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BULLYING

Below are some resources to help stop bullying in our schools.

Listen to Vermont Public Radio's Switchboard Program (1 hour) on Bullying, hosted by Nina Keck on 9-8-05

Vt. Dept. of EducationVermont Department of Education's Model Bullying Prevention Plan

This plan was developed in consultation with the Vermont School Boards Association, the Vermont Superintendents Association, the Vermont Principals’ Association, the Vermont Human Rights Commission, school district legal counsel, and other stakeholders, as required pursuant to Act 117 of 2004, An Act Relating to Bullying Prevention Policies. This model plan is intended as an insert to the Vt. Department of Education Model Discipline Plan, 2003. Please also refer to the Vermont Department of Education Web site for related resources, and contact information for the department’s Safe and Healthy Schools team. Click on your format choice (PDF or MS Word) to view the model plan, and here (PDF or MS Word) for the Appendix.

If you have any questions, please contact Mia Karvonides, legal counsel at the department; at 828-5106 or miakarvonides@education.state.vt.us.

Let's Get Real"Let's Get Real" -- a video accompanied by a comprehensive middle school bullying curriculum that could be used daily over as much as 6-8 weeks. The video is a part of the Women's Media "Respect for All" project. It is 35 minutes long and costs $99.

It is a strong video for adults to watch and listen to, to hear words directly from student mouths about what is really going on with bullying and name-calling - why they do it, why they don't intervene, etc. It reminds me of listening to students participating in the A World of Difference Peer Training program sessions last October at Champlain Valley Union - so many of the same themes and thoughts - "yes, I'll intervene (sometimes) if they are my friends, but if they aren't my friends, it's not my business to butt in..." etc. Kids not necessarily "wanting" to act that way, but wanting the power it offers. Students talking about how much it hurts, etc.

It is also a strong video for kids to watch as a jumping off point for in-depth discussions about how they treat each other.

The video doesn't offer answers or solutions - that isn't the point of the film, and I left the viewing thinking that so much more is needed, but it's a great start. For more information about or to purchase a copy of Let's Get Real visit http://www.womedia.org/letsgetreal.htm

NEA National Bullying Awareness

It is NEA's goal, in launching a National Bullying Awareness Campaign, to reduce, and eventually eradicate, bullying in America's public schools.

Convincing research indicates that this goal can best be achieved by fostering the active involvement of teachers, administrators, school support personnel, parents and community. Therefore, NEA is enlisting collaboration in this effort by other national and community organizations. We strongly believe that bullying and harassment are community issues that need multifaceted, systemic approaches that include all community and national stakeholders. An early partner in this nationwide campaign is the America Other national organizations are expected to join in the near future.

Check out the website: http://www.nea.org/schoolsafety/bullying.html

The Revealers, 2003 Doug Wilhelm The Revealers

This site was developed because of the amazing response to this book, a novel about bullying for young adults, by Doug Wilhelm. Published last fall by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, The Revealers has struck a chord. During the 2003-04 school year, several dozen schools and communities made the novel the focus of gradewide, schoolwide, or community-wide reading and discussion projects. It turned out that using a work of fiction can be a very effective way of inviting young people to open up bullying and similar painful experiences. The reading-and-discussion projects happened mainly in schools and mostly in Vermont, the author's home state; but they also extended from Boston and New Jersey to Minnesota and beyond.

In the site - especially in the section "Using the book: A resource center" - you'll find brief articles about the various ways the book has so far been used to address bullying. Included are specific, downloadable resources: a middle-school study unit that a teacher designed around the book, discussion questions, learning activities, a school's script for performing the first chapter, a press release for a community read, and access to a Web-based discussion board.

Visit the website at this address: www.the-revealers.com/

Some Other Resources:

  • About No Name-Calling Week (January 24-28, 2005):
    http://www.nonamecallingweek.org

  • Harassment Statistics: http://www.womedia.org/lgr_statistics.htm

  • "Ten Simple Ways to Celebrate No-Name Calling Week in Your School" as well as organizing tips, lesson plans, downloadable stickers and more

  • Advice for brothers, sisters and friends (bystanders) about handling bullying in productive ways

  • A GLSEN publication entitled "Zero Indifference: A How To Guide for Ending Name-Calling in Schools" by Nancy Goldstein.

  • "Different and the Same"--a video series for primary grades: nine 15-min. videos, plus a training video for teachers and a discussion guide, none specifically about homophobia, but excellent otherwise. Titles include: "Play Ball" - stereotyping, "The Club" - standing up against prejudice directed against someone else, "Sticks and Stones" - name calling, "Cinderella and Me" - being excluded from mainstream culture, "Long Distance" - speaking a different language, "Tug of War" - choosing a friend across racial lines, "Proud to Be Me" - the pull between maintaining a strong cultural identity and assimilation, "I'm American, Too" - definitions of being American, and "Words on the Wall" - hate crimes. Family Communications, GPN, PO Box 80669, Lincoln, NE 685 01-0669. Phone: 800-228-4630, Previews and free guides available at Web site: http://gpn.unl.edu/ ]http://gpn.unl.edu (under "product number" type in "614" and hit search) or order from the Anti-Defamation League: 800-343-5540.

  • "Breaking the Cycle of Bullying"--an activity for intermediate grades that allows for problem-solving of typical situations a bystander might face: in Word format or in PDF format.

  • "Safe Passage: Voices from the Middle School."

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