schools
january24
What’s All The Fuss About Bullying? continued from front page
“We need a ‘Cultural Approach’
to change how bullying is viewed and
tolerated or not tolerated in the school
district,” says Weisel.
And that is what is happening in
Vernonia schools. The Vernonia Preven-
tion Coalition (VPC) has helped sponsor
a series of bullying intervention, infor-
mational and preventative programming
over the last few years. “Upon the request
of staff, parents and administration, the
VPC has been able to leverage trainings,
speakers, in-services and experiential
programming,” says the VPC Director,
DeAnna Pearl. “All trainings have been
provided in response to a real need seen
and experienced in the school and com-
munity. Various media resources has
been purchased and housed in the school
and in the local library for students, staff
and parents. It is the hope that parents
can use these resources to follow-up
what is being taught in school.”
According to government statis-
tics, one in three middle school and high
schools students report being bullied.
And most experts agree that it can be-
come a very real problem: students who
are bullied may feel insecure, grow to
dislike school, and have difficulty learn-
ing. The effects of being bullied typi-
cally do not end in childhood. As they
grow older, students who were bullied
can experience depression, low self-es-
teem, health problems, poor grades and
suicidal thoughts.
And it’s not just the student be-
ing bullied that is effected--students
who observe bullying, often called “by-
standers,” may feel they are in an un-
safe environment. Effects of bullying on
bystanders may include feeling fearful,
powerless to act, guilty for not acting,
and drawn to participate.
The following poem (from the 4
Troubled Teens website) shows the sad-
ness and desperation on the part of a 13
year old boy in Manchester, England
who hung himself as a result of serious
bullying:
I shall remember forever and will never
forget
Monday: My money taken
Tuesday: Names called
Wednesday: My uniform torn
Thursday: My body pouring with blood
Friday: It’s ended
Saturday: Freedom
Bullying is a very real problem
that needs real solutions.
In fact, in March of 2011 Presi-
dent Barack Obama convened a daylong
conference at the White House on “Pre-
venting Bullying.”
“This isn’t an issue that makes
headlines every day, but it is an issue
that affects every single young person
in the country,” Obama said in a video
about the conference.
Geoff McLachlan, who works
with The Ovation Company has been
hired to visit the Vernonia schools three
times over the last few years to work
specifically with students. McLach-
lan and The Ovation Company takes a
unique approach to combating bully-
ing: “Inspired by the idea that everyone
should be appreciated and applauded
for their own unique talents and special
gifts, The Ovation Company exists to rec-
ognize and celebrate the positive while
encouraging others to find out what they
stand for. It is our mission to grow
and cultivate positive interactions
with all those who share the school
environment,” says their website
The Ovation Company, based in
Littleton, CO, is a school resource
organization focusing on the devel-
opment of positive school climate
and improved student achievement.
Working with high school students
as mentors, Mclachlan uses humor
and fun, interactive games and ex-
ercises to break down barriers. He
helps promote increased awareness
and positive student interaction by
helping identify the good in all stu-
dents, with the intent of creating a
healthy social and academic envi-
ronment.
The Vernonia School District
has also brought author Trudy Ludwig
to work with school staff, students, and
parents in three separate training events.
Ludwig, who lives in Portland, special-
The idea of teaching students to
respect each other is spreading--Natalie
Groshong, a 3 nd grader at Vernonia’s
Washington Grade School is starting
an Against Bullying club at her school.
“Even the little kids need to learn that is
not OK to be bullies,” says Groshong
“It becomes a question of how
do we teach our kids anything?,” asks
Weisel. “How do we teach them man-
ners or how to act in the cafeteria? There
is a skill set involved and an attitude and
hopefully an ownership of what is the
right thing to do.”
According to Pearl the results
can be seen on many levels. The staff
have all been trained in identifying bul-
lying. Youth are beginning to understand
their role in bullying. Student advocacy
is beginning to spread. Several high
school seniors have Senior Projects
that address bullying. “But they are
taking it several steps further,” ex-
plains Pearl. “They are challeng-
ing their fellow students to step up,
take a healthy risk and be leaders in
their community and school.”
Over 20 students participated
in the three-day bully training
by McLachlan and The Ovation
Company and acted as
peer mentors for students.
“That takes a lot of belief
in what you are doing--to
stand and meet peers eye-
to-eye and carry a message
of intolerance to bullying
and harmful acts,” says
Pearl.
Is Weisel seeing an im-
pact from this focus on
preventing bullying? Have
there been any changes in
behavior on campus?
“It is having an impact
on the kids who have been
bullied,” says Weisel. “I
think they are starting to
izes in writing children’s books that ex- feel more empowered and un-
plore the confusing world of children’s derstand that we don’t have to
social interactions, and is a sought-after
speaker, presenting at schools and con-
ferences around the country and educat-
ing students, parents, and teachers on the
topic of bullying.
The VPC’s Pearl sees this as an
opportunity to create cultural change in
our schools and our community. “This
type of programming also helps men-
tors, parents and community members
understand what bullying is, how it af-
fects our kids and how it can impact a
community,” says Pearl. “One of the
most asked question now is, ‘I under-
stand bullying today, but what can I do
about it?’”
Vernonia schools originally fo-
cused on training for 4 th , and 5 th grad-
ers and middle school students. When
Mclachlan came back in November of
2011 he was asked to create a training
for high school students as well.
2012
9
keep taking this and that we can address
this and that if we work together this
problem will decrease. What I do see is
that events that happen on campus, that
may not have been considered bullying
in the past—they
are now seeing that
bullying
connec-
tion. Maybe it just
looks like someone
got their backpack
stolen, but then you
realize who stole it
and why and we see
that this is actually
an ongoing bullying
situation.”
In other words,
what we are seeing is
the start of very real
change—a change
in culture in the way
students, school staff, parents and the
rest of the community view and deal
with the problem of bullying.
“We are not just talking about
saying no to bullying,” says Pearl. “We
are talking about building skills in youth
to support each other—to create a sup-
portive environment for youth to explore
their potential in making a positive com-
munity norm change towards compas-
sion. We are empowering our youth
with skills to advocate for each other on
a daily basis. To date, over 500 students
and staff have the same language foun-
dation and the same way to talk with
each other when it comes to dealing with
bullying.”
Weisel says that the Vernonia
School District will continue to address
the bullying issue. “These training in
November were just the kick off,” says
Weisel “We need to have a continual, on-
going focus on this for there to be a real
impact. This will be an ongoing thing.”
