The National Center for Education reported in 2015 that one out of every four students (22%) report being bullied during the school year. October has been designated National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. The PACER Center created the National Bullying Prevention Center in 2006, and is celebrating its 10 year Anniversary this year. When it originally started it was only a week-long event and has now grown into a global month long effort with a multitude of activities all throughout October to bring awareness to bullying.
The Texas Legislature feels that conflict management and bullying are important for schools to address, and have passed mandates through House Bills 283 and 121 and Senate Bill 136. These bills require training for teachers, staff and youth to address these issues. Currently, there is no standard curriculum being utilized by school districts. Texas 4-H, in partnership with the Texas Rural Mediation Services, developed a curriculum called “Take A Stand! Against Bullying.” This educational curriculum lasts 5 weeks, and has three different sets of age groups that it is targeted towards. The Take a Stand Program is currently being introduced to the youth of Bosque County in different communities. The curriculum targets different topics about bullying: how to respond and resolve a bullying issue, communication, etiquette, teamwork, and cultural awareness.
Children that report that they are bullied also state that they feel like they don’t belong and are lonely. The kids that are doing the bullying are also more likely to have lower grades and to start drinking or smoking. Bullying can also have a lasting impact not only on a person’s psyche but in how they handle situations. Yale University did a study and found that bullied victims are 7-9% more likely to consider suicide. Another study done in Britain found that half of the suicides among youth were related to bullying.
Cyberbullying is a growing concern, with about 69% of teens owning their own media devices allowing easier access to online bullying. This topic was discussed at the last Take a Stand session in Morgan. Bosque County coordinated with the Sheriff’s Department to have Deputy Ryals come to the classroom and discuss some of the legal repercussions of bullying either in person, online, or sending inappropriate sexually charged messages. We also showed them a video about a girl who was the target of bullying both online and in person that, in the end, decided to take her own life. Our hope in this is to not glorify any of these actions, but allow the kids participating in Take a Stand to see that this is a reality to other kids their age. Our hearts go out to anyone who has been affected from bullying or suicide as a result of bullying.
Please join Bosque County 4-H and Take a Stand! #nationalbullyingpreventionmonth
