To Students, Parents, Guardians
and Friends, About Bullying and Dexter Middle School
The presence and concern for bullying behavior has always been a worry for
parents, students, and educators during Middle School. In recent years,
shocking, violent episodes at schools across the nation have been linked in
some ways to incidents of bullying -rightly, increasing our concerns.
Bullying and how to prevent it at Dexter Middle School is one of our school
goals and is very much a "front burner" issue.
What is bullying? "Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and
that involves an imbalance of power or strength." (U.S Department of Health
and Human Services) Bully behaviors can continue over time and student
victims often feel powerless to make it stop. National statistics indicate
grade 7 is the peak "bully behavior" year followed by grades 6 and 8. 15-25%
of students report being bullied, and 15-20% of students report that they
bully others. Recent surveys of students at DMS put us within those national
statistics.
Bully behavior is a difference in power, so it should not surprise us that
students report physical forms of bullying as more frequent among boys, with
larger students intimidating smaller ones. Girls more often endure social
exclusion, and injurious rumors. Cyber bullying can target both boys and
girls, and speculation about sexual orientation is common. Students at DMS
report that bully aggressions occur away from adults or in ways adults do
not recognize as a bully action. A teacher might not connect bully actions
to a student who directs a nickname to a classmate but is rooted in insult
or rumors yet unknown to the teacher. It would be easy for a student to feel
that the teacher saw everything and yet did nothing.
So what are we doing about bullying at Dexter Middle School? We listen when
students or parents report instances of bullying behaviors. Teachers address
conflicts and attempt to resolve hurtful actions. When faculty learns about
continued aggressive behaviors, a detention or referral to the office is
sent. In serious situations of repeated and hurtful actions, parents are
contacted and students may be suspended or asked to attend the Student
Relations Committee of the School Board. These kinds of discipline can
happen only if we learn of bully actions.
DMS faculty is committed to an awareness of student interactions especially
in the less structured moments at DMS. We try to learn as much as possible
about bullying tactics used and by whom. Middle School students often want
to solve their own problems and can feel that reporting bully or harassing
behaviors would be " ratting out" a classmate. A bully uses aggressive
hurtful behaviors repeatedly and should be reported as a civic action, just
as you would report similar actions in your workplace. We work to convince
students that it is correct to report hurtful and repeated actions, and not
to take things into their own hands or simply endure them.
As principal at Dexter Middle School, I will continue to support students
who are victims of bully aggression and will act to prevent the actions of
bullies. I am also committed to listening to students and parents of
students who feel unsafe at DMS and taking action on their behalf. It also
important that we support students who wish to speak out and ask for
fairness, and ethical interaction among peers. In the most recent edition of
The Tiger Tales I announced an anti-bully video contest for students.
Students will be invited to write, act and film a message with an anti-bully
theme. One $100 prize will be given with six $25 runner-up awards for
student entries judged as a convincing message.
What can parents do about bullying? Listen carefully if your child mentions
being bullied. The consequences of a student being bullied can be serious
including loss of interest in school, low self-esteem, and feeling lonely.
If your child regularly feels victimized by another student at school,
encourage him or her to report the actions to any adult at Dexter Middle
School. If your child is unable or uncomfortable making a report, you call
us to make us aware of the problem. It is not recommended that you encourage
physical retaliation or that you contact the parents of the student who
bullied your child since it could complicate the situation. Students need to
be convinced that being the victim of a bully is not their fault.
Communication with a trusted parent will help to balance the power of a
bully. Your home can be the supporting and loving place where students can
recover from aggressive or unfair actions that may occur in Middle School.
Additional information from
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -Stop Bullying Now project are
available online at
www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov or in printed form outside the
office of the principal at Dexter Middle School.
Sincerely,
Juliana J. Richard
For further information
on Cyber-Bullying, click here.
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