Bullying... NO WAY!

Unknown Wednesday, March 09, 2016 5 comments

Hi everyone, it's Christie from My Mum, the Teacher... I'm back and here to write about the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.

The National Day of Action against and Bullying and Violence will be held on Friday 18 March 2016.Unfortunately bullying is a common schoolyard issue - it's not a new one, but according to stats is a growing issue.

Approximately one in four Year 4 to Year 9 Australian students (27%) report being bullied every few weeks or more often (considered to be frequent) during the last term at school.
Frequent school bullying was highest among Year 5 (32%) and Year 8 (29%) students.
83% of students who bully others online, also bully others offline.
84% of students who were bullied online were also bullied offline.
Peers are present as onlookers in 87% of bullying interactions, and play a central role in the bullying process.
Hurtful teasing was the most prevalent of all bullying behaviours experienced by students, followed by having hurtful lies told about them.

(Cross, D., Shaw, T., Hearn, L., Epstein, M., Monks, H., Lester, L., & Thomas, L. 2009. Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study (ACBPS). Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Perth).

These don't even take into account online bullying (read more about CyberBullying here) which appears to be related to age (or access to technology), with older students more likely to engage in cyber bullying than younger students.

Bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence can all impact upon a persons social interactions and personal perceptions. School communities should have clear definitions outlined in their school policies and procedures for bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence, and how to handle these situations if and when they arise.

Luckily, there is plenty of information available for parents, teachers and students. Click on the following resource links to be taken to the sites and start collecting information and activities to explore with your students.