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Bullying,
school attacks and the Secret Service report
Prescott,
AZ. Oct 16, 2000 / U.S. Newswire. / This past weekend the U.S. Secret
Service issued its much awaited Interim Report on the Prevention of
Targeted Violence in Schools. The report addresses why students have
targeted each other in violent school attacks as well as what implications
these findings mean to the rest of us.
The
report notes that attacks such as Columbine are rarely impulsive. Indeed
in most of the high profile attacks the students planned their attack for
quite some time, one of the top motives being revenge. More than 75% of
the attackers were known to hold a grievance at the time of the attack and
many had indeed confided in others about these grievances prior to the
attack.
Most
of the attackers talked about their plans to others. In one case an
attacker made comments to at least 24 friends and classmates about his
interest in killing other kids and building bombs. In almost every case
the person told was a peer - a friend, schoolmate, or sibling.
The
Secret Service report notes that 'there is no accurate or useful profile
of "the school shooter.'" Indeed they recommend that the focus
should be on a student's behaviors and communications to determine if the
student appears to be planning or preparing for an attack. The use of
profile carries with it a risk of over-identification - the great majority
of students who fit any given profile will not actually pose a risk.
Most
of the attackers had previously used or had easy access to guns. In nearly
2/3 of the incidents investigated the attacker got the gun from their own
home or that of a relative.
Over
half of the incidents were not resolved by law enforcement intervention.
In those the attacker was stopped by a faculty member, fellow student or
decided to stop shooting on their own, or killed themselves. The Secret
Service stressed that schools need to make the best use of their resources
on prevention, and not by relying exclusively on law enforcement to
respond.
In
many of the cases the attacker was influenced or even encouraged by
others. This dispels the idea that the attacker is a "loner" or
"just snaps."
Bullying
played a key role in the majority of cases. In over 2/3 of the cases, the
attackers felt persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked, or injured by
others prior to the incident. A number of the attackers had long-standing
and severe experiences of being bullied and harassed.
In a
number of the cases, attackers described experiences of being bullied in
terms that approached torment. That bullying played such a major role in a
number of these school attacks should strongly support efforts to combat
bullying in schools.
Safe
Schools founder Rod Beaumont commented on this saying: "We have known
for a long time that the effects of bullying in school last a long time.
Indeed we receive calls each week from people in their fifties or sixties
who still have vivid memories of being tormented and bullied at
school."
According
to U.S. Department of Justice figures 160,000 students skip school each
day due to fear of being persecuted and bullied; 20% of high school
students are afraid to go to the school restroom because of attacks.
"The
national ANTI-BULLYING HOT LINE is currently receiving thousands of
contacts each day from students, parents and grand parents concerned about
the effects of bullying," says Beaumont. "If there was ever any
doubt as to the seriousness of bullying and its affects on our youth this
hotline has dispelled all!"
Safe
Schools, Safe Students is the national leader in working with schools and
communities to implement programs that target bullying and harassment in
and outside of schools. In cooperation with other national anti-bullying
organizations Safe Schools, Safe Students has created a number of
initiatives proven to be effective. One such initiative 'NEVER BE A
VICTIM' has been a huge success in Canada. This educational course comes
complete with teacher lesson plans, video segments, teaching aids and
community involvement keys.
"We
have many weapons in our arsenal to combat the school bully," says
Beaumont. "Never Be A Victim is ideal for children in elementary
schools through 8th grade. In addition we have various peer mentoring
initiatives that work with the older children. If the children themselves
'take charge' we see tremendous results in defusing bullying issues."
Beaumont and his staff man the
hotline currently from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm M-F and also over the weekends.
They plan to have it fully supported and staffed for 24/7 availability by
November but funding has been an obstacle. "We are in need of more
telephone, more computers and more space - since the hot line received
national press we have seen the number of calls double each week, we are
currently at capacity," says Mary Harvey, project coordinator. "The crisis
line has expanded beyond our expectations and we cannot afford to miss one
child calling in. As the Secret Service Report clearly highlight, bullying
is a major factor in school attacks. We can cut back that threat by
helping children at the earliest stages to take charge and discover they
are loved and have value - characteristics that are taken away by
bullies."
School
to try mum’s anti-bullying program
BY
WENDY JOHNSON
"It’s
Not Cool To Be Cruel," may be a catchy slogan, but Denise Little
hopes it will become much more than that.
Little,
a local mother of four, wants it to be the start of an anti-bullying
campaign implemented this fall in School District # 53.
Little
approached several Parent Advisory Councils within the community before
classes adjourned for the summer, and she has garnered some interest for
her innovative suggestions.
Simple
in design and technique, the plan’s ingenuity lies in the fact it will
directly involve the students in its initiation and operation.
Unlike
other anti-bullying campaigns, which utilize ready-made kits formulated
elsewhere that invariably turn students into passive receptors,
"It’s not cool..." will run on the creativity and momentum of
the students themselves.
"When
kids are responsible for a project, they take more of an active interest
in its outcome," explained Little.
Through
role-playing scenarios, posters, videos, colouring contests and collector
buttons, Little hopes students will get the message across to their peers
that bullying is not acceptable behaviour from either male or female
contemporaries.
Moreover,
this behaviour often persists because of tacit approval from onlookers or
a hesitancy to intervene in a situation not of their making, and it is
this ingrained mindset that the program will target. Because, if
"Friends don’t let friends drink and drive" they should not
let them be bullies or among the bullied, either.
Little
got the idea when she noticed the anti-racism buttons still appearing on
students’ backpacks, clothing and hats long after the campaign had
officially ended. She reasoned that since buttons continued to have that
much of an impact and desired effect, then they could also successfully
impart a similar message with regard to the despicability of bullying.
What
began as an intent to provide schools with buttons carrying the
"It’s not cool to be cruel" slogan soon snowballed into
something bigger and limited only by imagination.
"We
can adjust the campaign for elementary and secondary school levels,"
she noted.
For
instance, younger children could be involved in colouring or poster
contests and stories depicting different harassment situations, while
older students could write open-ended scenes or produce videos with those
themes. Judges could be drawn from the community and appropriate prizes
given to the top selections.
"We
aren’t re-inventing the wheel here, but this approach to anti-bullying
could work hand in glove with anything else we have going," Little
commented.
The
PAC at Oliver Elementary intends to run the program at the school and will
also commit funds for the distribution of the buttons, etc.
Little
would now like to see the Safe School Committee, which is part of the
student council at Southern Okanagan Secondary School, taking on the
project in the fall.
While
the problem of the "schoolyard bully" has been around since the
Three-Rs were invented, Little is adamant about one thing, "The
impact of bullying goes far beyond the moment, it ruins childhood for many
of its victims."
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