What can teachers do about bullying? Empowering your students to be proactive when someone is being harassed may be one of the best life lessons they will learn.

This week is Bullying Awareness Week. One of the most interesting statistics we’ve found so far on bullying is this one, and it is powerful:

Bullying stops in less than 10 seconds, 57 percent of the time when someone intervenes on behalf of the victim – (Craig & Pepler, 1997)

Bully expert Fabian Ramirez knows about the power of peer pressure and bullying. As a bullying speaker for schools and conferences, he shares practical steps to coping with bullies. Fabian was victimized by bullies throughout his teens. In high school, he literally became the most popular guy in the school as he overcame his bullies and reigned as homecoming king.

Today, Fabian Ramirez is a bullying speaker for schools and conferences. Fabian teaches practical steps to coping with bullies to thousands of students. To learn more about Fabian, visit www.fabianramirez.com.

Bullying prevention begins by training and equipping students about how to respond to bullies at school, he says.

“We’ve discovered that most students don’t know how to handle negative emotions that correlate to being picked on at school,” says the East End Houston native.

In his bullying prevention video, students learn:
•    How hurt people, hurt people
•    Bullying is psychological
•    5 keys to healthy venting

Included in the free video presentation are guides for the teacher to present the video and follow-up exercises and discussions for students.

So what’s a teacher to do to get bullying to stop? Experts recommend open communications with students. Here’s a few recommendations from “White House Report—Bullying and the Power of Peers.” Check the article for actions for each suggestion listed below:

1.    Ask Students about bullying.
2.    Ask students about their relationships.
3.    Build democratic classroom and school climates.
4.    Be an informed consumer of anti-bullying curriculums.
5.    Build democratic classroom and school climates.
6.    Remember that bullying is also a problem of values

According to anti-bullying.net, the most effective tool teachers have against bullying is anti-bullying policy which is usually adopted by the school or school district. However, the policy should include:

•    Curriculum on bullying
•    How incidents are dealt with after they happen (proactive and reactive strategies)
•    Involve all members of a school community: pupils, parents, teachers and other staff

If you’d like to hear bullying expert Fabian Ramirez as he addresses bullying in schools, register for his free workshop Friday, Nov. 21 at Harris County Department of Education.

For additional resources on bullying and cyberbullying, visit our HCDE Safe Schools Pinterest board.

What you are doing to prevent bullying in your classroom and school? We’d like to hear from you.

About the Blogger:

Harris County Department of Education’s Communication team helps promote the efforts of HCDE’s programs and services to the education community. Our close-knit, award-winning team works together on creative strategies to effectively support the organization. We’re always looking to share great stories and on occasion contribute to the HCDE blog, School Bell.

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