Bullying: What can we do about it?

[treefrog]

Well then, regrettably, you're clearly not looking at the bigger picture.

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. I work full-time as a teacher in a secondary school. Bullying is an issue where I work, as it is in most schools. I was asking urban if they had any opinions on how they thought bullying in schools should be tackled. TBH I think that school bullying is about a big a picture as I can handle on a day-to-day basis!

Regrettably, I lack the time to go to "my local university library" to look up good practice, as I feel that if there was a handy how-to pamphlet on this I would have read it by now, no? Also, we do get specialists coming in to help us with such things, and NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK. Hence the thread. Maybe you could help an exhausted teacher and inform her of what these strategies are?

 

[nopassaran]

...we do get specialists coming in to help us with such things, and NOTHING SEEMS TO WORK.

Exactly, because the problem is ingrained in the very nature of the society in which we live, and in my opinion the very nature of us as a species.

I appreciate that you may regard my responses as unhelpful, in terms of coming up with a quick fix solution, but I can't help thinking that until people start to seriously reflect on their own behaviours and attitudes, both past and present, it's the only way we have any chance of moving things forward. And I doubt tutillage on such matters forms part of the national curriculum as yet.

Children from an early age need to to be taught to respect and consider each other, but in a society which places the greatest emphasis on economic success, I doubt this is really possible. Hence my previous argument that we can only really manage the problem as opposed to solving it.

I know its a bummer working in the public sector where workloads are concerned, and how this prevents us from having the time to go about researching good practice, but if I was to sum up the approach I would adopt, and I'm sure it's probably already been suggested, it would be this. There needs to be a culture of respect developed in the school, which the children need to take home with them - parents need to be involved in this too. All staff would need to feel passionately about such an initiative and, as importantly, understand that the values they were promoting AND policing, were ones that they adhered to as well, as I'm sure there are plenty of bullies, potential bullies, and members of the complicit herd lurking around your staff room.

Fair play to you though TF for wanting to do something about the problem, because a lot of people really couldn't give a f***.

I'm sorry if my responses are unhelpful, but I am merely giving you my opinion on the matter.

Good luck

 

[William of Walworth]

Treefrog, have you looked at the Bully OnLine site (I put a link to it in one of my earlier posts).

It's full of really useful and insightful information, advice and links.

I disagree there's very little you can do, even a case by case approach can work wonders in helping bullied pupils feel that they're being supported and that the problem is not being 'just ignored' -- the worst thing a target iof bullying can be left to feel, is abandoned and unsupported.

Nopassaran posts a lot of sense too as do others

 

[dash_two]

After a few days at primary school another little boy started trying to bully me. Such a thing had never happened to me before, I didn't really understand what was it was all about.

One of the teachers saw what was going on, grabbed him, grabbed me, and hauled us both away into a corner. Then she took my hand, made me curl it up into a fist, and then by gripping my wrist made me hit him on the head a few times until he burst into tears.

Problem solved. Both he and I had learned a lesson.

 

[nopassaran]

After a few days at primary school another little boy started trying to bully me. Such a thing had never happened to me before, I didn't really understand what was it was all about.

One of the teachers saw what was going on, grabbed him, grabbed me, and hauled us both away into a corner. Then she took my hand, made me curl it up into a fist, and then by gripping my wrist made me hit him on the head a few times until he burst into tears.

Problem solved. Both he and I had learned a lesson.

If only the solution was always as simple as this, but regrettably it isn't....but all the same you can never deny the justification and legitimacy behind retributive justice, under certain circumstances

 

[Zeppo]

Bullying at work needs to be stopped. I am in a organisation that wants to reduce 500 jobs by March 2008. The incidence of bad management and bullying is increasing as stress levels are rising. A good website on this is www.banbullyingatwork.com

 

[nopassaran]

Bullying at work needs to be stopped. I am in a organisation that wants to reduce 500 jobs by March 2008. The incidence of bad management and bullying is increasing as stress levels are rising. A good website on this is www.banbullyingatwork.com

Forgive me, but I have yet to come across "good management", cos to be honest all management is baaaad!

 

[Loupylou]

I would imagine that most cases of bullying are because the bully wants to look big in front of their mates -- always is the case ime.

If this isn't hte case, the bully is quite mentally unstable/sadist, which I very much doubt is the norm.

Most adult bullies I would say are unstable sadists. I think most kids 'grow out of it' apart from a few born with personality disorders & exert a strong peer pressure effect on other kids.

Teaching is one of the professions with the highest levels of bullying going on, many schools are run by maniac heads so no wonder they allow, nuture and encourage bullying and blaming the targets.

After all they need to get them ready to go into the workplace as adults where they can have a right old larf making others' lives a misery there as well.

Bullies at work behave like they are in the school playground. Problem is you get in a lot more shit if you kick their head in.........unfortunately. I think that's why they take the piss more; it's part of their sad power trip.

 

[Loupylou]

Oh, fuck. I thought I might have some useful things to say on this thread, especially regarding the collusive nature of the relationships between bullies and bullied, but, having read through it, I don't think I have the patience or tolerance at the moment to deal with the inevitable outrage and self-righteous indignation that I just know my views would spark.

So I'll just shut the fuck up, and...actually, no, I don't think I even want to read the thread.

*buggers off*

Because there's no trace of outrage or self-righteous indignation in your post is there?