often with repeated harmful incidents over time. Bullying comes in many forms: verbal, written, electronical- ly posted, mean teasing, hazing, and physical harm. Springer, who is the director of
Wasatch County School District’s Family Education Center and a former director of special education, explained bullying is actually a specific type of what is known as “coercive behavior.” In other words, children (and adults) who engage in bullying behavior are typically attempting to coerce others. Kids with limited communication skills or isolated friendship circles tend to be more vulnerable to coercive people. “The latest trend is that bullying is not
only pervasive, but a super common form of behavior exhibited by both students and adults,” said Springer, who was originally scheduled to keynote the TSD Conference this month and pro- vide an overview of his ASPEN training, before the event was postponed until November. “Schoolyard bullying still exists in the form of what we call rela- tional aggression and exclusion. These forms of bullying happen on school campuses and buses. The other types of bullying occur on social media and text threads both on and off campus.” At the onset of the coronavirus pan-
demic, about 22 percent of students aged 12 to 18 years reported being bullied at school, according to the Indi- cators of School Crime and Safety report released by the Institute of Education Sciences for the U.S. Department of Education. High schoolers were more prone to bullying via electronic chan- nels, and students with special needs or LGBTQ identities were among the highest online bullying targets. Eight percent of survey respondents indicated they were bullied on a bus.
Multiple Ways to Confront Bullying Proactive school districts can pre-
vent student victimization, community pain, lawsuits and bad press. Student
transporters play a key role in spotting, reporting and proactively addressing bullying. Zero-tolerance bullying poli- cies, mandatory anti-bullying training and rising awareness also can help members of the school community work toward dignity and respect for all. Through onboard Wi-Fi connections and video cameras, school bus operators can catch culprits in the act and address the issue using audio and video record- ings as evidence. Districts can also can notify law enforcement of incidents on the bus in real-time and address them before further endangering drivers and passengers. Without an electronic back- up to catch and report bullying, incidents can escalate to lifelong mental scars and lawsuits against school districts. For Gaston County Schools in North
Carolina, the school bus camera didn’t catch a bullying incident involving a fifth-grade girl with special needs, according to the school district. How- ever, student bystanders recorded the disturbing incident on their cellphones and shared it via social media. The videos showed a bully pulling the fifth grader’s hair and pounding her head into the bus seat. The victim’s par- ents are using the video as evidence in a lawsuit calling for changes in the district’s bullying policy. The parents want more accountability in reporting incidents to families and harsher disci- pline against bullies. While the Gaston County Schools reportedly followed disciplinary procedures, the case re- mains in juvenile court.
Building Better Policies and Training Incidents will not spiral to a cri-
sis level if bullying policies are better understood and clearly communicat- ed. Regular training can help drivers, supervisors and school administrators understand their roles in enforcing policies on the bus to preserve student and driver safety. For example, Utah’s Wasatch County School District has a zero-tolerance pol-
Dr. Ben Springer, Ph. D.
Schoolyard bullying still exists in the form of what we call relational aggression and exclusion. These forms of bullying happen on school campuses and buses. The other types of bullying occur on social media and text
threads both on and off campus.”
www.stnonline.com 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
