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Perspective Newsletters
Spring 2002
LEARY SCHOOL OF VIRGINIA
Page 3
As Earth Day approaches on April 22nd, the students will be participating a two week
curriculum working on community projects. One activity will find students decorating
shopping bags for Harris Teeter Markets as a small way of thanking them for their
many acts of kindness during the past two years. Harris Teeter has been, time and
again, an active and wonderful partner and neighbor. From weekly baked goods to Thanksgiving
dinners to contributions of food for the staff who manned our yard sale and bazaar
to donations of bread, peanut butter, jelly and bottled water during the September
11th attacks when our students were unable to leave the school, Harris Teeter and
their staff have stepped up to the plate and helped whenever we have asked.
The Student Service Organization will be making and distributing posters to encourage
recycling, reusing resources and beautifying our campus. On April 17th, the school
will hold a drawing to determine which classroom will be responsible for the small
garden plot in the courtyard. This year, we will be planting Heirloom tomatoes; Lynn
Roach, our long-time maintenance man, will be donating starts of these plants for
the garden. Another group of younger students have already volunteered to plant flowers
in the front of the building that will look like an American flag when they grow.
While our students are getting into spring activities with fun and educational projects,
there is an issue that I would like to discuss briefly - that of identifying and
correcting "school bullies". While this is certainly not a Leary School phenomenon
since it is found in all schools throughout the country, it is a school wide expectation
at all the Leary School programs that we will not accept bullying.
Bullying is a series of cruel or hostile behaviors involving the same children in
bully and victim roles. Bullies seek power. They gain this feeling of power by causing
distress for their victims. Therefore, our management of bullies requires that, at
the very least, we set up systems to deny them this power. If we can help them fully
find alternative, socially responsible ways to gain a sense of self control and personal
power, that would be an added benefit.
Two forms of bullying, physical and verbal, are the most prevalent in school settings.
Physical bullies use physical aggression or taking the victim's property. This is
the easiest form of bullying to recognize. Verbal bullies use words to hurt or humiliate
the other child. It is the easiest bullying strategy to use and can often be denied
by the bully saying, "I was only joking". This often makes this form more difficult
to manage, and often leads to dismissive suggestions that the victim "ignore him".
However, this is a mistake since verbal bullying can leave longer lasting scars than
physical bullying.
There is little that can be accomplished by a single teacher or a single parent.
The only successful programs controlling bullying are those programs implemented
on a schoolwide basis and with full parental/guardian participation. Some steps that
can be effective, when used in this way, include:
- Advertise the fact that the school and the home has adopted a zero tolerance
policy for bullying and make sure that everybody knows that there is an anti-bullying
plan in place.
- In every classroom and every home, discuss bullying in several meetings. Use
examples. Encourage children to talk about their own experiences with bullies,
both within the school and in their home and neighborhood.
- Help children to understand that reporting bullying is a social responsibility
and benefits the victim, the bully, the entire school community, and the home.
- Make clear the consequences for individual acts of bullying.
- Reach out to bullies. Teach them pro-social behavior. Try to meet their needs
to belong.
- Finally, the most effective tool for dealing with bullying is to mobilize the
masses of students who are neither victims nor bullies. If they will refuse to
watch bullying, report bullying and make clear to bullies that their behavior
is wrong and unacceptable, this will have an impact on bullying.
You may find some of these references helpful when learning more about this issue:
Bullying at School: What we Know and What We Can Do by Daniel Olweus
Bullies are a Pain in the Brain by Trevor Romain
Francesca Creo, M.A.
Director of Programs
learyschool@bellatlantic.net
fcreo@bellatlantic.net
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