situation for students and faculty. But any time you have a group of people together, you need to have in place a well established set of standards, rules, and expectations for everyone at every level.

Without guidelines people in general will gravitate to a comfort level that may not work for everyone.

Educational administrations need workable standards of performance set in place for the benefit of everyone including the students they are teaching. No one is should feel above reproach, but everyone should have someone they are ultimately accountable to.

This will help the educational system run in a manner that is beneficial for everyone.

Deciding upon a predetermined set of qualifications that will enable administration and faculty to create benchmarks to determine effectiveness and performance will help to establish a high quality of educators.

Students should feel they are being supported and protected within the learning environment and that they have resources if they do not feel safe. Students also need to be aware of the consequences for inappropriate behavior. Allowing for open communication and awareness of the potential for disciplinary action that they will incur will help to deter them from wrong behavior.

It is the obligation of the staff and administration to create an atmosphere of equality based on respect for a student to achieve educational success.

Going to school should not have to be filled with stress and fear but for many students that is exactly what happens at the beginning every school day for them.

Filed Under: Discipline, Students Tagged With: Education, Student, Teacher

Principals and Funding

March 20, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

When a school is performing poorly and funds are needed to improve their struggling financial situation, the federal government seems to be offering a very tempting stimulus package they can apply for.

But if your administration has teachers and principals that work hard and believe in the students and are an asset to your educational system, you might what to look at this offering a little closer. Maybe local fund raising and bake sales would be a better way to increase the bottom line at many schools. Otherwise you could be choosing money over people.

The fact is there are rules that must be met in order to qualify for the educational stimulus money that the current federal government is hawking. It is truly a sad situation when schools that have very little funds who are trying to educate in usually depressed and socially challenged areas will have to remove teachers and principals in order to qualify for any of those government funds.

Exceptional teachers and principals are being let go, or assigned and receiving lower pay across our county in order for the their school district to qualify for the stimulus packages being offered.

Principal’s who have worked hard in making their schools successful and who really care about the education of their students are being tossed aside for more money.

It is disturbing to witness the effect and potential long term damage that could these educators may experience. Not only are their paychecks and self worth being damaged but the students they influence everyday will not receive the quality of care and education they once had.

Filed Under: Education, Students Tagged With: Education, Head teacher, Student

Appropriate Discipline

March 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Many times it can be difficult to assess and determine the appropriate discipline regarding and considering the individual students infraction. That is why it is necessary to have non-negotiable rules and expectations, but still keep in mind the individual situation.

By having a set of guidelines and expectations in place that are clearly communicated to faculty and students will be helpful and necessary to achieving a well organized learning institution.

But there will be times when the gray area occurs and must be looked at through the lens of the person’s overall behavior and current situation.

A typically good student who has a sudden change in personality and behavior could be experiencing health or home stresses that are affecting their performance and situation.

If there is an extreme reaction it could create a worsened situation for the student who is struggling with other circumstances. An atmosphere of open communication and sincere concern will help a student to feel comfortable enough to talk about the issues that are bothering them and this could lead to a potential solution that will enable the student to make better choices in the future.

Appropriate discipline for the continual troublemaker needs markers of progression and increased consequences.

When the atmosphere of the educational institution is jeopardized by students who are not interested in learning it creates chaos and dissension that spreads throughout the school and ultimately discourages those who are there to learn.

Quick and effective action on the part of faculty and administration is important to create a calm atmosphere and setting the tone of the school and or learning institution.

A well organized school that has instilled the proper expectations and guidelines will be able to deal with the many different levels and situations that occur within a day among a large or small group of people who are working closely together.

Filed Under: Discipline, Students Tagged With: Learning, Student, Types of educational institutions

How Teachers Can Help to Stop Bullying

February 23, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Often, a teacher has more contact with a child than anyone else in the school or even the child’s parents. Because of this, teachers can play a large part in helping to stop bullying behaviors. In some respects, it may seem unfair that a teacher should have to address this type of issue on top of everything else she is doing. Teaching classes and making sure that children are ready for standardized tests is a large enough load. Adding a counseling component to the job may seem like overkill. Still, there are things that teachers can do to keep a classroom bully from gaining power.

Treat Everyone Equally and With Respect

Children who are bullied often share similar traits. They do not defend themselves. They may be shy or smaller in size. It may also be that they do have characteristics that other children might consider unattractive or odd. The role of the teacher in the classroom is to treat everyone equally. A teacher who bullies an odd child sets a precedent that someone who doesn’t fit in should be dealt with aggressively. By treating all students with an equal amount of respect, the teacher sets the standard in the classroom that aggressive behaviors will not be tolerated.

Address Bullying Problems Immediately

Teachers can sometimes be so overwhelmed with their responsibilities that they overlook certain bullying behaviors. Allowing an aggressive child to continuously make fun of another child in the classroom only perpetuates the behavior. Some children with bullying tendencies might be attractive or funny and have followers. Other children may laugh at their jokes because they do not want to be the next victim. The task of the teacher in these situations is to curb the behavior early on. Those who bully lack empathy and need to learn this quality. Sending a bullying child to the school counselor right away is one way to keep the problem from snowballing.

Filed Under: Students, Teachers Tagged With: Bullying, Child, Teacher

School Violence Requires Action From Schools, Parents and Community

December 24, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

School administrators across the country; have begun to institute no tolerance policies to combat increasing violence within the school system. While the policies vary between states and school districts, it is a concerted effort to provide a safe educational environment for students. However, schools are still struggling with violence. Providing solutions and instituting new policies can be costly. Many school budgets are stretched to the limits. Class sizes continue to grow and teachers find it difficult to manage these burgeoning class sizes. There are numerous published studies on the growing problem of school violence. Ultimately, poor behavior in children begins in the home. Many children live in poverty, abusive homes and witness violence in the home or in their neighborhoods. This behavior will often manifest while the child is at school. School administrators have the difficult task of relating to children that are raised in bleak circumstances. The lack of parental support and involvement is crippling. While some schools experience little school violence, many schools must deal with violence daily. In the most violent schools, there are security guards, metal detectors and locked down lunches. This does not create a pleasant environment for educational purposes. Unfortunately, these measures do nothing to solve the root of the problem. Children are becoming more violent and the school system is unable to solve the problem without the support from parents and the community. To gain control of this growing problem, school administrators, parents and the community must become actively involved. Disciplinary action taken by the school system are ineffective unless the parents support the action and reinforce these actions within the home. Communities must understand that supporting the school system is crucial. School funding continues to suffer budget cuts while class size continues to increase. To establish safer schools, funding issues must be resolved.

Filed Under: School Violence, Students Tagged With: Child, School, School violence, Violence

My How Schools Have Changed

December 20, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

School systems have changed dramatically over the passed 15 years. The school landscape in many communities is similar to a detention center instead of a learning institution. School violence is increasing and many school systems struggle with the challenge of providing a safe environment while providing an environment that is conducive to learning. This challenge has significantly changed the landscape of many public schools.

Administrative responsibilities of schools have become complex and costly. School administrators have become burdened with dealing with violent youths that most are ill equipped to handle. Educators are trained to teach and many are finding they lack the knowledge and skill required to address violent behavior. Unfortunately, this has led to significant changes in the school system.

Many schools have instituted security programs that are likened to a detention center. Schools across the country have added metal detectors, locker searches, security guards and some have hired drug-sniffing canines. Many schools lock down the school during lunch periods to circumvent children from leaving the campus. Numerous schools have added closed-circuit televisions and student identification cards. Schools that struggle with a diminishing budget have asked parents to volunteer to monitor school hallways, playgrounds and lunchrooms.

While schools and communities struggle to find viable and effective solutions, many schools look like a place where children are punished and serving time instead of obtaining an education. As the violence increases, additional strict measures will be put in place. Attending school today is vastly different than it was just 15 years ago.

It is difficult to imagine how the school landscape will change in the next 15 years. Many schools have failed to maintain proper education levels and now must contend with providing proper security and safety. Finding the balance of providing safety and a good education is a difficult challenge.

Filed Under: School Violence, Students Tagged With: Education, School district, State school, United States

The Power of School Assemblies Against Bullies

December 19, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Schools across the country have recognized that bullying is a serious offense. With school violence increasing, many schools and communities are implementing programs to end school bullying. School administrators in many parts of the country are empowering children with tools to protect themselves and others against bullies. In addition, many educators are receiving much needed training in recognizing that teasing and taunting is a painful experience for any child. In the past, bullying has been treated lightly. Today, school administrators have developed policies and procedures to address bullying with immediate action.

Children can report bullying and remain anonymous without fear of retaliation. School administrators have realized they must create trust among their students and provide a safe avenue for children to report offenses. Many schools have developed mandatory education classes to educate children on bullying and why it is wrong. One of the most effective tactics has been school assemblies. Gathering the students in an auditorium to discuss bullying has proven to be quite effective. Most bullies come from home environments where they are being bullied or they bully to gain notoriety and become popular. This public discussion of bullying often embarrasses bullies and empowers other students with the knowledge that a bully is not cool at all, but a sad individual that needs help.

Bullies try to impress their friends by taunting other children. They want to be noticed and recognized. School assemblies that focus on the subject of bullying, have effectively diminished the power of bullies. This creates an environment where bullies are viewed as undesirable individuals instead of popular. These assemblies empower other children with knowledge and tools to prevent bullying. It has also created an environment in which victims have a voice and gain the support of their fellow students. These assemblies have inspired students to develop student groups committed to protecting and helping fellow students that are being bullied.

Filed Under: School Violence, Students Tagged With: Bullying, Child, School bullying, Student