Confronting Bullying and Cyberbullying Project

What is bullying? And what is cyberbullying?

• Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior towards a group or individual by another group or individual.  
• Cyberbullying is bullying, but the bullies use a technological medium like computers, phones, and pictures to bully others. 
• Bullies may target others due to their: 
• gender
• sexual orientation
• race 
• ethnicity
• religion
• culture
• size
•  looks
• mental health
• weight
• But at the heart of it all, many bullies target others to feel a sense of power over others. 

How often does bullying occur?

• 48% of students in middle school and high school in 2011 experienced some form of sexual harassment (Hill & Kearl, 2011).
• 30% of the time this harassment was from an online source (Hill & Kearl, 2011).      
• 56% of students identifying as female reported being harassed (Hill & Kearl, 2011). 
• 40% of students identifying as male reported being harassed (Hill & Kearl, 2011).
• 74.1% of LGBTQ students reported being verbally harassed at schools in the Washington, DC area in 2013 (GLSEN, 2008).
• 36.2% were physically harassed (GLSEN, 2008).
• 55.5% of students reported hearing a teacher or staff member say something negative about LGBTQ students (GLSEN, 2008).
• 55.5% reported personally experiencing discriminatory policies in their schools aimed at LCBTQ students (GLSEN, 2008).
• 43% of students reported bullying (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016).
• Students usually were bullied multiple times before reporting.
• Only 23% of students that experienced cyberbullying reported it (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016).
• Only 40%-50% of students experiencing cyberbullying know the identity of their bully or bullies.
• All the races reported some form of bullying (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016):
• 25% of black students
• 22% of  caucasian students
• 17% of hispanic students
• 9% of asian students 
• Up to 35.3% of students with learning disorders reported being bullied (Rose & Monda, 2012).

Why should we care about it? 

1. Students who experience bullying are more likely to have trouble sleeping, anxiety, and depression (Center for Disease Control, 2016) 
2. Bullied students indicate that bullying has a negative effect on how they feel about themselves (Center for Disease Control, 2016). 
3. Youth who self-blame and conclude they deserved to be bullied are more likely to face negative outcomes, such as depression, prolonged victimization, and maladjustment, and they are even at an increased risk for suicide (Perren, et. al, 2013).
4. Students don't learn well in environments where they don't feel safe (Edutopia, 2010).  

How should we deal with bullying and cyberbullying?

So, we've talked a little bit about bullying and cyberbullying, but what do we do in those situations as educators? Well, our groups have examined two case studies each and provided strategies for dealing with bullying and cyberbullying situations as a teacher as well as the importance of addressing bullying and cyberbullying with school policies. 

• Group 1: Adam, Altynai, Sean, and Sterling
• Group 2: Conor, Mike, Nichole, and Rebekah  

References

Edutopia. (2010, November 16). Smart hearts: Social and emotional learning overview. Retrieved March 3, 2018 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4wOWEGyO60o

GLSEN. (2008). ThinkB4YouSpeak: Educator’s guide. [PDF for teaching strategies when bullied]. Retrieved March 3, 2018 from file:///Users/nichole/Downloads/M4U1A2%20Guide%20to%20ThinkB4YouSpeak.pdf

Hill, C., Kearl, H. (2011). Crossing the line: Sexual harassment at school. Washington, D.C.: AAUW.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2015. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=719

Perren, S., Ettekal, I., & Ladd, G. (2013). The impact of peer victimization on later maladjustment: Mediating and moderating effects of hostile and self-blaming attributions. Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 46-55. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3527635/ 

Rose, C. A., & Monda-Amaya, L. E. (2012). Bullying and victimization among students with disabilities: Effective strategies for classroom teachers. Intervention in School and Clinic, 48, 99-107. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com.ezp3.lib.umn.edu/doi/abs/10.1177/1053451211430119