October is Bullying Prevention Month, and never has the need to focus on addressing bullying been greater. Although bullying has been an issue since time immemorial, cultural trends and other factors, such as new technology, often track with increased rates of bullying. Children model what they see in adults, so it should be no surprise that educators have noticed increased bullying in schools during and since the 2016 election. In particular bullying based on race and ethnicity, as well as hate incidents.
Now, early evidence from a new (as yet unpublished) study by Dr. Dewey Cornell, one of the nations top bullying experts, together with Dr. Francis Huang, looking at rates of bullying at 400 middle schools in Virginia—an almost perfectly divided red/blue state—shows a “Trump effect” on bullying. That is, this scientifically rigorous study showed significantly higher rates of teasing and bullying in schools located in school districts that had voted for Donald Trump compared with districts that had voted for Hillary Clinton. These same schools showed no divergence in bullying or teasing rates between Republican and Democratic districts in 2013 and 2015. Read more about this study here.
Schools will have to work harder than ever to counter messages of intolerance and demonstrations of bullying from the top echelons of our society. To assist with this, National Professional Resources offers many bullying prevention resources, which are on sale throughout the month of October for 10% off. On NPRInc.com, free bullying prevention resources are also available.
An abundance of free bullying prevention resources can also be found online. The following comprehensive listing of websites for in depth bullying prevention resources is reprinted from The Bullying Prevention Book of Lists, by Dr. Kenneth Shore.
• www.actagainstviolence.apa.org This is the site of the ACT Raising Kids Program, which offers positive parenting skills to parents and caregivers of children from birth to 8.
• www.antibullying.net A Scottish site based at the University of Edinburgh that offers ideas to teachers, parents and students about how to handle bullying.
• www.bostonvsbullies.org An anti-bullying initiative of The Sports Museum and the Boston sports community to help kids stand strong against bullying.
• www.bullying.co.uk This is a British website that has information for teachers, students and parents.
• www.bullying.org This Canadian website provides educational programs and resources to individuals, families, educational institutions and organizations.
• www.bullypolice.org This website reports on the status of anti-bullying laws in all 50 states and provides resources for anti-bullying advocates.
• www.bystanderrevolution.org This website provides peer-to-peer practical advice in the form of videos to help individuals defuse bullying and to promote leadership, kindness, and inclusion.
• www.cyberbullying.org This is the website of the Cyberbullying Research Center, which provides up-to-date information about the various aspects of cyberbullying among teens.
• www.eyesonbullying.org This website features the Eyes on Bullying Toolkit, which offers strategies that adults can use with children and youth in homes, child care centers, afterschool and youth programs, and camps to teach them skills to prevent bullying and intervene when it does happen.
• www.fosi.org This is the website of the Family Online Safety Institute, which provides information in an effort to make the online world safer for kids and their families.
• www.nasponline.org This is the website of the National Association of School Psychologists, which promotes educationally and psychologically healthy environments for children.
• www.nobully.org This website of a non-profit organization trains schools how to use student empathy to prevent and stop bullying and cyberbullying through a non-punitive program.
• www.nssc1.org This is the website of the National School Safety Center, which advocates for safe, secure and peaceful schools.
• www.operationrespect.org This is the website of Operation Respect, a non-profit organization started by the folk singer Peter Yarrow to help organizations focused on children become more compassionate, safe and respectful environments. Operation Respect developed the Don’t Laugh at Me character education programs for elementary- and middle-school students.
• www.pacer.org/bullying This website of PACER National Center for Bullying Prevention provides resources about bullying, with a special focus on children with disabilities. Site also has a section for children and teens.
• www.prevnet.ca This website was created by a network of Canadian organizations, provides information on bullying prevention, research on bullying, and practical toolkits for dealing with bullying. Available in both English and French.
• www.schoolclimate.org This website of the National School Climate offers information and resources to help schools measure and improve their school climate.
• www.stopbullying.gov This is a comprehensive website about bullying managed by the US Department of Health & Human Services. Available in both English and Spanish.
• www.teachsafeschools.org Go to the bullying prevention section of this website for an extensive discussion of issues related to bullying in schools.
• www.thebullyproject.com This is the website of the social action campaign inspired by the documentary film BULLY.
• www.tolerance.org This is the website of Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and provides resources for educators concerned with issues of diversity, equity, and justice.
• www.tylerclementi.org This is the website of the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which honors the life and story of Tyler Clementi, a victim of cyberbullying who took his own life. The Foundation and website promote safe, inclusive and respectful environments for vulnerable youth.
www.wiredsafety.org This is a site that provides extensive information to online users of all ages on a wide variety of technology issues relating to safety, privacy and security. In particular, it provides assistance for victims of cyberbullying.
• www.42explore.com/bully.htm This site has an extensive collection of links, activities and resources related to bullying.
