Schools move to educate staff, students on response to bullying - The Boston Globe

Schools move to educate staff, students on response to bullying - The Boston Globe

Pushing back

Bolstered by a new state law addressing bullying, schools move to educate staff, students on responding to aggression

Olavio Bisneto, of Everett, interacts during exercises at a seminar in Bridgewater

By Christine Legere

Globe Correspondent / May 13, 2010

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For the longest time, bullying has fallen into the “kids will be kids’’ category, a negative yet somewhat unavoidable part of growing up. But following the suicides of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, a Springfield 11-year-old who took his own life last year after being bullied, and Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old Irish immigrant in South Hadley who hanged herself in January after weeks of harassment by fellow students, educators, parents, and lawmakers are finally saying “No more.’’

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Bullying in school
College students surveyed last year were asked whether they had ever been bullied in high school.
32% said they were frequently bullied
43% said they had been bullied sometimes
60% said they had been bullied via instant messaging, social networking sites, text messages, or other electronic means
40% knew of students who were bullied
so severely they left school
80% said they were not aware of any anti-bullying program in their school districts
SOURCE: Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center

Last week, Governor Deval Patrick signed one of the strongest legislative measures in the country against bullying behavior in schools, mandating training for faculty and students, and requiring that parents be informed of incidents. School employees must report suspected bullying to principals for investigation, whether it occurs on school grounds, bus rides, or at school-sponsored events. And school officials must also take action against student bullying via e-mail or through social networking sites like Facebook, since conflicts on the Internet can create a hostile environment at school.

Although bullying is still not categorized as a criminal act, aggressive bullying can now be dealt with legally under laws against stalking and harassment.

According to data gathered by Bridgewater State College professor Elizabeth Englander, founder of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center,

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Md. bars release of tests to military

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Never too late to swoon

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