Running head: BULLYING MANAGEMENT PLAN 1

Bullying Management Plan

Abby Hull
EDU 4400: Behavior Management in the Classroom
Madonna University












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Introduction
Bullying is an issue that has become increasingly prevalent in our school systems today.
As a future teacher, it is my job to begin creating a plan for how to deal with this problem and
support my students. Bullying continues to be a problem that effects our schools. When
524,000 U.S. elementary, middle, and high school students responded, anonymously, to the
Olweus Bullying Questionnaire between 2007 and 2010, close to 20% of the elementary
school students who responded reported that they had been targets of bullying behavior at
least two or three times during the past month (Crowe, 2012). So, the question is, what do
we do? As I reflect over these statistics, it becomes clear that in order to have a successful
school year with no bullying, we must learn to prevent, recognize, support, educate, and
redirect. With these tools, a plan can be implemented to assist in preventing bullying.
Classroom Structure
Before the school year begins, it is very important to have a plan ready to
implement immediately. In this instance I will be creating a plan for a 2
nd
grade class. From
the first day of class, students need to have an understanding of their value, the importance
of classroom community, and what behavior is expected of them. When students step into
the classroom, the teacher must put a focus on how important they are because of their
uniqueness. If a child comes from a different culture (for example, if their family is from
China), the teacher will not only ask the child about his or her home country, but also their
family. Questions could be anything from What type of food do you like to eat? or Do
you have any traditions that I should know about? These questions will help the teacher to
get to know the student but then when shared with the other students will allow them to
know why their classmate is a bit different from them. When students understand why
someone is different they grow to respect the person instead of laughing at them, making
assumptions, etc.
A way of sharing about each student is through having a student of the week. This
program allows for students to have an opportunity to let everyone into their lives. When
students can take a step into each others shoes, they are less likely to bully one another.
Students are more likely to be respectful and kind when all classrooms promote positive
peer relations (Lickona, 2012). These relationships can also be accomplished by setting up
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the classroom with assigned seats and switching the seats once a month so that all students
can work together and get to know each other.
Lastly, from the very first class, students must understand what behavior is
unacceptable and why. These behavior expectations will include the following:
Be Kind Treat others as you wish to be treated.
Be Safe Do not put yourself or anyone else in harms way.
Be Responsible Control yourself, stand up for others, make good decisions, and
always do the right thing.
In those first few weeks of school, we will talk about what it means to fulfill these
behavior expectations and what these look like in real life. These expectations will help
students to understand what they should and should not do as well as teach them how to
act.
Students will also have the opportunity throughout the school year to add Student
Rules. These wont be considered official classroom rules, but will be there to help
students to know what their peers expect from them. So, for example, if a certain student
has a learning disability they might feel compelled to make their own rule that is in regards
to themselves such as Always consider that not everyone is the same. Or if a student may
come from a lower income family and doesnt have a variety of clothes to wear, he/she
may make a rule that says Be grateful for what you have and dont judge what I dont
have. This is a way for students to express themselves to the class and help them to feel
heard if they feel that this is needed.
Bullying Prevention Strategies
In order to prevent bullying before it happens, there must be prevention strategies in
the classroom. These are similar to some of the ideas mentioned previously, but are more
specific to helping students stay away from bull ying.
Have class meetings when necessary to discuss any ongoing issues that have been
brought up by students. Discuss during these meetings the correct way to handle the
problem and give students the opportunity to express their feelings.
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Connect with other teachers in the building as well as those in administration. This
can be done by having other classes visit your room, or by inviting the principal to
come watch a special performance. When students see others in the school wanting
to be involved, they will feel more at ease and know that they can approach these
people if they need help.
Send home information to the parents about bullying and what it will look like. Tell
the parents that if they notice any changes in their student to contact the teacher
immediately in order to deal with the issue as soon as possible. As the teacher, have
regular communication with the parents to talk about if any changes at school have
been noticed.
Enforce the behavior expectations and do not be lenient. Give feedback on student
behavior and always tell the students how to do something instead of how not to do
something. Encourage their good behavior.
Educate the students about bullying and have regular discussions about what to do if
they are a victim or if they know of someone who is a victim.
Supporting and Educating Students
To best serve the students, it is important to not only support them with whatever is
happening in their life, but also to educate them. For some students, bullying may just be a
word. It is beneficial to explain what bullying is exactly and what the different types are.
What is bullying?
Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a
real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated,
over time (stopbullying.gov). For younger students, this language must be simplified in order
for them to better comprehend. An easier way of saying this is that bullying is when someone is
hurtful or mean because they think that they are more powerful or better than someone else.
What does bullying look like?
Bullying can come in more than one form. Students need to realize this because they may
not consider themselves to be victims when they actually are. There are four types: Physical,
Verbal, Social/Emotional, and Cyber.
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1. Physical: Hurting another person physically through hitting, pinching, punching,
tripping, etc.
2. Verbal: Hurting another person through words such as through insults, teasing,
or intimidation.
3. Social/Emotional: Hurting another person by excluding them, spreading rumors,
humiliation, etc.
4. Cyber: Hurting someone by use of the internet such as through social media
sites. This can involve teasing, humiliation, verbal abuse, and more.
(Bullying types, 2012)
All four of these types of bullying can happen at any grade level. Once students
understand the different types of bullying, they should then learn what to do if they or
someone else is being bullied.
What do you do if you or someone else is being bullied?
If a student feels in any way threatened or knows of someone else who may be being
bullied, they need to alert someone immediately. This can be someone in the school or even
their parents. As long as an adult knows quickly, something can be done. Students must
understand that this is not tattling but rather is them sticking up for themselves and
others and doing the right thing. As a school, we are a community, and as a community we
look out for one another.
When a student comes to a teacher with a bull ying situation it is important that the
teacher do the following:
Listen and focus on the child. Learn whats been going on and show you want to help.
Assure the child that bullying is not their fault.
Know that kids who are bullied may struggle with talking about it. Consider referring
them to a school counselor, psychologist, or other mental health service.
Give advice about what to do. This may involve role-playing and thinking through how
the child might react if the bullying occurs again.
Work together to resolve the situation and protect the bullied child. The child, parents,
and school or organization may all have valuable input (Respond to bullying, 2014).
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Discipline and Redirecting Plan for Bullies
When a student has been caught bullying, they should not only be told that what
they are doing is wrong, but should be given time to reflect over their actions. One way of
doing this is through a letter. If a student is found to be bullying another student/s, they
will then think about what they have done and how the other person may now feel. They
will then write a letter to this student apologizing for their actions and explaining what they
hope to work on so that this does not occur again. This exercise helps the child who is
bullying to take responsibility for their actions and think about why they bullied.
Along with the letter, the student may lose recess time or have to have a meeting
with their parents, the principal, and the teacher. All of these consequences depend upon
the particular situation and if the action is being repeated. For younger students, a good
idea would be to have the student read a book about someone like Rosa Parks or another
person who is famous that was in some way or another bullied. They would then share with
the class what they read about it and how it pertains to their class.
If the teacher witnesses bullying, the bully should be pulled aside and away from the
situation. During this time they will calm themselves and talk about the situation with the
teacher. The teacher should always talk calmly but not aggressively to the student and help
them to see why what they are doing is wrong. If the teacher does not actually witness the
bully but is told of their behavior through either students, other teachers, or a parent, the
teacher will discuss the situation with them in a private setting. This is where the
consequences will also be brought up depending on what exactly happened. If needed, both
students will have a mediated discussion together to get to the bottom of the issue and to
fix any problems (Prevent bullying, 2014)
Conclusion
This bullying management plan was created in order to assist myself in creating a warm,
cooperative, and caring community within my classroom. Since bullying is an existing problem
in schools, it is beneficial to think about how to prevent and control this issue prior to teaching.
With this plan, I will feel more able to conquer the bullying epidemic in my classroom and help
my students to feel a sense of belonging. It is my hope that more teachers will consider creating
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their own bullying management plans so that in the years to come there will be less and less
bullying issues.





















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References
Bullying types. (2012). Erase Bullying. Retrieved from
http://www.erasebullying.ca/bullying/bullying-types.php
Crowe, C. (2012). Close the gateway to bullying. Close the Gateway to Bullying. Retrieved from
https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/close-gateway-bullying
Lickona, T. (2012). Prevent bullying, promote kindness: 20 things all school can do. Excellence
and Ethics, 1-4.
Prevent bullying. (2014). stopbullying.gov. Retrieved from www.stopbullying.gov.
Respond to bullying. (2014). stopbullying.gov. Retrieved from www.stopbullying.gov.
What is bullying. (2014). stopbullying.gov. Retrieved from www.stopbullying.gov.