Legislative Interim Studies are so very interesting to
attend…the atmosphere is laid-back, everyone’s a bit more casual; and, in
advocacy, you can sit and watch and listen. Then you can predict what possible
legislation might come from the Studies…what the big ideas will be.
Today I attended my state Senator, Rob Standridge’s Interim
Study on Bullying in the Classroom.
Speakers came from across the state, and represented private
organizations, universities, virtual charters, private schools. Students spoke
as their own best advocates. Steve Hahn, of the Parent Child Center in Tulsa
began the presentations with specific questions and recommendations. He had
worked with the legislature in the past on anti-bullying legislation, and
curates the website PreventBullyingTulsa.org.
A representative of A
New Leaf in Broken Arrow brought three clients, adults with disabilities,
who told their stories of overcoming childhood bullying. Their sponsor spoke
about the need for inclusion in schools, including in the lunchrooms. He also
spoke about crowded classrooms making it harder for teachers to be aware of
covert bullying. One client told the story of how Special Olympics gave her the
confidence to become her own advocate. I’ve worked with high school students as
we volunteered at Special Olympics Oklahoma,
so I know first-hand how barriers and stereotypes can be smashed when disabled
and non-disabled students work together.
Trinity private school in OKC was
represented. Trinity works specifically with students with disabilities, and
typically these students have suffered some kind of bullying. As I browsed the
site, I found their tuitions and fees, but no mention of vouchers that could be
used. I’m certain the Lindsay
Nicole Henry Scholarships are offered to families to offset the costs. The
speaker extolled their social skills curriculum, Love
and Logic, which is part of every class.
The superintendent from EPIC
Charter School, students, parents and educators spoke eloquently about what
drives some students out of the public schools into online charters. The
stories were heartbreaking, and hard to hear. I don’t want to make excuses for
us in the public schools…I want us to be more proactive about recognizing and
stopping bullying of all kinds.
Trish Hughes, a professor from OSU shared her research as
well. She was asked for her top recommendation for schools working to prevent
bullying. She enthusiastically suggested character education for all students.
She specifically spoke of Great
Expectations, and told the story of visiting a Great Ex school and
witnessing the positive, accepting climate. She made the point that an entire
school needed to buy into the program for it to be successful. I have not gone
through this training, but I work with National Board Certified Teachers, and
candidates. They often tell me this training is the most profound work they’ve
participated in, for making an immediate difference in the climate of their
classrooms.
Parents and students told harrowing stories of systematic
bullying in schools, and inadequate responses, or disrespectful responses, or
NO responses from public school teachers and administrators. One high school
student created a presentation as part of a 4-H project. Students and parents
were clear…they did not feel supported by the public schools. That made me so
ashamed. 40 years I worked. 40 years I tried. But these students and parents
were not supported the way they deserved.
I’ve written
about bullying
and how I always felt recognizing and responding to bullying was my greatest failing
in the classroom. I hosted an #oklaed chat, and compiled
the resources we talked about. I
craved more information and read every book I could get my hands on. But…I
never felt I protected my most vulnerable students the way I should have. To
think they could have been talking about me, and that my response was not
supportive breaks my heart.
So, I approach every discussion about bullying from that
hollow space of, “did I do enough? Did I fail to notice? Did I communicate my
expectations? Were kids bullied in my classroom under my nose?”
Listening to the parents and students share their stories of
school responses reminded me there are some phrases that MUST MUST MUST be removed from teachers’ lexicon. When a student
reports bullying, I want my teacher friends to never say:
- · Just ignore them
- · Tell them to stop
- · Just walk away
- · Play somewhere else
- · Play with someone else
- · We can’t do anything
- · It’s his/her word against yours
- · No one else witnessed it, so we can’t do anything
- · Boys will be boys
Any time professional educators use phrases like this, they
abdicate their professionalism, their authority. They reinforce the bully’s
power and the bullied student’s helplessness. Can we just stop? Yesterday?
That brings me to a disturbing stat from this morning…when
asked, 90% of school personnel said they responded to students’ reports of bullying.
But, when students were asked, only 5% FIVE PERCENT, said their teachers were
responsive. Is it because some teachers think they’ve done their job with,
“Well, just walk away”?
Steve Hahn, from Family Child Center, showed a moving video
of a dad who lost his 11-year old son to depression over being bullied beyond
endurance. In response to his story, high school students created Stand for the Silent, an online
community whose mission is to bring awareness to bullying and the devastation
of families it causes. Perhaps it’s time to let the young people lead. I would
hope schools would tap into this resource.
The Senators who attended heard from experts…both
professionals who’ve studied, and families who have suffered. I’m going to
report what I heard, and how I sifted through my own lens of classroom teacher
and brought my own terminology to what I heard.
I heard the speakers recommend more inclusion of students who are different…disabled, on the autism
spectrum, kids who learn differently. Inclusion, especially at the secondary
level, could be a great project for a service
club or student council. One speaker admitted this kind of project would
need teacher supervision and sponsorship; but teachers are already under such
stress and pressure during the school day, it would be one more responsibility.
Maybe using the resources from Stand for the Silent would be useful.
One speaker talked about class
sizes, and how larger classes in reality means less individual attention,
and more bullying…A student said teachers
needed to know her…but in large classes, it’s so much harder.
A teacher said that bullying does not start in the
schools…it starts at home and is brought into the schools. EPIC has an
emotional video sharing the hurtful things students were called by other
students, and it’s clear that some of those words and attitudes were modeled by
the adults in their lives and brought into the schools. True, but it affects
the lives of our students in our classes, in our schools.
Speakers mentioned cyberbullying,
but no concrete suggestions were given. I think this is a new area where
schools, communities, parents, and maybe law enforcement could work in partnership…It’s
the way much of the evilness is spread nowadays ,but I know it’s so hard to get
a grip on solutions. We must…but how? Speakers had no ideas.
So, speakers did mention some steps schools and teachers
could take: social inclusion of students, lowered class sizes, building trust so students feel safe
reporting, social skills curriculum,
even having a working definition of
bullying…one we systematically teach to students and families.
What they did not mention, but I extrapolated from their
reports: teacher shortage combined
with larger class sizes are giving bullies the advantage. I wonder if the high
number of alternative-and-emergency certified teachers without formal teacher-preparation training is making the issue
worse. Building relationships is
still the most important work in the classroom…it can break down the climate of
fear, giving bullied students the strength to come to their teacher; it can tell
everyone bullying does not happen in this classroom.
I think the issue of ACEs
– Adverse
Childhood Experiences – was alluded to, but not by name. One mother told of
her son being diagnosed with PTSD after years of being bullied at school. ACEs
affect all our students, but I’m betting the bullies and the bullied experience
more. I’m grateful that our state is acknowledging and addressing this issue
with educators with trainings planned this fall on Trauma-Informed Instruction.
Would a community
school, with wrap-around services,
help students and families find new ways to interact? I think it’s worth a
look. Edgemere
Elementary School in OKC would be the perfect place to start. Such schools
could have social services, extra counselors, family counselors, parent
education classes, health care facilities, all as part of the physical school. When
someone makes the mistake of asking me what school reform I would support, they
get an earful about community, wrap-around schools.
School districts are hiring more counselors whose job
description includes being student
advocates, crisis managers. These
counselors could work with teachers, students, and parents, to address all the
issues that come along with bullying. Norman and Noble have done just this in
response to the need for more student support.
All this takes money. All this takes commitment. All this
takes the courage to stop doing what we’ve always done, and do something more.
I was heartened by my Senator saying that even though
students and parents and administrators from EPIC Charter were allotted a large
chunk of time, he was not saying he sees online charters as the only answer to
bullying.
But, Chairman Stanislawski responded at the end in an
emotional speech, talking about his own daughter’s struggles with bullies in
public schools, and his family’s decision to enroll her in a private school, at
personal expense for the family. He ended with his hope that all parents would
have the ‘right to choose where to send their students with state support.’ He
just upped the ante on the conversation to include more vouchers…for any
parent. Not one of the speakers had suggested vouchers as a solution.
I left the Study with a strange mix of feelings…rage, and
yes, guilt, that students were abused right under the noses of educators who
should be protecting them. Pride, as young people bravely stood up and told
their stories…and gave us ‘the rest of the story,’ overcoming adversity. Hope
at some ideas that could help us become proactive. And, frankly, defeated, that
it appeared the Chair’s idea is to take funding public schools desperately need
and divert it to more choice, instead of addressing the needs of public
schools.
I fear more voucher bills are in our future. But how does
that help the vast majority of students in our public schools, many of whom are
afraid to go to school? These students are OURS, ours to educate and protect.
We need support and tools and resources, and that all costs money. Will new
vouchers strip even more money from public schools in their efforts to address
bullying?
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