Bullying means pushing, hitting, yelling, name-calling and more. There's even cyber-bullying.

These are among the lessons in a bullying prevention program being conducted at Lisbon Elementary School.

One student had a simple solution on such mean-spirited behavior: "Just stamp it out."

That statement -- one of many anti-bullying phrases Principal Jayne Diggs has heard from her students -- is among the results of the year-long program at the school.

Lisbon Elementary has taken a hard line on bullying this year through a program aimed at helping children better understand what constitutes the age-old problem.

The initiative, launched by the school nurse and guidance counselor, has reaped rewards -- a 50 percent decrease in reports of bullying and recognition from the county Health Department.

Bullying and its online counterpart, cyber-bullying, have become buzzwords in the education field in recent years. The Howard County Board of Education approved a new anti-bullying policy, as required by state law, at its June 11 meeting.

Howard's policy, modeled after one created by the state Department of Education, prohibits acts of bullying, harassment and intimidation in an effort to create a safe and nurturing school environment. The policy also provides standards for identifying and preventing bullying behavior, as well as intervening and supporting students who exhibit this behavior or who are targets of bullying.

Award-winning program

Lisbon Elementary's anti-bullying program, engaged students, parents, teachers and administrators through an anti-bullying poster contest, announcements, student skits, and an informational podcast.

Recognizing that many students could not define a bully or bullying behavior, counselor Liza Bane made monthly visits to every classroom in the school to teach the students the basics of bullying prevention. She used role-playing and lessons on the different types and signs of a bully, differentiating between teasing and bullying behavior.

Both Bane and school nurse Randi Hulse defined bullying as a situation in which one person repeatedly uses power in a willful manner to overpower another person. They discussed with students that bullying can take many forms -- both physical and psychological.

Students also watched a video clip of a hearing impaired child who was picked on by other students, as part of a lesson illustrating what bullying can look like and its hurtful effects.

"After a few lessons I could really see the difference, especially in the kindergartners and the depth at which they spoke about bullying. They dramatically improved their vocabulary on these issues," Bane said.

The most effective part of the program, according to Bane and Hulse, was an activity in which fifth-graders read anti-bullying themed books to kindergartners. The books were chosen from a reading list suggested by the National Center for Bullying Prevention.

"At the beginning of the year, we had to pick the students who would read to the kindergartners, but by the end of the year, all of the fifth-graders were volunteering to read to the kids," Hulse said. "It was an exceptionally beneficial activity."

'We have to teach them'

Fifth-grader Alex Matus was particularly enthusiastic about the reading activity, as, according to Hulse, "he really embraced that mentor role."

"We sort of got to interact with the kids, and to help them learn and lead better lives," Alex said. "You don't know what someone's home life is like, maybe they don't know about bullying, so we have to teach them."

Fifth-grader Emma Rothfield said she believes the younger students benefited from the reading sessions.

"The most important thing was the little kids learned that bullying was bad," she said. "A lot of them didn't realize it was a bad thing."

According to Diggs, the program decreased the number of bullying incidents by 50 percent this school year from last, as measured through monthly incident reports.

The program also received a 2009 Healthy Schools Innovation Award from the Howard County Health Department. Lisbon was one of five elementary schools and five middle schools recognized by the department in the categories of physical activity, nutrition, mental health, safety and environmental health.

Elizabeth Kromm, Director of Healthy Community Development for the county Health Department, said Lisbon's program stood out because it addressed an issue different from the more common health themes.

"You often hear about the role good nutrition plays in helping our children come to school ready to learn. We talk less about how a child's health and academic performance can be stunted by bullying," she said. "Lisbon was able to change that culture in a rather short period of time."

Hulse said she was pleased with the program's results.

"Liza and I are like proud parents when we hear our students talk about bullying," Hulse said. "They've come so far."

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user comments (2)

user whatever says...

This article doesn't really mention HOW they stop bullying though.It is good to know they are talking to kids about it,but most already know what bullying is and have experienced it in some way. My child is being harassed by the same girl who stalks her and yells insults at her whenever she sees her (even when she is with us!).The child's mother allows it and the school does nothing. Instead of putting up with it,we now have to move to get away from it...I really hope the school system can do away with sort of behavior,since parents these days just dont want to parent!

Posted 5:31 AM, 06.28.09 | Permalink

user jenniearcheo says...

My two children both attend Lisbon. The truth is that most kids don't recognize bullying as such. It's just "they're being mean to me." Helping the children to identify bullying and how to react to it (reporting, dispute mediation, etc.) has been instrumental in lowering the number of incidents. Throughout the year, they seem to have had what amount to empathy lessons. I'm sorry that your school does nothing about your daughter's situation, and that you feel that moving away is your only option. That's a very tough situation. Obviously the bully has some serious issues that her mother is ignoring. I can only say that I feel very fortunate that we live where we do.

Posted 12:26 PM, 03.09.10 | Permalink