"Ouch That Hurt!": Anti-Bullying Strategies for Parents and Educators

Grab Your Notecard!

In the next 90 seconds, identify three things that you would like to understand and/or take away from this presentation.

Now, in the next 90 seconds, turn to someone you do not know and share your choices. From those mutually agree upon only one choice.

Read me your agreed-upon choice.

A long time ago in a distant galaxy ……I began to program with IBM cards on very big computers that didn’t have the power of your cell phone.

Ray Brannon, Ph.D. (ABD)Ray Brannon, Ph.D. (ABD)www.inspectyourgadgets.comwww.inspectyourgadgets.com

A little about myself…six kids and grandson

Is Bullying Normative Behavior?

“prevailing evidence suggests that bully-victim relationships are normative”

A Vulture Culture: Does the Media Encourage Bullying

"Reality" shows, featuring adults arguing, shouting and flinging insults and threats at

each other, are nothing more than

sanctioned social bullying.

“The data suggests that school-based efforts to reduce cyberbullying may be more effective if they focus on youth who already experience

symptoms of depression.”

A social phenomenon in which the presence of other people reduces helping behavior

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSsPfbup0ac

Despite the positive results shown by Olweus (1991) and the widespread use of such programs, recent research questions their effectiveness. J. D. Smith et al. (2004) quantitatively synthesized the results of 14 evaluation studies of whole-school antibullying programs. Outcomes were mostly negligible (i.e., effect size r≤.09) or negative. Only one study yielded an outcome that was categorized asmedium (i.e., the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program),and none was categorized as large.

The authors found that the intervention studies produced meaningful and clinically important positive effects for about one-third of the variables. The majority of outcomes evidenced no meaningful change, positive or negative. The authors conclude that school-bullying interventions may produce modest positive outcomes, that they are more likely to influence knowledge, attitudes, and self-perceptions rather than actual bullying behaviors; and that the majority of outcome variables in intervention studies are not meaningfully impacted.

What does it mean?

The thorny issue of whether schools may censor students who are off campus when they attack online has led to split

decisions in federal courts.

What about legal remedies?

§ 2709. Harassment. (a) Offense defined.--A person commits the crime of harassment when, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another, the person: (1) strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects the other person to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same; (2) follows the other person in or about a public place or places; (3) engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts which serve no legitimate purpose; (4) communicates to or about such other person any lewd, lascivious, threatening or obscene words, language, drawings or caricatures; (5) communicates repeatedly in an anonymous manner; (6) communicates repeatedly at extremely inconvenient hours; or (7) communicates repeatedly in a manner other than specified in paragraphs (4), (5) and (6).

According to 204 Pa. Code § 303.2, penalties for criminal offenses depend on a combination of the gravity score of the offense, the prior record of the offender, whether a deadly weapon was used and any other aggravating or enhancing factors.Suggested maximum sentencing penalties for the following offenses are:Online Harassment is a misdemeanor of the third degree, and can incur up to one year in jail and/or fines not exceeding $2,500.A first violation for online stalking is a misdemeanor of the first degree, and can include imprisonment for not more than five years and/or fines not in excess of $10,000.Unlawful Use of Computers and E-mail, Possession of Online Child Pornography, Computer Trespass and Computer Theft are felonies of the third degree. These offenses are punishable by up to seven years imprisonment and/or fines not exceeding $15,000.

Poll: From your experience have bullying episo...