I am done pretending...

We have a great school, we have a lot of success in academics and activities.  My teachers work hard, my students work hard.  We have very few discipline problems.  So when it came to addressing some bullying issues, I felt as if we were doing well preventing bullying.  We addressed potential problems that we saw and heard immediately.  We are visible in the hallways and keep as many eyes on students as possible.  

The problem is, bullying does not happen around adults.  Barb Coloroso says, "A bully surveys the landscape and looks to the audience to see if any adult is paying attention." (p. 6) Don't get me wrong it is extremely important that we are visible, but bullies will find another way.  

So I am done pretending that we don't have a problem.  I have found that it is more prevalent than one would think.  The root of the problem is the bystander.  The bystander can either feed the power of the bully or decrease it greatly.  This video shows the power of the bystander.

Being visible in the hallways/lunch/bus/etc. and using harsh discipline will only get you so far.  How can we get the bystander to step up and change the cycle?

Check out the Bully, Bullied and the Bystander by Barb Coloroso for a great resource!