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Teachers learn to identify and correct bullying in Franklin County's schoolsJul 18, 2010 (Public Opinion - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- It wasn't so long ago that there were two schools of thought on how children dealt with bullies in school. You either avoided them or confronted them at their own game. Stan Shilling, counseling supervisor for the Chambersburg Area School District, said the scene in the movie "A Christmas Story," where Ralphie fights back against the neighborhood bully, Scott Farkas, would be an accurate assessment. "That's pretty much the world that existed," Shilling said. Not so much anymore. School districts across the country are doing more to address bullying, from defining the term to training teachers on how to confront it. Some schools are also working on ways that students, teachers and parents can better report possible instances of bullying to school counselors and administrators. A survey in the Greencastle-Antrim School District given to students during the 2008-09 school year showed that roughly 13 percent of students at the high school felt as though they were bullied two to three times a month or more. This summer, all of the district's teachers are participating in the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program to learn ways to identify bullying better and work on ways to address the problem. The prevention program was paid for through a grant from the Highmark Foundation's Healthy High 5. The Olweus model was developed by Norwegian doctor Dr. Dan Olweus, who spent decades researching the effects of bullying on students and published his findings in the 1970s. In 1980s he developed a bullying prevention program. The initial project involved 2,500 students from 42 schools over a two-and-a-half year period. The program has been implemented in schools in over a dozen countries worldwide and has decreased bullying by as much as 50 percent in some cases. Olweus' definition of bullying is when someone repeatedly and on purpose says or does mean or hurtful things to another person who has a hard time defending himself or herself. Three key components of bullying are an aggressive behavior toward the person being bullied, a pattern of the behavior repeated over time and an imbalance of power or strength. What used to be tolerated by parents and school administrators as simply "kids being kids" is changing. Students who are bullied at school over a period of time could experience a loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, which could eventually lead to feelings of worthlessness and inferiority issues. "Students who are legitimately being bullied, it can have a significant impact, especially if they are already fragile or at risk," Shilling said. Bullying can not only have an effect on the student who is being bullied but also on the bystanders who witness the events. Students who witness bullying can wind up feeling fearful or powerless to change the situation. Students could also end up feeling guilty for not doing something about the bullying or end up having a diminished empathy for victims over time. The survey given to Greencastle students two years ago also helped administrators determine the "hot spots," or areas where bullying most frequently occurs in the school. Not surprisingly, many of the hot spots are in areas of the building where there's limited teacher supervision. Bob Crider, Director of Secondary Education in Greencastle-Antrim, said the top three hot spots according to the survey were the stairwells, the lunch room and classrooms. Additionally, the survey showed that students aren't confident that teachers are noticing bullying when it occurs. A survey in the school showed that 75 percent of the teachers felt they do a sufficient job of addressing bullying in schools. When the students were polled, 25 percent felt teachers did an adequate job. "There are a lot of things that happen that teachers don't see," said Crider. And a lot of what they do see isn't always bullying, which can complicate matters. "A lot of kids tend to join in and think something is funny. Students will pick on another student and give them a nickname. Sometimes the students are friends and sometimes they're not," said Greencastle chemistry teacher Amber Bostick. Another issue that schools face is that a lot of the bullying has shifted from the school space to MySpace, with cyber-bullying becoming much more prevalent in the past decade. "We definitely have to be a lot more tech savvy because that's where a lot of it originates from," Crider said. Cyber-bullying occurs through electronic communications devices such as e-mail, websites, instant message or text messages. Although every school district has strict policies involving cell phone and Internet use during school, they have little control over what's being said in Facebook profiles or in text message when students aren't on school property. In many instances, bullying will start in the cyber world and then make its way to the real world the following day. "All of those have an impact on education. When they're used for bullying and other negative effects, they definitely have a negative effect on education and its very hard for us to curtail it because the vast majority occurs outside of the school day," Crider said. "The question that has to get answered is where it takes place. If its happening outside, does it have a disruptive effect on the school setting," Shilling said. "That's the one that's probably the biggest challenge." Crider also believes there are more bullies lurking online now than there used to be lurking in hallways decades ago. "I think there are way more bullies that can hide behind a text box than were saying it to kids in the halls in 1990," Crider said. "Anyone can be a bully on the Internet." "We get more cyber-bullying in the form of texting than anything else," said Brian Granger, assistant principal at the Shippensburg Area Middle School. However, the Internet can help school districts deal with bullying. The Chambersburg Area School District is developing an electronic suspected bullying and harassment reporting form. Students, teachers and parents will be able to electronically report incidents of bullying, harassment and school violence. All of the submissions will be forwarded to the district's director of security T. Brett Hill, as well as the school's principal and counselor. Currently, Chambersburg's elementary schools have a "bully box" where students and teachers can anonymously leave tips for suspected bullying. Shilling said many times younger students will perceive that they are being bullied when it's instead just a peer conflict with another student. "Younger children have a tendency to think that everything is bullying. As students get older they have a better understanding," Shilling said. Also developing a better understanding are the teachers and administrators. Waynesboro Area School District Assistant Superintendent Evan Williams said teachers have received training on bullying and the district has been working on securing grant funding for additional training for teachers and administrators. Especially with the topic taking up more of the workday for teachers and administrators. "If you have a middle school with, say, 400 students, looking into accusations of bullying will keep a guidance counselor and two principals busy," Williams said. A state law enacted in 2008 requires each school district to adopt or amend existing policies to prohibit bullying and cyber-bullying and incorporate it into the district's code of conduct. As part of the anti-bullying curriculum that Greencastle is adopting, rules prohibiting any form of bullying or harassment will be posted in each classroom at the beginning of the year. Crider also said there will be a tracking system to monitor reports of bullying in the school along with procedures on how to handle incidents. Lastly, he said there will be a kickoff event at the beginning of the year to inform students. "We don't want there to be any surprises. We want to change the culture," Crider said. "You don't learn well if you don't feel safe." Keith Paradise can be reached at [email protected] or 262-4811. WHAT ARE BULLYING AND CYBER-BULLYING? According to the Olweus Bullying Prevention Group: "Bullying is when someone repeatedly and on purpose says or does mean or hurtful things to another person who has a hard time defending himself or herself." "Cyber-bullying is bullying through e-mail, instant messaging (IMing), chat room exchanges, website posts, or digital messages or images send to a cellular phone or personal digital assistant. Cyber-bullying, like traditional bullying, involves an imbalance of power, aggression, and a negative action that is often repeated. Source: Olweus Bullying Prevention Program To see more of the Public Opinion, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.publicopiniononline.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Public Opinion, Chambersburg, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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