On the 1950s television show “Leave it to Beaver,” Lumpy Rutherford terrorizes Wally and Beaver Cleaver on their way to school. In recent times, bullying has become an explosive issue on the international, national and local stages and in the Marble Falls Independent School District, some parents are asking for comprehensive programs to battle the problem.
One program has already started laying its roots in the middle and high school campuses, but the elementary schools have yet to install specific anti-bullying practices. “Bullying is very serious and it needs to be taken very seriously by schools, parents and communities,” said Sarah Garrett, founder of the Phoenix Center, which provides therapy for children with behavioral and emotional needs. “It’s been very common for both myself and other therapists in the area for the vast majority of our clients to be experiencing bullying,” Garrett said.
At the October Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting, a mother of two at Spicewood Elementary who wishes to remain anonymous spoke up about bullying in MFISD. “My son has been the victim of bullying at Spicewood since the beginning of second grade,” she said. Now a fourth grader, he has been the target of profane name-calling and physical harm, she said. And she said he is not the only one.
Garrett counted two families off the top of her head in her practice that are homeschooling their children now because of bullying. “He (my son) feels like nobody listens to him,” the mother said. “He doesn’t want to go to school.” The mother attended the school board meeting to ask the district to start an anti-bullying program in all the MFISD schools immediately. A new Texas law will make it mandatory to address bullying in all campuses by the 2012-2013 school year.
But MFISD employees have already begun the process of establishing campus programs. “We have formed a committee to look at bullying and we will start meeting in December,” said Assistant Superintendent of Academics Amy Jacobs. “By March or April we hope to have a finalized program to be approved by the school board.” The committee consists of teachers, parents and campus counselors, and its goal is to choose one or more programs to be implemented at each school. “We currently advocate for bullying prevention in our character programs,” Jacobs said. While the character programs promote six pillars of good character, they do not focus on bullying in particular, she said.
However, in Marble Falls Middle School and High School, administrators started the “No Place for Hate” campaign from the Anti-Defamation League. The middle school began the program at the onset of the fall semester and has already introduced it to students and parents with presentations and activities. A “No Place for Hate” club has also started at the high school. “The club will be half about educating students on statistics regarding teen suicide and things like that, the other half about leading by example,” said club advisor Chris Delmas. Students who join the club will work to improve the culture of the school. “The activities they come up with will be totally theirs,” he said. Some potential activities include visiting the elementary schools and stressing the negative consequences of bullying or paying random strangers compliments.
Garrett said prevention is always best practiced beginning as young as possible and she advocates starting at the elementary level. “I think it’s great that it is at the middle school and high school, but they need to start it in the third grade,” the mother of two said. Garrett said the ripple effect bullying has on children is immense. “I think the reality of it is that it affects the vast majority of children because they’re either bullies, they’re bullied or they’re bystanders,” Garrett said. She said bystanders can be hurt in the process as well because they may experience lingering feelings of guilt or shame from witnessing the event and/or not trying to stop it.
In this vein, the high school program will provide an anonymous tip line for students who have witnessed or been targets of bullies. “It’s called ‘Talk About It’ and we’ll be starting it Jan.1,” Delmas said. “The goal is to have students text or email anonymous tips, information for school officials about bullying, anything they’re struggling with, really.” Delmas and a campus counselor will be trained to talk with students who approach them. “We really want to get communication going with staff about what issues are here at the school,” Delmas said.
Garrett said frequently bullying is a silent issue. “Often, children are too scared to tell anyone about their experiences with bullying,” she said. And even some students who do inform adults do not receive the help needed to resolve the issue from administrators. Often, adults view bullying as a “playground scuffle” or a “kids will be kids” moment, Garrett said. “Some families that have approached the schools have not seen positive outcomes from that and that has led them to removing their children from the school ultimately,” Garrett said.
The term itself legally includes repetitive acts that target certain individuals meant to harm them. Many MFISD campus administrators said they do not think they have school-wide bullying problems because their students are not mean in the repetitive sense. Different types of bullying include verbal, psychological, physical, racial and sexual. “And cyber bullying has some really unique challenges because technology is 24/7 and it can be anonymous,” Garrett said.
Marble Falls High School senior Tanner Parten said bullying changes shape in high school. “It becomes more of an art when you get older, and more about excluding people,” Parten said. MFHS Student Body President Jane Johnson said by the time students get to high school, most social cliques have formed. “Cliques and who you are is determined in middle school,” Johnson said. “We want to show you can be friends with everyone.”
A culture of inclusion is one of the main pushes of the “No Place for Hate” program. “Safety is paramount,” Garrett said. “Children are not able to learn in a state of fear. First and foremost, children must feel safe in school.”
Printed with permission from The Highlander. This article originally appeared in the November 14th edition. Thanks to Katie White and The Highlander for allowing us to share this article.
The Phoenix Center is currently forming a support group for victims of bullying. Please call Sarah Garrett at 830.613.7230 for more information.
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