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ESSSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1. WHAT IS BULLYING?

2. WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TO PREVENT BULLYING?

3. WHAT IS HAZING AND WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TO PREVENT HAZING?

4. HOW ARE BULLYING AND HAZING ALIKE? HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT?

WHAT IS BULLYING?

According to the stopbullying.gov website, bullying is the unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.

Do you know anyone who has been a victim of bullying?

In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include:

• An imbalance of power: kids who bully use their power such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity, to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time, and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.

• Repetition: bullying behaviors happen more than once, or have the potential to happen more than once

According to www.dosomething.org. here are some facts about bullying:

1. Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year.

2. 1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4 percent of the time.

3. Approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day because of bullying.

4. 1 in 7 students in grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying.

5. 56 percent of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.

6. Over two-thirds of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective.

7. 71 percent of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.

8. 90 percent of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying.

9. 1 out 10 students drop out of school because of repeated bullying.

10. Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75 percent of school-shooting incidents.

11. Physical bullying increases in elementary school, peaks in middle school and declines in high school.  Verbal abuse, on the other hand, remains constant.

12. A 2009 survey found that 9 out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.

There are three main types of bullying:

Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things. Verbal bullying includes:

• Teasing• Name-calling• Inappropriate sexual comments• Taunting• Threatening to cause harm

Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. Social bullying includes:

• Leaving someone out on purpose

• Telling other children not to be friends with someone

• Spreading rumors about someone

• Embarrassing someone in public

Physical bullying involves hurting a person’s body or possessions. Physical bullying includes:

• Hitting/kicking/pinching

• Spitting

• Tripping/pushing

• Taking or breaking someone’s things

• Making mean or rude hand gestures

Students Who are Bullied often show warning signs, these students may:

Have torn, damaged, or missing pieces of clothing, books, or other belongings

Have unexplained cuts, bruises, and scratches from fighting

Have few, if any, friends with whom he or she spends time Seem afraid of going to school, walking to and from school, riding the school bus, or taking part in organized activities (such as clubs or sports) with peers

Take a long "illogical" route when walking to or from school

Lose interest in doing school work, or suddenly begin to do poorly in school

Appear sad, moody, teary, or depressed when he or she comes home

Complain frequently of headaches, stomach aches, or other physical problems

Have frequent bad dreams, or trouble sleeping

Experience a loss of appetite

Appear anxious and suffer from low self-esteem

Students who bully others:

It's important to recognize the characteristics of students who bully, which may help prevent bullying and allow for early intervention. These students may:

Have a positive attitude toward violence and the use of violent means

Have a strong need to dominate and subdue other students and get their own way

Be impulsive, aggressive, or easily angered

Lack empathy toward students who are bullied

Have defiance and aggression toward adults, including teachers and parents

Be involved in other anti-social or rule-breaking activities such as vandalism, delinquency, and substance abuse

Have greater physical strength than that of others in general and the students they bully in particular (especially in boys)

Be more likely to report owning a gun for risky reasons, such as to gain respect or to frighten others

What can I do?

• Intervene immediately. It is ok to get another adult to help.

• Separate the kids involved.

• Make sure everyone is safe.

• Meet any immediate medical or mental health needs.

• Stay calm. Reassure the kids involved, including bystanders.

• Model respectful behavior when you intervene.

Avoid these common mistakes:

• Don’t ignore it. Don’t think kids can work it out without adult help.

• Don’t immediately try to sort out the facts.

• Don’t force other kids to say publicly what they saw.

• Don’t question the children involved in front of other kids.

• Don’t talk to the kids involved together, only separately.

• Don’t make the kids involved apologize or patch up relations on the spot.

Get police help or medical attention immediately if:

• A weapon is involved.

• There are threats of serious physical injury.

• There are threats of hate-motivated violence, such as racism or homophobia.

• There is serious bodily harm.

• There is sexual abuse.

• Anyone is accused of an illegal act, such as robbery or extortion—using force to get money, property, or services.

Was there anything that was missed about bullying? If not, you have two essential questions to answer:

1. What is bullying?

2. What are some ways to prevent bullying?

HazingWhat is it?

What is hazing?Hazing is any action taken or situation created intentionally:

• that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule

• risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of an group or team

• whether new or not regardless of the person's willingness to participate

Hazing is the practice of rituals and other activities involving harassment, abuse, or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group.

Hazing can be seen in many types of social groups, including gangs, sports teams, schools military units, and fraternities/sororities.

Hazing is prohibited by law and may comprise either physical (possibly violent) abuse or psychological abuse. It may also include nudity or sexually-oriented offenses.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=hazing&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=xmF2rcroH-VkwM&tbnid=5vmsY8W91QtbLM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://collegepartyguru.com/articles/pages.php?link=Worst_Hazing_Stories&ei=SICCUfePAuGfyQHVxIGADg&bvm=bv.45921128,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNF3B5PxkdkrmPPGmbgoRHY09vT68g&ust=1367593025373701

What’s the harm in a little hazing?

According to the Hazing Prevention.org the concept of Hidden Harm has to do with the fact that we don’t know everything about the newest members of our organization.

Think about it, someone joins your organization and they are carrying with them a hidden background that would make them highly susceptible to serious repercussions if hazed. What might be some of the consequences for this person if hazed?

Put another way, we all have heard of the term ‘baggage” right?

Consider the baggage that today’s students bring with them to high

school or college. Have you ever dealt with or know someone who:

suffers from depression, or another mental health issue? Has served

in the military – been in a war zone? Been sexually assaulted?

Comes from an alcoholic family? Has an alcohol or other addiction?

Has attempted or seriously considered suicide? Is on medication or

has been in counseling for a mental health disorder? Has been

abused physically or emotionally? Has been hazed or bullied before?

All of the aforementioned backgrounds and countless others we can’t

even imagine, could put someone at higher risk of being re-

Traumatized through hazing.

What’s the difference between hazing and bullying?

The difference between hazing and bullying is subtle. The same power dynamics

are involved. The same intimidation tactics are used. The same second-class

citizenship issues arise. The only real difference between bullying and hazing is

that bullying can happen to anyone, anytime and is used as a means to exclude

someone. Hazing is an instrument of including people by having them earn their

way into a group, occurring only in the context of being new to an organization,

team or group. Bullying is about exclusion; hazing, inclusion.

PREVENTION

Help others to:

Notice hazing.

Interpret hazing as a problem.

Recognize a responsibility to change it. Acquire the skills needed to take action.

Take action!

StopHazing.org discusses how every individual can make a difference in the fight against hazing.

The most effective way is to educate without drawing attention to the issue of hazing and helping others to interpret hazing as a problem.

Remember the adage, “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”

Begin by simply educating yourself to the problem; help others to re-define hazing; become a positive role model

By talking with youth about the potential problems; inform yourself about the laws surrounding hazing and the policies in your school or potential college; finally, identify with others in your community to break the cycle of hazing.

For more info, go to www.stophazing.org

Be The Change You Wish to See in the World.