Education Law

Changes in bullying prevention

Were you bullied as a child? If so, you probably didn’t tell anyone. The prevailing wisdom used to be that bullying was a natural part of childhood and that children should work these things out without adult intervention.

Attitudes about bullying were changing, albeit at a glacial pace, when the worst school shooting in public school history occurred. Ten years later, one of Columbine’s legacies is the increased focus on aggression and violence between students. These days, research shows that schools should be at the center of bullying prevention.

Bullying hurts school climate, lowers academic achievement, and damages children long into adulthood. If the research isn’t enough to sway you, consider the many lawsuits brought against districts by parents who say that schools failed to protect children from their tormenters.

September’s American School Board Journal features a look at how the field of bullying prevention has changed in the decade since Columbine. “From Words to Action” is available online at today www.asbj.com.

ASBJ and the American School Counselor Association are co-sponsoring a webinar on bullying prevention, featuring author Rosalind Wiseman (Queen Bees and Wannabes), Eliza Byard, the executive director of GLSEN, as well as school counselors and board members. Bullying: A Decade After Columbine, What Has Changed? will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 10.

Register at NSBA’s National Affiliate website.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on August 20, 2009 (boomark / email).