On May 3, 2010 The Massachusetts Governor
passed the law, Chapter 92, “An Act Relative to Bullying in Schools.” This is an
anti-bullying law that protects students from bullying during school hours, non-school
hours as well as cyber bullying. The law requires all school officials,
including teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria works, and others to report bulling
to the principal of the school. The law defines bullying as,
“The repeated use by one or more students
of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or
any combination thereof, directed at a victim that: (i) causes physical or
emotional harm to the victim or damage to the victim’s property; (ii) places
the victim in reasonable fear of harm to himself or of damage to his property;
(iii) creates a hostile environment at school for the victim; (iv) infringes on
the rights of the victim at school; or (v) materially and substantially disrupts
the education process or the orderly operation of a school. For the purposes of
this section, bullying shall include cyber-bullying.”
Beginning in the 2011-2012 school year, the
government has required school officials to participate in a bully training
sessions regarding how to indentify and respond to bullying. Each school
district, charter, private, and residential school in Massachusetts must have a
plan and policy addressing bullying prevention and intervention. Each plan
needs to be updated at least every two years.
The Massachusetts government,
Department of Public Health created a bullying prevention guide for schools to
follow. The guide has 123 pages filled with strategies and resources to deal
with and prevent bullying. The guide outlined what bullying is, practices to
eliminate bullying, classroom prevention tools for teachers, interventions to
help everyone involved with bullying (bullies and their targets), suggestions
and tips for what students can and should do. The guide helps teachers
effectively teach their students about bullying and how to improve the
community in the classroom and school. Also in efforts to prevent bullying, the
Massachusetts government has officially made the fourth Wednesday in January
“No Name Calling Day.” Teachers and other school officials should make an effort to make students aware of that day, as well as be proactive in creating and anti-bullying school.
This is a website that is designed to explain what bullying is, how to recognize warning signs and how you would get help. There are links on the bottom that will help you learn more about cyber bullying and LGBT bullying and examples on how to make bullying stop. There is information for all different ages groups on ways to deal with a bully and ways to take stands against bullying. There are also three informative videos that help parents, educators and communities understand the reality of bullying.Jens Post:
I'm Jen and I strongly disagree with bullying. Although there is no way to get around it in school, the programs that schools have are extremely important to promote anti bullying. I have seen so many stories on the news and also in real life that are just horrible. There are instances of bullying in all schools and there has to be something done about this issue. In my opinion, parents need to get involved with teachers and talk with their children if they are either the student being bullied or doing the bullying.
In doing my research, I came across this very informative site which had a lot of suggestions to prevent bullying. Some of the suggestions they gave to prevent bullying and make the school environment safer is to first figure out where and when this bullying occurs. Once teachers and administrators figure out where the bullying is happening, they have got to put a few extra adult staff on duty in that area to minimize this behavior. Also, the prevention programs that take place should involve teachers, parents and students. It can be hard for a teacher to file incident reports when bullying takes place but it is extremely important in order to extinguish the problem. Its important for staff to encourage teachers to do this. It is also always good to create policies and rules to let students know that bullying is not tolerated what so ever. Finally, extracurricular activities are very important in the community because it is reinforcing the students in a positive way. It is critical to approach bullying in schools and have access to these types of prevention activities.
Kristin's Post:
My current stand on bullying is that it is very wrong. Bullying can have lasting negative effects on children socially, emotionally and physically. The fact that so many young people are cutting their own lives short because of the effects of bullying have been so horrible for them is heart breaking. The government has created a law to protect students rights and ensure school is a safe environment that will foster academic, emotional and social growth. Students need to feel comfortable at school if they are going to learn. They should not have to worry about being bullied. The government has done their part in making a law on bullying, now it is up to the schools to enforce it. Schools should be making conscious efforts to create an anti-bullying environment. Children can be so mean to each other. Bullies feel powerful and better about themselves if they are being mean to others and hurting other people’s feelings. It is good to see that the government is taking the necessary steps to prevent bullying in schools and have consequences for bullies.
Meagan’s Post:
My current stand on the topic of bullying is that it is wrong. I do not believe that any child should be bullied and put through those uncomfortable situations. Bullying creates an atmosphere where the child does not want to be and if this happens to be a classroom the child is going to learn to hate school. It creates long lasting, detrimental effects on them emotionally and physically. Schools should have anti-bullying programs in every school that informs children about the concept of bullying and where you could go to help if you feel that you are being bullied. You hear too many stories of children ending their lives because they have been continuously bullied throughout school and there needs to be an end to this phenomenon. I feel that it is important for teachers, parents, and students to get together and strategize ways to promote anti-bullying. It is important for a child to understand that it is not okay to bully and there will be punishment.
