Newswise — Sticks and stones may break bones " but those wounds will heal. Bitter words may cause deeper injuries that can take years to heal, if ever.
According to Pam Terry, professor of health sciences at Western Illinois University, schoolyard and cyber bullies who lash out at others can cause "inner wounds and scars on the hearts of others."
"The bottom line that teachers, administrators and parents must keep in mind is that kids who bully often have something underlying going on. It may stem back to what is going on in the home and how they are being treated," she explained.
Today's kindergarten teachers tell Terry they are noticing more and more changes within each new class of students. Many are needier, have delayed developmental skills and tend to act out or lash out at others.
"A good percentage of these children who tend to bully or act out live in functionally challenged homes," she stated. "But we should not equate functionally challenged homes to low socio-economic status. Functionally challenged homes are an equal opportunity environment " they run the gamut from the wealthy to the middle class to the poor. If home is not a safe place for these kids to act out; they see school as the only safe place to act out."
Educators today must recognize anxiety in their students and positively rein it in or catch it before it moves to aggression, Terry said. Not only do teachers have to work to handle these angry children, they need to be taught how to protect themselves and other students.
"Bullying is not a new problem; however, the way it manifests itself, such as via the Internet, is evolving. It has been around for years, but it has taken society twice as long to finally wake up and realize we need to be proactive rather than reactive," she pointed out.
Terry stressed that placing the blame on bullying can't just be put on the parents of the offender or the bully him/herself because "bullying doesn't happen in a vacuum." There are the bystanders who choose to look the other way; there's the principal and teacher who tell a parent that his child, the target, "needs to fit in better;" all play a part in allowing bullying behavior to continue.
"These kids need someone on their side who cares; however, the school districts must have in place consequences for those who break the rules," she said. "There's a whole host of things that schools can do, but it takes everyone " the school board, the support staff, the administrators and the teachers. Stopping bullying in our schools must be a concerted effort."
According to Terry, when addressing bullying, it must be treated as not only a school problem, but also a community problem. Any bullying program must include the following: definition of bullying; types of bullying behavior; who bullies; targets of bullies; difference between how girls and boys bully; short-term implications of bullying and being bullied; long-term implications of bullying and being bullied; what causes bullying; roles in bullying behavior (including henchmen and bystanders); strategies for stopping bullying behavior; and various roles and responsibilities in bullying intervention.
A relatively new bullying tactic involves technology. While "cyber-bullying" is also about power like the typical schoolyard bullying, there are distinct differences between the two, Terry explained.
"Cyber-bullying allows children to bully without coming face-to-face with the target. There is an illusion of anonymity so children may say things online that they would not have the nerve to say in person," she said. "Children of today are the 'Technology Generation.' Their understanding of technology and the many ways they can use it to communicate is nothing short of amazing. A report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project indicates that approximately 17 million children ages 12 to 17 use the Internet — 74% of teens use instant messaging compared to only 44% of adults."
Terry added that in a recent survey conducted by I-Safe America of 1,500 students in fourth through eighth grade, 42% admitted they have been bullied online and 53% admitted saying something hurtful and mean to someone online.
"Some of these children are actually breaking the law," Terry stressed. "The time to address this growing problem is now.
"Children must be taught what to do if they are the target of a bully -- on the schoolyard or online -- or see or know someone who is. They need to learn it is okay to tell a trusted adult," Terry said. "Then there needs to be zero tolerance for bullies. There must be consistent consequences for those who bully."
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