The document outlines strategies for creating a 'bully-free zone' in classrooms, discussing the various forms of bullying, including physical, verbal, and cyberbullying. It emphasizes the importance of addressing bullying behavior, supporting victims, and providing resources for both educators and students, such as the 'Bully Neutralizer' program. Additionally, it highlights the role of bystanders and the need for effective communication with parents regarding bullying incidents.

1. Make Your Class a
“Bully Free Zone”
Presenter:
Shannon J. Holden
www.newteacherhelp.com

2. Overview of Today’s Session
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What is bullying?
Who are the bullies?
Bullying in your classroom
Bullying outside of your classroom
Cyberbulling

3. Overview of Today’s Session
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What YOU can do about bullying
Why efforts to stop bullying have failed
The cost of bullying
Bullying resources

4. Stop Bullying at Your School!
• Check out a FREE lesson from my latest
online course for students and teachers
called “Bully Neutralizer”
• http://bit.ly/BullyLesson1
• This course educates students and teachers,
and protects administrators from lawsuits!

5. What is Bullying?
• Bullying can take many forms:
– Physical (pushing, punching, tripping, kicking)
– Irritation (flicking, poking, tapping, slapping)
– Humiliation (I took your stuff, slapped books)
– Pranks (elected SN girl to homecoming court)
– Words (name-calling, rumor-spreading, threats)
– Exclusion (I’m having a party…you aren’t invited)
– Cyber (texts, FB posts, embarrassing pics)
• It is difficult to stop because it can occur
anytime, anywhere

6. Who Are the Bullies?
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It’s not just the big kid
Kids feel power in groups
The “Queen Bee” will attack when threatened
Kids will say stuff online they would never say
to someone’s face
• Younger kids put their hands on other people
as a form of communication (and they don’t
think of it as bullying when they are doing it)

7. Flickety-Slappy-Tap
• I wrote an article about how kids
communicate through touch called “FlicketySlappy-Tap”
• http://www.newteacherhelp.com/Flickety_Slappy

8. Flickety Slappy-Tap
• FST is difficult to deal with because students
really don’t think it is bullying
• The victim will sometimes do the same thing
to other kids, but report the treatment to their
parents when it happens to them
• Kids don’t understand the difference about
FST when they do it to kids that are NOT
their friend

9. “We Were Just Playing Around”
• Kids bully others, then give the excuse “We
were just playing around” when you call them
on it
• I wrote an article about this!
• http://www.newteacherhelp.com/-Just_Playing_A
• I love calling parents and they say “Johnny
said he was just playing around” as if YOU
are the problem for having the audacity to
interrupt their child’s play time

10. Bullying in Your Classroom
• The rule in your classroom should be this:
• “Do not touch anyone else, or their stuff”
• Students should not give their opinion of other
students, or the quality of another student’s
answers during class
• NEVER laugh when a student makes fun of
another student!
• You should tell students to THINK before they
speak

11. THINK Before You Speak
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T – Is it true?
H – Is it helpful?
I – Is it inspiring?
N – Is it necessary?
K – Is it kind?
This is what you should tell your students to
do before they speak in your classroom
• Bring harsh consequences to those who
violate this policy

12. Bullying Outside of Your Classroom
• You may think that you have no control of
bullying that happens outside of your
classroom
• Make your classroom a “safe haven” for
victims
• Patrol the hallway during class changes to
spot hallway bullying and “Flickety SlappyTap”

13. Bullying Outside of Your Classroom
• Report incidents to the office immediately
• Speak to students (and their parents) if you
observe them bullying or “Playing Around”

14. Cyberbullying
• In the olden days, there wasn’t much school
officials could do about cyberbullying
• Many states have passed laws giving school
officials the power to punish cyberbullies if it
can be proven that the cyberbullying “caused
substantial disruption to the educational
environment”
• As an administrator, I have bullied students
print out the FB posts, texts, tweets, or emails
from the bully, and use it as evidence

15. What YOU Can Do About Bullying
• Don’t sit around and say “Stop, bullies!” like
everyone else
• DO something!
• Report bullies to administration
• Monitor students during class changes,
during class, and in the cafeteria
• Call parents of bullies to let them know how
their child is acting at school
• Let victims know that they can report to you

16. Addressing the “Culture of Silence”
• There is a culture in most schools that
discourages students from coming forward
• “Snitches get stitches”
• To become a “trusted” adult, you cannot
reveal who is giving you information

17. Becoming a “Trusted” Adult
• Once you achieve “Trusted” status, your
credibility in the building goes WAY up for
three reasons:
– Students know they can come to you
– You are aware of most of the things happening in
the school
– Students KNOW you know what’s going on
• I would say that you have “Street Cred”, but I
have been told that the term is no longer used
:)

18. How to Report to the Office
• If the school has security cameras:
– “Just a heads-up in case you get a phone call – I
saw Billy Zimmerman put another kid in a head
lock by Room 44 at 1:18 pm today.”
• If the school does not have security
cameras:
– “Just a heads-up in case you get a phone call – I
saw Billy Zimmerman put another kid in a head
lock today in between 5th & 6th Period. The victim
was Sam Jones. If you could keep his name out
of it he would really appreciate it.”

19. Addressing Parents of Bully
• NEVER tell a parent that their child is a bully
• They will not believe you, and they will not
listen to another word you say
• Tell the parent “Your child is being unkind to
other students” or “Your child is exhibiting
behaviors that could turn into bullying if we
don’t do something now”

20. Addressing Parents of Victim
• Tell parents that their child has to report to an
adult every time they are bullied, so
something can be done about it
• Bad advice parents give their kids:
– “Hit the bully back”
– “Carry a weapon for protection”
– “Don’t tell on the bully, it will just make it worse”
– “That school doesn’t do anything about bullying”
• Assure parent that something will be done

21. Why Efforts to Stop Bullying Have Failed
• We never focus on the bully!
• I find tons of products that target
– The Victim
– The Bystanders
– Parents of the Victim
– School Personnel
– The Community
• MY product targets the source of the
problem – the bully and his/her parents!

22. Bullying Resources
• “Bully Neutralizer” is a course that schools
are using to punish, educate, and rehabilitate
bullies (and their parents)

23. Advice For Victims
• Stay with your friends or in a group
– Try not to end up in the bathroom alone
• Walk confidently with your head held high
– Bullies target the weak and unsure

24. Advice For Victims
• Answer the bully in a calm way
– Don’t act like the bully is intimidating you
• Don’t let the bully see that you are upset
– The bully is trying for a reaction from you
– If you react, it will embolden the bully to keep
doing whatever it is that bothered you

25. Advice For Victims
• Avoid places where bullying happens
– Hallway that may not be supervised
– Empty classrooms
– Bathroom
• Don’t try to get even or carry a weapon for
protection
– Bad advice
– Will get YOU in trouble
– Takes the focus away from the bully and puts it
on you

26. Advice For Victims
• Tell an adult such as a teacher, parent, bus
driver, or neighbor
– Keep telling so that something can be done
– It is not “tattling”
• Walk away and ignore the bully
– The BEST advice

27. Advice For Victims
• Remind yourself that the bully has the
problem….not you
– You are not the only one this person is bullying
– Bullies will have problems in later life

28. Advice For Victims
• Don’t “Play Around” with others…even your
friends!
• If you are known as a person who likes to
push, poke, tap, slap other people – a bully
will do it to you and use “We were just playing
around” as an excuse

29. Advice For Bystanders
• Encourage bullied student to tell an adult
what happened
– Offer to go with the student to the office or nurse
– Explain that if it isn’t reported, no one can do
anything about it
– Explain that others will be tormented by the bully
if nothing is done

30. Advice For Bystanders
• Speak up and tell the bully to stop
– Try to say it in a way that doesn’t make the bully
mad, or think you are challenging the bully
– “You wouldn’t like it if someone did the same
thing to you”

31. Advice For Bystanders
• Refuse to be a part of the bullying
– Laughing at the actions of the bully lets people
know that you agree with what is being done
– Standing by and watching lets people know that
you agree with what is being done
– One day it may be YOU that is being bullied…
would you want people to stand around and
laugh as YOU are humiliated?

32. Advice For Bystanders
• Be friendly & helpful to the person being
bullied
– Offer to help pick up the books thrown on the
ground by the bully
– Offer to be a witness when they go to the office
– Offer to walk the victim to the nurse

33. The Cost of Bullying
• Numerous young people commit suicide
every year due to bullying
• This has led several states to strengthen their
stance on bullying

34. New State Laws
• Old laws (like Title IX) said that schools
could be held responsible for damages if
“they knew about the bullying and did
nothing”
• New laws in several states now say schools
could be held responsible for damages if
“they knew or should have known….and
did not take effective action” against the
bully
• A whole bunch of educators are about to get
sued when parents find out!

35. My Advice to Teachers & Administrators
• Take steps against the bully, and document,
document, document!
• My product is great because it shows you
took action against the bully and his/her
parents

36. Bully Neutralizer
• I make students who engage in bullying
behaviors take an online course I made
• The course contains lessons, PowerPoints,
videos, and online quizzes that the bully
must pass in order to satisfactorily complete
the course

37. Bully Neutralizer
• In extreme cases, I require a parent to take
the course with their child
• I document the fact that the child has taken
the course
• I keep this documentation in case the
parents of a bullying victim attempt to sue
me or the school for “not doing anything” to
stop the bullying

38. The Bullying Matrix
• Included in my ebook is a creation I call
“The Bullying Matrix”
• It is the actual matrix that I use to reduce
bullying behaviors at my Middle School in
Missouri
• I give the matrix to parents, and let them
know what level their child is on

39. The Bullying Matrix
• The matrix is a series of steps, each one
includes a more intrusive action against
the bully
• Each step includes a documentation piece
• Parents actually like the matrix because
there are no surprises

40. “Just Say No”
• Lots of celebrities are lending a hand to end
bullying
• Here’s what they do: “Bullying HAS to stop!”
• I admire their effort, but they have no idea
how to address this complex issue
• “Stop, bullies!” has solved our bullying
problem about as effectively as “Just Say No”
has solved our drug problem

41. My Attempt…
• I have written reproducible documents with
steps to help:
– Bullying victims
– The “bully”
– Parents of victims
– Parents of the bully
– School administrators
– Teachers
– Bystanders
• Print them out…hand them out!

42. For More Information
• If you need more information, or help with
implementing the “Bully Neutralizer”
program, contact me at
• shannon@digitallearningtree.com
• Put “Bully Neutralizer” as the subject of your
email, and I will send you the ebook for
FREE!