New Inclusive Approach

“Two decades ago, bullying was often seen as a rare occurrence, where small groups of parents sought protection for their children with the school district (Healy Ortiz, Vikki. Chicago Tribune. “New inclusive approach helps schools fights bullying”).” However, in recent years this viewpoint has diminished as more cases of bullying have been and are coming to light. This has led to school districts becoming openly aware of the issue, who now address it as ‘chronic’ and have had several programs implemented to stop bullying; and though once entirely ineffective, they now have evolved to be quite the opposite. Previously, programs had taken overly simple approaches to bullying which were not applicable for the complexity of the issue. In many

They encourage students to report cases of bullying or to tell a bully to stop which neglects the fact that if a bully catches on, the student helping will be bullied, too. Similarly, programs which take the approach of telling students to ‘be nice’ because ‘bullying is not cool,’ have had an equally ineffective result. Telling students to not bully isn’t a viable approach as the words are delivered by an authority and will go in one ear and out the other. Moreover, they do not detail how to help other students without getting hurt themselves. This makes even students that are willing to help, confused, and thus nothing is done. Lynn Owens, a district network coach, admits that “A couple of years ago… kids were just reporting bullying. We didn’t know how to respond to it in a consistent manner.” Now, though, school districts have developed programs which take inclusive approaches in addressing the issue, and Owens summarizes it simply by stating that “now we’re being proactive and not

Though some students simply used their cell phones, others began reaching out to one another. For instance, “sixth-graders Jenna Walden and Avarry ended up at a table by themselves, and they noticed that Alexander Scherer, a new student at school, was alone. They moved over to sit with him (”Bock, Jessica. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Kids shuffle lunch seats as part of ‘No One Eats Alone’ campaign”).” The program helped and still helps students to gain friends and prevent anyone from feeling ‘invisible’ so to speak. Another program which takes a more inclusive approach is the case of the “Stop, Walk and Talk” which, as Healy Ortiz puts it, gives students a “rehearsed response aimed at halting bullying instantly.” The program employs hand signals and language to “stop” a bully, “walk” to a teacher, and “talk” to tell them what has happened. This gives students confidence in what to do and when they choose to help they know how to. It also helps teachers understand what is happening so they can intervene and the situation can be handled both safely and