"All members of our communities—parents, educators, business leaders, concerned citizens—have a role to play in addressing the needs of our children. It is only through concerned community efforts that such senseless acts of violence will decline."  (Ginny Markell, President, National PTA, March 5, 2001)

"Schools should be safe and secure places for all students, teachers, and staff members. Without a safe learning environment, teachers cannot teach and students cannot learn."
(Kaufman, Chen, Choy, Ruddy, Miller, Fleury, Chandler, Rand, Klaus, & Planty, 2000)

There are Four Ways Children are Bullied:

1. Physical bullying: hitting, kicking, pushing
2. Verbal bullying: threats, cruel comments
3. Relational bullying: excluding and/or gossiping
4. Cyberbullying: use of electronic media to harm another individual

Why Take Action to Prevent Bullying?

• A common thread in school shootings is previous rejection by peers. Seung Hui Cho from Virginia Tech, Kip Kinkel of Paducah, KY, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Littleton, CO, and Charles Andrew Williams of Santee, CA made statements, prior to their attacks that they were tired of being rejected by peers (Kaufman et al.).
• According to Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, those who are bullied are 5 times more likely to be depressed than children who are not bullied.
• "Nearly 60% of boys who researchers classified as bullies...were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24; 40% of them had three or more convictions by 24"(AP: September 4, 2003).

What Can Be Done?

• Talk to children and take each incident seriously.
• Create a climate, at home and school, of acceptance.
• Familiarize yourself with House Bill 276

Prevention is the Key!!

Bullying can be lessened by the promotion of acceptance in our schools. Children need to be taught the value of acceptance in creating a positive, healthy learning climate.

Facts compiled by Dr. Lisa Pescara-Kovach, Associate Professor, Educational Foundations and Leadership, JHCOEHSHS, The University of Toledo. For more information on what can be done, contact Dr. Pescara-Kovach at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it