What can we do about bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence?
Staff
Q. If I see bullying, harassment, discrimination or violence happening, how do I handle it? What guidelines do I follow?
A. Never ignore bullying. If you witness an incident that you regard as bullying behaviour you must respond. Otherwise, your silence is seen as collusion in what is happening.
Each school has a student code of conduct that states the school rules. It will usually include respect as an important value. We need to remind students of this expectation and that as a community we value it highly.
Q. How can I model a culture of acceptance to my students?
A. You need to address this on a few levels.
- Provide equal opportunities for all your students. This could mean things
like making sure girls and boys get equal time on the computers and extra
assistance if they need it.
- Make sure the lesson content takes a variety of perspectives and you and
your students decide what to learn together.
- Set the boundaries for what you expect from your students. This includes
establishing shared class and playground rules, with fair consequences.
- Never let any form of harassment go on without making a stand, no matter
how insignificant it seems or how busy you are. Make sure you and your students
have a common understanding of what harassment is and why it happens, as
well as what they can do about it.
- Teach skills that give the opportunity for students to take action for themselves.
Q. The students in my class put each other down and exclude those who don't wear the 'right' clothes, have the 'right' bag and so on. What can I do about this?
A. A great thing to do with students is to critically analyse forms of popular culture, like music and music videos, TV, movies, magazines and advertising to understand issues of the world as students see them. Work with them to understand how fashions and fads are influenced by these factors. Help them to be active and critical people, not passive consumers who can be manipulated by the latest trend.
Q. Group dynamics are a major part of playground socialising. How can I best
equip students for positive group relationships?
A. A good strategy is to teach students how to sensitively let other students know that you don't want them as part of your group and how to handle rejection from one group. Everyone would benefit from assistance with decoding interpersonal messages and understanding the role of power in relationships.
Q. If I see a student harassing other students, what should I do as a teacher
aide?
A. If a teacher is present, seek direction. If not, begin moving the threatened students to a safe place. Stay with the students for their protection and call for help.
Q. What are some of the most effective strategies for minimising aggression
and bullying in the playground when on duty?
A. Engage as many students as possible in activities. Always use the language being used by all teachers about personal space, hands to self, and so on. Be alert and vigilant at all times. Especially monitor students with individual behaviour plans, or who are often victimised. Work on your personal relationships with each student in the school. Avoid distractions such as eating, drinking, conversations or mobile phone conversations.
Q. What use is conflict resolution in schools?
A. Conflict resolution approaches can teach young people to become effective problem solvers. Students learn to practise these important life skills at school and to appreciate others' feelings and points of view. Finally, fewer problems tend to re-emerge later.
Q. When can conflict resolution be used to help students solve problem situations?
A. Given support and skills, students are often the best people to resolve conflict – as long as:
- Power is equally shared in the relationship.
- Fear is not an element.
- Both parties are safe.
- Both parties want to reach an agreement.
- The school actively supports and models effective conflict resolution
approaches.
Note: When the problem does not meet these criteria, students need to be able to refer difficult conflicts to the appropriate staff member within the school.
Q. I have a student who has been aggressive in class and very defiant when
I spoke to them about their behaviour. Normally under these circumstances
I would talk with parents about a coordinated approach. However, I'm worried
that they may be abused over the incident. How should I proceed?
A. Your first consideration must be the student's welfare. If you have grounds to suspect that the student is being abused at home, you need to take that issue to your principal for probable reporting to an appropriate agency. Also, it would seem advisable to set up a slightly formal mechanism for the student to report any ongoing abuse within the family or at school (such as sessions with a counsellor/guidance officer or another trusted team member). Working with your school team and the student, organise a personalised behaviour support plan for the student to minimise aggression and defiance while taking account of home issues.
Q. I have a student who is regularly bullied. Although they do nothing obvious
to provoke them, the more 'aggro' boys target them, even those from other
schools during interschool events. Do you have any suggestions?
A. It is important to teach assertiveness to those students who need to speak up and be heard. During interaction with students from other schools, give the student responsibilities that keep them in close proximity to staff at all times. By increasing their responsibility and using positive language you may improve their self-esteem without giving the appearance of them being guarded or protected.
Q. Won't talking about things like homophobia just make bullying worse by
uncovering prejudices? How can schools help?
A. Many students and adults in our schools and communities are already the victims of homophobic bullying, harassment and violence. These issues affect all students. Not doing anything communicates to others that we condone the violence and that it is acceptable to harass and exclude some people. This also encourages abusive relationships in later life.
Homophobic attitudes are learned and therefore can be unlearned. Some students may initially be uncomfortable discussing sexuality and sexist behaviours, but it is essential to break the silence around this subject. Schools can provide students with the knowledge, skills and support to recognise, challenge and change injustice in ways that will reduce levels of abuse and violence within the school community.
Q. Parents contact me stating 'My kid's been bullied. What are you going to
do about it?' How should I respond?
A. This is a shared responsibility between carers and schools. Ensure that any action taken matches with the supportive school environment or anti-bullying/anti-discrimination plan. You may wish to arrange a time to get in touch with the other bullying student's parents and together sort out a strategy.
Q. What if a student does not want me to deal with the problem because they
fear that it will get worse?
A. First build up their trust and develop a rapport and listen to their issues. Next suggest ways to avoid certain situations. Link them with friends who will provide personal support.
Indicate that you will observe what is going on and maybe ask a member of the welfare/student services team to assist.
Once you are clearer about the dynamics, offer to intervene if appropriate and/or use the method of shared concern rather than punitive approaches to change the behaviours of students involved in the bullying.
In most cases, the bullying will stop. If it does not, you may need to analyse the issues and consider a few different responses.
Q. How can we help students resolve their own conflicts successfully?
A. Conflict resolution approaches – when carefully taught, modelled and supported at a whole-school community level – are empowering processes that provide students with the means to solve their own problems and learn important lifelong relationship and citizenship skills.
One of these approaches, peer mediation, provides students with their own forum for resolving conflicts that does not generally require staff to intervene. It utilises a 'no blame' approach to bullying and improves a school's safe and supportive climate. It also provides an excellent opportunity for leadership while teaching students a range of life skills for conflict resolution and later relationships.
Q. How do we involve parents?
A. It is a must to work with the school community. Continually promote the school as being joint partners with carers in the students' education. When the school and family work together, the outcomes for their child will be far better.
When new families enrol, discuss bullying and harassment so that you have a common understanding of these behaviours and all are aware of the school's anti-bullying program. Outline what each person can do to prevent these behaviours, and what will be done if they occur.
Q. How do I find time to develop a whole-school response to bullying and harassment
when I just seem to be bogged down dealing with the day-to-day management
of behaviour?
A. All staff face this challenge but you know you need to find a balance between dealing with the day-to-day individual incidents and a whole-school response to bullying and harassment. Evidence has shown that incidences of bullying and harassment will begin to decline when schools take on a proactive approach to creating a supportive and safe school environment. Often this is a long-term sustained approach rather than one which 'band-aids' the issue for a short while.
Q. How can we get kids to see each other in a positive light?
A. Students need to start relying on each other more, to be there for their friends and to recognise how important relationships are within their own age group. This is not to say, however, that adult guidance is not needed.
Q. What can we do as teachers to help make our school a happier, safer environment?
A. Some of the best and easiest ways to achieve this are to:
- Be there as listeners.
- Model and create curriculum experiences that increase care, concern, respect,
trust and bridge building between groups (and not just those groups that
are familiar to us or our students).
- Work together cooperatively on solutions to real problems experienced
by our students.
- Ensure that all students feel they are treated fairly, their voices are heard and they can influence the running of the school and our society.
Q. Are there any suggestions for measuring how we are going in creating safer, more inclusive environments for everyone in our school community?
A. There are many surveys that measure perceptions and experiences of bullying, harassment and violence. For really useful information, work from a shared understanding of what bullying and harassment consist of, encourage the participation of all groups within the school community and ensure confidentiality. Include questions about safe and dangerous places in the classroom and playground, travelling to and from school, and in different subject areas.
Eva Cox, the social analyst, has been working on ways to measure the social and civic wellbeing of our organisations and groups. These measures, adapted slightly, may be highly relevant for school communities interested in supporting long-term positive change. The measures can be found on this website in 'Where to now?' They can suggest ways to indicate where changes are likely to be needed – and whether the changes made are likely to be 'culture-changing'.
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