Bullying: Do Schools Need a New Approach?

(CBS)  Three teenagers are expected to appear in a Massachusetts court Tuesday to face bullying charges connected to the suicide of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince. Six other students also face charges in the case. And Prince's case is just the latest in a string of bullying episodes that ended in death.

The Department of Education reports that 25 percent of American students say they were bullied at least once a day. States have tried to address the issue by mandating their school districts adopt anti-bullying initiatives. But can these policies really stop school bullying and possibly save lives? CBS News correspondent Bianca Solorzano reports.

Eleven-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover had a beaming smile.

"He loved life. He loved to laugh," said Carl's mother, Sirdeaner Walker.

But soon after Carl began sixth grade at the New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, Mass., he became the target of school bullies who taunted him - even threatened to beat and kill him.

Sirdeaner Walker says she i immediately contacted the school to address the issues. But she couldn't prevent what followed.

On April 6, 2009, Carl hanged himself with an extension cord - just 10 days shy of his 12th birthday.

CBS News has identified 10 other students ages 13 to as young as nine years old who were bullied and committed suicide in the last 12 months. Suicide is so rare among children that young the CDC doesn't even consistently track the numbers.

Yale professor Young-Shin Kim has done research on what's been termed "bullycide" and has found that victims of bullying are 5.6 times more at risk of attempting or thinking about suicide.

The administrators at the New Leadership Charter School ignored CBS News' request for an interview or comment on Carl Walker's death. But CBS News has learned the school has had an anti bullying policy since 2006, and a reported intervention happened the day Carl Walker died - leaving some advocates to question whether these initiatives fix the problem or make it worse.

Author Jodee Blanco was constantly bullied throughout elementary and high school - so much so she almost committed suicide. She now tours the country talking to students about the consequences of bullying.

She believes disciplining bullies is ineffective because it creates a hostile environment; the bullying may move online and it doesn't prevent what Blanco calls the worst kind of bullying - social isolation.

"It's the most damaging kind. … It makes you say to yourself, 'There's something wrong with me,'" she said.

At the elementary school in Harvard, Mass., school officials are trying a new method.

"What they used to tell us was as soon as you get bullied go right to the teacher to tell," a fifth grader says. "That just doesn't work."

The fifth graders are teaching younger schoolmates skills to defuse bullying by dealing with the situation calmly; treating the bully as a friend ; and not thinking of themselves as victims.

"I got bullied on the bus and I tried it out and it really did work," said fifth-grader Joey Calabres.

Getting solutions that work is now Sirdeaner Walker's mission. She's been instrumental in pushing Massachusetts to pass its first anti-bullying law. The governor is set to sign the bill later this month.

"I want Carl's legacy to be not that he was 11 years old and he committed suicide," Walker said. "I want Carl's legacy to be we've enacted laws to protect and help all of our children."

[vwonmars]

I have a granddaughter that has been bullied, they took her out of school (8th grade) and now is home schooled. They reported it to the school, police, and township. Nothing!!!. The law about bulling is to scare and stop the kids from bulling. This is how I see it: It scared the school board, the teachers, the township office, the police, at least in the town that she lives in (the east side of Pa.) The answers the parents got, No not here, was there any wittiness (by the way there was, and they are to scared to say anything), there is nothing we can do. These people in office don't want any trouble, no reports of trouble in the school, so the law to protect, was for the people in office not the kids!! My granddaughter loves to play basketball, she had to quit, she got great grades and had to quit, all because a pack of girls threading to beat the sh__ out of her, the threat was not once but several times, and my granddaughter was scared, ( she is not the type to be scared of things, BUT this, what kind of message does this send her. The school, township, police are here NOT to help!! And for me, what has happen to the offices that are to help, look into things, I know that they know that these girls are bad, but it is a lot easier to just to save their BUTTS, instead of the kids. So what would you do? What office in Pa. will and I repeat WILL help, I getting to have little faith in our government. Sign Grandpa

[jtyoung2010]

I really like how this new movie addressing elementary and middle school bullying at a more healing approach not just for the bully but for the victims. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwYZu99U1QI

We as parents have a responsibility to openly talk about bullying and not shy away from the subject. We MUST encourage our kids and we MUST spot if we are raising a bully and how we can help them relieve that tension and stress without bullying others.

[saveme14]

hi im a 13 year old boy asking for help school is out but when i go back its constant torture i cant even go home anymore because i get beaten by my two older brothers i once had to sleep in a local park ive consitered suicide but pulled back that thought its affecting my grades i cant tell anyone in fear everyone will get worse WHAT DO I DO please if you can send me an email at [e-mail] thank you

[peacecrab2011]

My daughter (9) was being bullied at school- I took matters into my own hands- I formed a nonprofit 501(c)(3) anti-bulling program called "Peace-Pass It On for schools! Her school is using the program and is having great participation and results. It helps kids feel safe about telling someone what has happened to them or someone else. It lets children get involved and get notice for a good deed!
Check it out www.peace-passiton.org
Without new and innovative programs, schools will not be safe and bullies will still skate through the system- more suicides and less survivors will be the result! Get the word out Peace is what it is all about so Peace- Pass It On!!!

[PrincipalAwareness]

In short, I was the target of bullies in school - I had the classic profile - small, weak, quiet, and afraid, and suffered numerous indignities. For me, I turned this around through education and fortunately had very supportive parents who were always there. I am now an elementary school Principal, and I can say without a doubt that schools have a very large role in extinguishing this. Parents need to shop around for schools for all sorts of reasons, and I would hope that this would be one area they would ask about. Schools should be able to define and provide specific examples of how bullies will be dealt with, supported by a proper code of conduct that is intolerant of this behavior. However, parents must be ready to accept their responsibility in this, by supporting their children. Too many times have I personally witnessed parents who expected the school to do more than we are permitted under the law. Most states have specific statutes that can be utilized by parents to help schools target bullies.

[chzappos]

Hi!
My name is Christina I have two children ages 15 and 17. My 17 year old was bullied at school. Another child punched him and broke his nose and chipped his tooth. Three days later another student hit him so hard in the head that it caused brain bleeding. My son had to be hospitalized for 5 days in the ICU unit. Now three months later we continue to see neurologist, neuron surgeons and have numerous hospital stays.
We live in Indiana in this small town where everything is just pushed under the rug. This school my children attended was only for 3 weeks. They had just started. My son was hit for wearing baggy clothes the kids said this is a white school. Called him N--ger numerous times. I have found hundreds of other mothers, former students who this has happened to. If someone could help mus please. They say they are not responsible for our children s safety while they are there who is? We send our kids to school for 8 hours a day and no one is responsible? Everyone gets to go on with there normal life and my son can't drive , no activities hasn't been able to attend normal school since March 12th. They never had an assembly or anything. The administration just blames the kids. Can we please get a little help in our small corn fed town for our children.

These are children we are talking about ..

Christina
[e-mail]

[hill79]

As a professional school counselor who works in an elementary school, I am appalled at the idea of not disciplining a student known to demonstrate bullying behaviors. Can you imagine a co-worker calling me a ****, throwing things at me, spreading rumors about me, or physically assaulting me getting away with the behavior on a daily basis because punishment would "create a hostile environment"? Give me a break. The only thing gained by not punishing students who bully is the creation of an unsafe environment that lets kids with power run the show.

I understand that we need our children to find their voices and defend themselves against people who bully. Techniques such as asserting oneself, using humor, avoiding, and "killing with kindness" should definitely be taught as strategies to defend against bullying. In many bullying situations kids do have the power to end the bullying on their own. In addition, we need to train students to band together and protect their peers from bullying behaviors (bystander strategies). We also need to teach kids the consequences of bullying (not just disciplinary, but emotional) so that they are deterred from using bullying behaviors. If these strategies are ineffective, however, and the bullying continues, students who are being bullied should feel comfortable asking for help from a school employee. If one school employee doesn't do anything (which I think is a large part of the problem), they should keep asking until they receive the help they deserve.

Let's remember that bullying is a form of violence. It is meant to harm, and the outcome can be deadly. Kids need to understand that violence, regardless of the age of the perpetrator, will not be tolerated in our society. Just as we would tell the victim of an assault to contact the police (not just treat the assailant "as a friend"), so, too, we should teach students to report bullying. And just like we would punish someone found guilty of a violent crime, so, too, we should discipline a student who uses bullying behaviors.

[jtyoung2010]

I admire your comment and agree totally. I was apart of a anti bullying assembly program that was started over 6 years ago in Harrisburg, PA and that was how the program was written. That students have a responsibility to band together in numbers against a bully without using violence. If you see someone being bullied you all stand tall against it by telling and by having that persons back. Also, we just finished a film targeting the elementary and middle school students call AB Zone where we have taken it a little further by finding help for the bully as well. Check out the theatrical trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwYZu99U1QI

[KidsRpeople2]

Current News Headlines "Girls Spanked, Suspended for Skimpy Prom Dresses" at Oxford High School, Alabama and ?Stopping bullying before it starts? related that elementary school children in Kennett, MO
are punished for bullying by being hit with wooden paddles to deliberately inflict physical pain and suffering as Punishment known as Corporal Punishment or Paddling or be being suspended. Hitting children in schools to Punish them is NOT the answer!

Decades ago, no one questioned corporal punishment of children in schools (Illegal in Schools in 30 States today), and police tended to think of domestic abuse as a private matter between husband and wife, rather than a criminal act.

Instances of physical and sexual abuse regularly occur in our public-school systems which is why we must make our collective voices heard to Demand U.S. Education institute nationwide policies and practices of zero tolerance for abusers, compensate victims for counseling as long as needed and implement background checks and educational programs for all employees and volunteers in order to identify and prevent child sexual and physical abuse.

Our children are worth the effort to protect them and we must demand ?Best Practices? that teach children ?discipline? through non-violent practices in schools. Students must be taught why what they did was wrong and given the tools to improve behavior/decision making skills while empowering them with awareness to their human right to integrity of their bodies (hands-off!) in our schools and society.

[6591Hou]

Let's see: the teachers can't touch the kid (violates their rights), the parent can't touch the kid (violates their rights)... so who is going to retroactively teach the kids that there is an authority that they will answer to?

[hateisafourletterword]

Make the parents attend classes with their such nice monsters would be a start.

[nowinchicago]

Bullying is the new American epidemic. I Found this article; Bullying is Breaking our Schools; http://******/bu04Ey