ADL Coordinated Testimony
Michael Sheetz, the Vice-Chair of the ADL regional board, described the ADL bill, H. 483 as the most comprehensive of the 11 under consideration. He noted that Massachusetts lags behind in efforts to fight bullying; 38 other states, including North Carolina and Alabama, already have laws in place. He advocated that the bill be amended to add into the definition enumerated categories, differentiating characteristics such as race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity, which influence bullies’ selection of targets. Asked why enumeration was warranted, Sheetz said that bullying related to sexual orientation and gender identity is not treated as seriously otherwise. Chairman Walz requested proposed amendment language to add in enumerated categories. (GLAD has developed an amendment which has the support of the advocacy organizations participating in the lobbying effort.)
The most moving testimony of the day came from a panel of three parents of bullied children. First to testify was Theresa Jackson, the mother of an autistic boy from Sandwich. 12 years old at the time, the boy went to a school dance and “had the time of his life.” Another student videotaped his unusual dance movements and posted the video on You Tube, triggering abusive comments online and taunting from classmates at school. The boy was devastated because he could not understand why someone would do that to him. Ms. Jackson choked up early in her testimony, and I teared up too. She described the insensitive reaction of school administrators. One teacher told the boy to “suck it up.” The boy wound up transferring to a different school and remains terrified of going to another school dance. Ms. Jackson had the committee riveted as she spoke.
Sirdeaner Walker of Springfield testified about the suicide of her 11-year-old son Carl Walker-Hoover earlier this year. He was repeatedly taunted as being “gay” and for “dressing like a girl.” Ms. Walker complained to school employees, but nothing was done to make the bullying stop. She was told that bullying was “ordinary social interaction” and that Carl and his tormentors would be friends by seventh grade. She described being at home one evening, cooking supper for her 4 children and thinking that Carl was doing homework in his room. When she went to his room, she discovered his body hanging by an electrical cord, an image which continues to haunt her. She has since teamed up with GLSEN to promote awareness of harassment triggered by sexual orientation and gender identity prejudice.
The third parent, Dr. Robin D’Antona, lost her child to suicide brought on by remorseless bullying in 1993. Since then, she has dedicated her life to anti-bullying education, and is a certified trainer in the Olweus anti-bullying method. She noted that there is an established positive correlation between effective bullying prevention and student academic achievement. She had three basic points to get across: bullying is pervasive, controllable, and affects everyone. A legislator asked if the law should cover charter schools, such as the one Carl Walker-Hoover attended. Responding, Chairman Walz said whatever bill comes out of committee will apply to charter schools. Chairman Walz was understated when she described the parents’ testimony as “extremely powerful.”
The next panel included 4 students, including 2 from the Rashi School in Newton. The most interesting witness was an admitted former bully. The Rashi School has a robust and effective anti-bullying program, and the student was actively counseled and assigned to do a research project on the effects of bullying on its target. He said he developed compassion and empathy for his targets, something he had not felt before, and that prompted a change in his behavior. A female student said she had been insensitive and practiced social exclusion, until a school awareness campaign led her to rethink her behavior. Emily Dale of Swampscott related the torment she went through when she started 8th grade. She was taunted for wearing glasses and being Jewish. When she reported the bullying, the bully was mildly disciplined, but things got worse as the bully’s friends ganged up on her. The school did nothing to protect her from retaliation. Emily had an episode where she destroyed all of her personal items in her bedroom, then retreated to her closet to cry. She said she gained the courage to carry on when her mother came to her and extended a hand. She’s now in a private school. Finally, Brigitte Berman, the teenaged author of Dorie Witt’s Guide to Standing Up to Bullies spoke about her harrowing experiences and how she developed strategies for standing up for herself.
A panel of experts followed. Dr. Elizabeth Englander, head of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (“MARC”) at Bridgewater State College, delivered 11 pages of comments from the parents of targets of bullying. She described the role of MARC, which offers free bullying prevention programming and training for Massachusetts schools. She said there was a need for the state to define minimum standards to give schools uniform guidance in addressing the problem. Professor Jack Levin of Northeastern University stressed the long-lasting effects of bullying. He recounted a conversation he had with a former target in her 40’s, who is so debilitated by childhood bullying that she is unable to hold a job or form intimate relationships. He also noted that targets can lash out in horrific violence. He spoke of the Virginia Tech gunman who killed 32 people. He had a history of being bullied that stretched back to his Middle School days, and was never offered “a helping hand.” Heidi McCoy, a graduate student studying at Bridgewater State under Dr. Englander also spoke, offering statistical information.
Testimony of Right Wing Groups
Two organizations which have fiercely opposed LGBT rights in Massachusetts, Mass. Resistance and the Mass. Family Institute, offered cautionary testimony, but did not flatly oppose legislation. Brian Camenker of Mass. Resistance voiced his suspicion that anti-bullying legislation was a “homosexual activist cause.” He argued that “special interest groups” were behind the legislative push, and pointed to the overflow crowd as evidence of their machinations. He said the bill represented an “agenda.” He contended that H. 483 was overly comprehensive and “way overdone.” In his somewhat desultory remarks, he also protested the characterization of Mass Resistance as a “hate group,” which he insisted is not true. (The Southern Poverty Law Center includes them as a “hate group” in its authoritative listing.)
Camenker drew pointed questions from the committee, particularly H.483 sponsor Rep. John Rogers. He had to admit that he supported the provision for parental notification when children are bullied. He said the way to deal with bullies was “to read them the riot act.”. He admitted that bullying is often triggered by perceptions of the target’s status. As he put it, “kids act weird” and that causes bullying. Put on the spot by Rep. Allen McCarthy, he said some legislative action was necessary.
Sally Knowlton expressed her concern that anti-bullying education was twisted to support homosexuality. She said that bullying prevention conveys a message that “gay is good” and that message needed to be stopped. She cited an incident in Washington state where a nine-year-old boy was praised by a teacher for saying he didn’t like it when kids called other kids “gay” as though that were a bad thing. She asserted that being gay is not good; it leads to sickness and death; and no one is born “that way.”
Evelyn Reilly of the Mass. Family Institute, which espouses more a “moderate” brand of homophobia than does Mass. Resistance, conceded that something needed to be done. She said the bills before the legislative were well-intended but had some problems. For example, she opposes provisions calling for anti-bullying education to be woven into general school curriculum subjects. She also saw no need to address issues of discriminati
on. She supported a stripped-down version.
Other supportive testimony
Although I will not recount the testimony in the interest of brevity, other important stakeholders spoke in support of H. 483 at the request of the ADL. These witnesses included Asst. Attorney General Maura Healy, the head of the Civil Rights Division in the Office of the Attorney General; Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz who testified on behalf of the Mass. Chiefs of Police Association; Julie Johnson, who testified on behalf of the Mass. Teachers Association; the principal of Sharon High School (the only school administrator to speak); Sheila Decter of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action; Attorney Sam Bickett of GLAD; Lisa Perry-Wood, Executive Director of the Mass. Commission on LGBT Youth; Co-Chair Jeff Stone of the Greater Boston Civil Rights Coalition; and Co-Chair Arline Isaacson of the MGLPC.
Some of the most powerful testimony came from members of the public who had not been recruited to appear and speak. John Kuyper of Roxbury introduced himself as a survivor of bullying for being gay in the 1950’s. He said his experience was like “Peyton Place meets Lord of the Flies.” He described being taunted as a “crybaby” and noted that his fundamentalist minister father offered no support. He said LGBT victims suffer alone. 50 years later, he said the wounds of his adolescent experience are still there, and that the sense of anger never leaves.
Kathleen Godbaut of Weymouth delivered a petition signed by 200 students at Weymouth High School calling for legislative action. The petition was prompted by the suicide of Carl Walker Hoover. David Laird testified as the father of 4 children, the oldest of whom is in fourth grade. He described his son’s torment and his daily protestations that he didn’t want to go to school. He said he had gone to school officials, who lacked understanding of how to take effective action. He said they needed guidance and help. John Graham, a nonagenarian who said he had been neither a bully nor a target, was moved to appear after reading a newspaper headline about the bullying of autistic students. Hard of hearing, Mr. Graham loudly decried the delay in action on anti-bullying legislation. He said the effects of bullying last a long time. He felt that bullying should be treated as a mental defect and a crime. Targets of bullying should not have the burden of solving the problem themselves yet schools turn a blind eye. Finally, a Quincy resident who has been a firefighter in Waltham for over 20 years quietly conveyed his pain as the father of a transgender son who died of a drug overdose earlier this year, after years of being bullied.
Conclusion
Only the House members of the Ed Committee attended the hearing, since the Senate was in session at the time debating a larger education reform bill. Nevertheless, the Senate members of the committee are seen as generally supportive already, while the opportunity to educate the House members was especially valuable. Committee members stayed throughout the 3-hour hearing and paid careful attention to the testimony. The impression I gathered from Chairman Walz was that the committee views the issue as one demanding action after years of delay. The committee is likely to combine the pending bills into a single version to report to the full legislature, and was open to suggestions for improving the final product. All in all, the presentation was well-coordinated, thorough, and deeply moving, but not too lengthy or repetitive. I was misty-eyed for much of the hearing, but then I’m a survivor of bullying myself and related to the testimony on a very personal level.
I would have liked to attend this hearing but had to be out of town on business this week. Anti-bullying legislation is long overdue. I hope the lege will get a good bill, with enumeration, through.
It is about time bullying was taken seriously. Bullying prevention could potentially increase graduation rates too.
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p>I have concerns about this though…
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p>All bullying is serious. Make sure all categories are included, including “socio-economic” characteristics. Kid’s are clever. They will find ways to change their language and continue to bully, yet remain outside a finite list of categories.
To be essential if glbt kids are to be protected. Here’s a link.
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p>What’s particularly persuasive is the research cited: There is measurably less harrassment and behaviors like skipping classes to avoid bullying in schools with strong, enumerated, anti-bullying policies but almost no difference between schools with no policies and an unenumerated policy. The issue seems to be that authorities in schools may selectively enforce unenumerated policies to not protect glbt kids without enumeration.
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p>This is something we had looked in to when we were working on amending the education plank in the state party platform to support enumerated anti-bullying policies.
My only concern with enumeration is that it will leave out
important categories. Bullies attack physical appearance too — obesity, acne, disability, lazy eye. A bully can decide to focus on a small insignificant difference a child might have, something so ridiculous, like their father is a trash collector, and turn that childs daily existence into a nightmare.
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p>But I see in the link you provided, that “physical appearance” is achnowledged, and hopefully, socioeconomic differences will be included. If the language is written as GLSEN suggests…
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…it should protect all of the children, which is what we would hope it would do.
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p>I was bullied throughout grammar school. I was singled out because my family was poor.
This:
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p>is also true of many adults, as well.
Elizabeth Englander, who is head of Bridgewater’s MARC, is terrific on this stuff. She provided some professional development for our district earlier this year that was insightful and helpful.
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p>I have to say, though, I’m skeptical of anything coming out on this topic at the state level. Bullying is a hugely misunderstood issue and I’ve no doubt that there are large numbers of people in the state legislature who don’t know the first thing about it.
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p>When a high profile but complicated, nuanced issue like bullying gets into the hands of grandstanding politicians, nothing good can come of it. I cringe when I think of the nonsense they’ll put forward as a fix for this issue.
The ADL has put forward a bill that is science-based, with proven bullying prevention measures. Heaven forbid the legislature should try to come up with something without the input of advocates and experts.
There does need to be an in-depth effort to combat bullying in schools (I say this as an elementary school bully, middle school victim). There are many, many decent curriculums and approaches out there (First Amendment, Community of Caring, etc.). What it takes for such a curriculum to work, however, is district-wide commitment. Such is rare. As soon as a new superintendent and/or principal comes in, s/he often throws out all the old stuff, whereas it takes a long time for a new approach to bear fruit in a school system. Too often administrators will say “we’ve been doing this for two years, and nothing’s changed. Throw it out”. I would love to see the DESE develop a list of 10-12 developed school culture/anti-bullying curriculums replete with training and support, with a mandate that schools adopt and commit to one for at least a 6-year period before evaluating its effect.
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p>Rather than appear cynical, I’ll simply say that I don’t expect that this law will result in something that comprehensive, fair, responsive, fair and respectful of local democracy.
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p>Thank you. This is not a legislative matter in most cases, it’s a school climate and behavioral matter that requires programatic and curricular development from people like Elizabeth Englander and prioritized implementation at the state level. The presentation she provided to us was outstanding–probably the most worthwhile PD I’ve had in ten years–however, there is no follow-up, nothing on paper, and no real training. While middle schools often have some sort of program in place, high schools do not. And bullying at the high school level often looks quite different from bullying at the middle school level. The consensus was after our PD that, in the face of the information she provided us, we were wholly inadequately trained to deal with the problem.
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p>Politicians are not the people to solve this problem; educators are, and to the extent that the educational leadership at the state level prioritizes a programmatic or curricular solution, nothing meaningful will get accomplished. My glass is not half-full on this issue at all.
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p>I might only add the parents and local “culture” play key roles. When we grownups model rude, bullying, in-your-face behavior all around our children — especially in the business world and in athletics — we should not be surprised that too many of our children emulate what they see as “successful” behavior.
…legislative action is needed to force educators to act, or in some cases to give educators a spine and permission to act.
I would say that legislative action is sometimes needed to force educators and administrators to act….
Assuming by “administrators” you mean principals and superintendents I guess in my mind I put administrators and teachers in the broader category of educators. I certainly meant all levels of authority in a school setting.
The consequences of unchecked bullying extend beyond the realm of education. Bullying is a public health and public safety concern as well. If educators were competent to prevent bullying and stop it when it happens, left to their own devices, Carl Walker-Hoover would still be alive, as might the victims of the Columbine and Virginia Tech massacres. Educators clearly need help and standards of accountability.
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p>H. 483 is a comprehensive approach to bullying prevention and intervention that sets minimum standards for school districts, including training and reporting requirements, and mandates that the Dept of Elementary and Secondary Education take a more pro-active role in making anti-bullying resources available.
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p>The Anti-Violence Project Fact Sheet on H. 483 will appear in a separate comment. Check out what the legislation actually does.
The explanation as to why is not in English.
H.483 addresses harassment, intimidation, bullying, or cyberbullying in any public educational institution,
During any education program or activity; or
While in school, on or immediately adjacent to school equipment or property, in school vehicles, on school buses, at designated school bus stops, at school-sponsored activities, at school-sanctioned events; or
Through the use of data, telephone or computer software that is accessed through a computer, computer system, or computer network of any public educational institution.
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p>Bullying defined as any written, electronic, or verbal communication, or physical act or gesture that, under the circumstances:
Places a student in actual and reasonable fear of harm to his or her person or damage to his or her property, or
Is sufficiently severe or pervasive that it creates a disruptive, abusive, or hostile school environment and interferes with or impairs a student’s academic performance, or ability to learn or to participate in or benefit from services, activities, or privileges that are being offered through the school district.
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p>Bullying includes, but is not limited to acts reasonably perceived as being motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as
Race,
Color,
Religion,
Ancestry,
National Origin,
Sex,
Socioeconomic Status,
Academic Status,
Gender Identity Or Expression,
Physical Appearance,
Sexual Orientation, or
Mental, Physical, Developmental, Or Sensory Disability,
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p>School districts required to adopt policies crafted with participation by all stakeholders and providing for
Anti-bullying awareness-raising
Designation of point person for policy implementation
Required reporting by school staff when they learn about bullying behavior
Anonymous reporting by targets and safeguards against retaliation
Documentation
Thorough investigation
Consequences and appropriate remedial action for bullying
Reporting of cases and outcomes to the Dept of Elementary & Secondary Education
Coordination with law enforcement
Training for all school employees and volunteer staff
Annual surveys of incidence of bullying
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p>Department of Elementary & Secondary Education mandated to
Develop a model district anti-bullying policy
Periodically review school district programs and activities to ensure compliance with law
Compile list of proven anti-bullying resources
Develop guidelines for district reporting of cases of bullying
Establish repository for collection and analysis of reports and data on bullying
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p>Bill neither enlarges nor subtracts from any otherwise existing cause of action.
Eductors have never been tasked with solving the problem.
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p>They’ve not been empowered to solve the problem.
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p>They’ve not been listened to when they’ve tried to address the problem.
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p>If you are a teacher, then I expect you to address the issues I just listed because you surely know EXACTLY what I’m talking about.
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p>If you are not a teacher, then I can understand your ignorance.
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p>You will NEVER solve this problem without the considered professional input of educators. Never.
The points you make illustrate why legislation is necessary, something teachers understand quite well.
First, if you’re going to claim that I and my colleagues have “failed,” you better be prepared to back that up. You completely ignored the reality I, as a boots-on-the-ground teacher provided you and substituted your own because that suits your simplistic view of this problem. Well, that just doesn’t work in the real world. I’ll say it again in case you missed it the first time:
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p>Eductors have never been tasked with solving the problem.
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p>They’ve not been empowered to solve the problem.
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p>They’ve not been listened to when they’ve tried to address the problem.
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p>I don’t give a rat’s ass what the MTA supports. Are you for real???
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p>And you are in no position to tell me what “teachers understand quite well.”
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p>Wow, you better get yourself some education, buddy. If your attitude is replicated by those in control of the decision-making around this issue, I can tell you this straight up: your efforts will fail, and I don’t care how much legislation you throw at it.
You make categorical assertions as though they were fact, although they appear to me subjective. In any case, school administrators have authority and responsibility to stop bullying but have not done so in instances where problems have been brought to their attention. That was the overriding take-away from the hearing on Tuesday. Representative Cabral wants to penalize teachers who don’t take initiative to report bullying to administrators. (That’s not in H. 483.)
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p>Are you opposed to anti-bullying legislation? You should have said so to the committee on Tuesday, not just by yelling in a blog posting. The criticism you offer doesn’t point to a better alternative for protecting targets of bullying. The status quo is not an option. Until you propose a better solution, I think the 40 plus organizations behind H. 483 win by default.
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p>Be specific. I’ll be glad to go toe-to-toe on this subject with you. I’ve got a lot of experience with it.
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p>I don’t doubt that one bit and I don’t dispute it. What does that have to do with claiming that an entire profession has failed? Talk about categorical assertions without fact. Anecdote is simply that–anecdote. And while personal experiences are compelling, I can also anecdotally tell you success stories in which teachers and administrators resolved serious issues. They don’t get headlines though, and those parents don’t line up to tell their stories to politicians.
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p>Thank god more rational people prevailed.
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p>I am opposed to bandaid, knee-jerk grandstanding by politicians on a subject they know nothing about. More harm than good will come of that.
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p>Bullying is an insidious, covert, and nuanced problem. Partnership among teachers, administrators, and parents is essential. Top-down mandates don’t work in education just like they don’t work anywhere else, especially when it comes to one human “reading” the behavior of another.
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p>Here’s what I would like to see. Sab is an educator–like me. This is a rational approach that is likely to yield meaningful results. Anything less is feel-good window dressing.
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p>Dissent is not yelling. I would, however, be inclined to yell at you in person if you were to suggest to my or any other teacher’s face that we have failed and have to be rescued by lawmakers. The fact is we have never been asked to solve this problem. Some schools are successful at solving their problems BECAUSE teachers have taken initiative–like they have in my school. School climate committees comprised of students, teachers, and administrators are a key component in addressing bullying relationships. Teachers having personal relationships with students is key to meaningful intervention, and if you were paying attention to what educational experts were saying, you heard that message.
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p>Intention is not solution. The thousands of teachers in the Commonwealth who actually see and deal with this problem on a daily basis will make or break your 40 plus organizations.
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p>My point to you originally, before you decided to dump on the thousands of teachers in the Commonwealth who deal with this in real time, was that without us your efforts will fail. If you choose to ignore that, go right ahead.
The Patrick Administration released a best practices guide to bullying prevention/intervention in April 2008: http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/do… I know that the charter school in Springfield which Carl Walker-Hoover attended did something that the Guide specifically said shouldn’t be done because it was too risky for targets.
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teachers who were aware, or even contacted by parents, and did nothing to intervene.
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p>I agree with Sab’s note that accountability must lie with both teachers and administrators – but to tag tudor586’s comment as ‘hugely unfair and inaccurate’ is over the top.
Is that so much bullying does occur in schools.
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p>Look at the Guide Tudor586 linked to above – I just pulled out some quotes in a comment above.
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p>”71% of teachers or adults in the classroom ignore bullying incidents”.
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p>It’s a real problem.
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p>Even if you may not tolerate it in your classroom, it’s happening all the time in other classrooms around the country.
ratings on my comments. If you continue to rate my responses as “worthless” and then respond, I’ll continue to downrate yours.
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p>That 71% statistic is bullshit. It’s completely immeasurable. It assumes that there is measureable absence of action.
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p>That said, “ignore” is a loaded word.
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p>I know bullying goes on in schools. It goes on right in front of our eyes–boldly. Here’s how it often goes. The bully does his thing, the victim tells me it’s cool, they’re friends, it’s okay. Really, they’re friends, we’re just fooling around.
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p>Now what?
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p>Have I ignored the problem? No. Has there been resolution to the problem? No. Now I report my gut feeling that this is a bully/victim relationship and the AP does her job and questions the kids. Guess what? The victim continues to deny the bullying. What now?
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p>You do realize this happens all the time, right? All. The. Time.
If they are disrespectful in tone and/language to others commenting in the thread. Profanity and attacks on others are unnecessary. For example, your comments like this one to Tudor586 above.
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p>I think this type of tone and comment brings down the level of dialog here. I find it worthless.
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p>Please assign whatever rating you like to my comments, ratings are at your option. I consider the source, and don’t pay much attention to a down-rating when I know it comes from someone who assigns them thoughtlessly or from retaliation.
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p>To the example you raise above, when the Victim says it’s cool, you say, no, it isn’t. It’s great that you and Bully are friends, but in our school, we don’t say things like that to other people, not even if they’re our friends. In our school, we speak and act in a way that’s respectful to others.
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p>It’s good for both Victim and Bully to hear that message, even if Victim may not admit to you that harassment is taking place. At the least, Victim knows that what Bully is doing is not ok in the eyes of an authority figure at the school, that there’s a safe zone in your presence, and that you are someone who may be an advocate or safe figure to approach about others things that may be occurring.
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p>This also teaches lifelong lessons that will be carried forward into adult relationships.
And these things are said regularly, by me and Sab and others, on a daily basis. But the problem is deeper and more complex than a passing admonishment.
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p>It’s good for adults to acknowledge the complexity of the problem and to respect those who are trying, sometimes successfully, to deal with the problem.
Changing culture is extremely difficult. Even one adult who intervenes, however, can make a big difference for a targeted kid.
I think that teachers, too, have to be held accountable, since so many of them conveniently sit back and ignore bullying when it’s taking place, whether it’s physical or verbal or psychological.
So if Student A is sitting at home, cyber-bullying student B in chatrooms and Facebook, how is it that “educators” have “failed to solve the problem”? I’m all for using schools to supplement the idea of character education, the setting of positive community values, and fostering students’ respect of others, but I hope nobody is pushing this law in order to find a way to blame and fire educators as a consequence for what their students choose to do outside of school.
Are there consequences for A?
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p>Granted online communities add complications, but the cases that have sparked calls for this legislation have to do with in-school conduct – taunting and harrassment in the hallways, playgrounds, lunchrooms.
Actually, much of our counseling results from friends who had a fight on Saturday night, phone calls gone bad, online harassment. If you’re advocating that schools should discipline students for actions conducted entirely outside the school, what you’re advocating is granting school administrators police powers. Schools have no legal right or basis for disciplining students for actions taken outside the school — that’s parenting. We can call parents and inform them of the situation, but even that is on legally shaky ground. Like LightIris, I’ve seen so many good ideas go bad once in the grips of the politicians, and I easily foresee schools being punished in situations like this, even if they have no power or ability to prevent them.
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p>Of course we try to work out issues between students and are on guard for such dynamics within the walls. It’s atrocious that callous teachers and administrators do not always respond to bullying successfully — or at all — but most incidents do receive a response. The efficacy of that response is not something that this bill seeks to address, from my reading. But much of the current anti-bullying push seeks to expand schools’ responsibilities without expanding their jurisdiction. Much of our “counseling”
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p>A parallel example: There’s a bit of traffic confusion in Walmart’s parking lot, and I’m cut off by an angry driver. I complain to the manager. I get no satisfaction, but an hour later the same angry driver sees me and runs me off the road. The fact that I get run off the road…is that Walmart’s fault?
and seeks to engage school districts in developing programs to combat it. In all seriousness, what do you disagree with from this language from the proposed law?
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p>This is no-brainer stuff in my view.
…and it is quite the read. The law is rather different that what’s being presented here, I’m learning.
I don’t see that it’s rather different than what has been presented here, at all.
The “tip” is huge. Kids will come and tell us when something is going to happen. I can’t tell you how many fights and otherwise bad things have been averted because kids come and tell school administration or teachers what they’ve heard, and we, in turn, tip the police. Indeed, last year a boy called our principal at home at 9:30 at night because he’d heard a kid was going to bring a knife to school to do something bad. We were ready the next morning, intercepted the kid getting off the bus, and sure enough. Bad thing averted.
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p>Often, however, the planned bad thing is planned for outside of school because kids KNOW that they can’t do it at school. We cannot be held accountable for activities that occur outside school. This is the sort of complexity that politicians will not acknowledge if it gets in the way of a good soundbit.
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p>Is that the expectation?
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p>If there aren’t, there definitely should be.
if the bullying is occuring from home.
I spent some time last Spring at a well to do public high school in the Commonwealth. Two of the boys had a long standing bully and bullied relationship but I had no idea, being new. When it came to a head, I intervened and followed up with conversations about what was expected (set the limits), broached the subject of bullying and being bullied without assigning blame, and discussed consequences with my supervisor and one of the parents who was not pleased with my plan. Both kids need adult supervision to help them put their dysfunctional behavior behind them and mature but it’s not clear what resources exist that would want to tackle it and whether the parents would be pleased if that happened.
Okay, I’ve read the text of the bill (PDF). Briefly, here are the requirements:
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p>Not impressive. And unlikely to change anything.
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p>First of all, I’ve never been in a public school that doesn’t have all this going, aside from the requirement to report to the state. Is there one?
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p>Secondly, there’s going to be a lot of data lying around. I would expect an ambitious mandarin or politician to decide that schools should be publicly shamed for not cooking the books adequately resolving enough cases. Shockingly, we’ll learn that well-healed suburban schools have the best records, and diverse, urban schools the worst. The results will coincide neatly with MCAS results; the solution, Deval Patrick will assure us, is to open more charter schools (which won’t be bound by this law).
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p>Thirdly, nothing in this law would have prevented any of the bullying cases mentioned in the testimony. Schools abound with discrimination, anti-hazing, mission statement, and other policies. They are printed in the handbook, shown on the first day of staff development. Some schools focus a few hour of professional development on one of them (the rest is consecrated to standardized testing analysis and prep). I would be unsurprised to learn that if the schools weren’t prevented by confidentiality from giving their side of these incidents, that reporting and discipline were done. I’m not saying that such cases were dealt with adequately, but I am saying that I’d wager heavy money that in the school files for at least 2/3 of these cases, paperwork exists that would have fulfilled the requirements of this law.
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p>Fourthly and most importantly, nothing in this law will prevent bullying in the future. Policies are paper tigers, and so is reporting. As said earlier, almost every school already meets all these requirements. What is missing is leadership from the state to make this a core part of a school’s mission, with restructured demands on how schools expend their resources, prioritizing guidance and training on these issues in specific techniques and programs to change this environment. Without those elements, nothing is truly going to change.
You are absolutely right, and any professional educator on this site who happens upon this thread knows it.
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lightiris and sabutai, you are stunningly vociferous in your hostility to this bill. Is it because, as educators, you resent the very idea that members of the great, unwashed, non-educator segment of society could have the temerity to take action on bullying that occurs in schools?
I’m as skeptical as anyone about politicians, but this is beyond the pale. One would think, going by these quotes from lightiris and sabutai, that a politician can Never Ever do anything right, and certainly not an anti-bullying bill. But as Mandy Patinkin told Andre the Giant in The Princess Bride, “You know, Fezzik, you finally did something right.” And occasionally our elected officials actually do things right.
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p>If you would put 10% of the effort that you have devoted to expressing your antipathy in this post toward an anti-bullying bill into directly fighting bullying, you could find a permanent cure for bullying – and cancer, war and economic recession. I’m sure of it.
I’d love it if non-educators did something about bullying in schools. That way there’d be…less bullying in schools. This is an okay start, I suppose. Maybe next year they can pass something that will actually do some good. Hostile to the bill? I’m no more hostile to this bill than I am to a bill declaring October National Honey Ham Month…because they’ll have equal effects on the education Massachusetts students don’t receive. For what it’s worth, my antipathy is because this bill doesn’t go far enough.
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p>I am sorry you’ve chosen such a carefully selective reading of my comments. Some of the politicians that I have repeatedly mentioned get things right on education — in debates, campaign ads, materials, and proposed bills — include Mark Begich, Ed O’Reilly, Bill Richardson, and Mike Capuano over the years. I’ve given examples here and elsewhere, but I guess they don’t count. Do I think the foundational document of public education — No Child Left Behind — passed at the behest of George W Bush is an abomination? Yes I do.
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p>But I guess it’s easier to dismiss anyone else as cynical, rather than consider there may be problems out there that would foster such cynicism. Make it someone else’s problem.
For ease of use, allow me to anticipate the “prove it” rejoinder with links to me earlier writing praising non-educators such as: non-educator scientists with actual data, Capuano, Senator Begich, Governor Richardson.
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p>Let me point anyone gearing up to accuse me of just tearing others down without offering solutions here, and point out LightIris’s ideas here.
“Here’s what could be added to this bill to make it better.”
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p>If they were, perhaps your stance would be less likely to be misunderstood.
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p>I’d be happy to get this bill, as long as enumeration is added. The research linked above says 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because they don’t feel safe at school. Let’s start somewhere to deal with that problem.
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can have a view of what goes on in schools.
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p>What goes on in schools isn’t a big mystery. Almost everyone in our society has over a decade of direct experience with our school systems – we’ve been there.
That’s a pretty unfair shot from you in the wake of the convention. I stood with you and worked with you because I supported your ideas about what happens in public schools. Got signatures, and was ready to speak on your behalf at the convention if needed.
The comments about professional educators that I was responding to were LightIris’s.
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p>And your support at Convention was much appreciated. I sure as heck was scared to speak in front of that many people.
Passions run high. I’d probably be better off staying away from education threads. You know I ‘spect what you and “LynPB” do.
Administrators and teachers aren’t the only ones with relevant information to contribute, although their buy-in is critical and something the law is needed to facilitate. Perhaps because I was a target myself, my heart goes out to the kid who’s being ridiculed and knocked about, often out of sight of the adults in the school building. How do we help him or her? We also need to divert bullies from a path where they resort to physical force to get what they want and gain prestige. A huge number of bullies go on to commit domestic violence and crimes generally.
This is the key:
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p>This bill is a nice first step in dragging any antediluvian districts into the 21st century on this issue. I just hope the next bill will smartly do more for these victims.
Guess that makes you a cardiologist?
Experience is not expertise. Like cardiologists, educators are trained professionals. Having an education and a beating heart does not make one an expert in either; they simply confirm humanity. Thank you.
To have expertise on this issue. Educators see the schools from one vantage, parents from another, kids from a third. Those who have experienced school bullying, and were not helped by administrators and educators, have every bit as valid a perspective – I would be inclined to say a somewhat more valid perspective – as school professionals.
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p>I would think good teachers would welcome hearing from those who have experienced bullying about what they think needs to change to help others who are being bullied today.
when I went to high school in the mid to late 1960’s, due to reasons that’re too complicated to disclose, I can attest that it was no fun, even though none of the bullying that I experienced was physical in nature at all. Psychological and verbal bullying hurts just about as much as physical bullying undoubtedly does.
To get to the subject at hand, I believe that teachers, parents and administrators should be observant of any bullying or teasing that goes on, particularly towards kids who seem different in any way or form, and make more effort to help kids who’re being targeted, as well as disciplining bullies.
teachers, in my experience, are often the cruelest bullies of all, secure in their position of power and eager to retaliate and put kids they don’t like down. You sure you’re a teacher? You sound like a thirteen year old.