Books About Bullying

Despite concerns, school board passes amendments to bullying policies

For some members, the policies were a welcome change, but for others, the changes just weren’t enough.

Board representative Janice Marchman felt she couldn’t support the proposed changes after soaking in the recent results from an internal Safe School audit regarding bullying, as well as the anticipated external audit the district is attempting to conduct.

“There are probably other things that haven’t been picked up by the public or by our internal audit that we may need to add,” she said. “I don’t want to approve this policy because I don’t feel it is complete.”

The policies mostly in question, JICDD and JICDE, make significant changes to how the district handles aggressive behavior. The policies identify more distinct language for bullying and add language for creating better and more informative policies regarding the behavior as well as protocol for such situations.

Board member Leslie Young agreed with Marchman about the policies, noting the recent changes do not call for clear documentation of bullying or aggressive behavior incidents, something she felt certainly needed to be included in the updated policies. She also said she would like to wait to vote on such policies until after the external audit was concluded.

“I don’t want to rush this right now,” she said. “We have some time during the summer; should we come to the place where we need something, certainly we can go back and redo it.”

For other board members present, voting on something stronger was better than voting on nothing at all.

“This policy in front of us now is much stronger and much better than what we have on the books right now, which makes sense to me we move forward with it,” said board member Karen Stockley.

While many of the board members felt the policy could still use a few tweaks, and could ultimately be stronger, the board still voted in favor of the policies, 4-2, with Marchman and Young voting against the motion. Lola Johnson was absent from the meeting.

Although the policies passed Wednesday night, it’s likely it won’t be the last time they are considered by the board.

Books on Bullying | Children's Book Reviews | Susan Fry | Sweet ...

Bullying by Susan Fry

Everywhere I go, parents talk about how common bullying is these days. There’s a lot of discussion about the differences between boy (physical) and girl (psychological) bullying. And let’s not forget the “silent” bullying of exclusion, which can be just as devastating as insults.

I don’t know whether it’s worse to have a child who is bullied, or to slowly realize that your child is the one causing the problems. But from what I’ve seen, the results are the same – even the bullies can feel worthless and terrified of school. Nobody likes a bully, least of all the bully.

These books may offer some coping strategies for everyone involved – the bully, the victim, and the “innocent” friends.

One , by Kathryn Otoshi. One’s “characters” are paint smudges – watercolor dots of blue, yellow, green, and red. Red, a bully, towers over Blue and tells him, “Red is hot. Blue is not.” The other colors sympathize but do nothing. Finally, the number “One” appears and stands up to Red. Inspired, the other colors, even Blue, change from dots to numbers.

Even grownups might be frightened by Red’s reaction – instead of backing down, an enormous Red, depicted in violent swirls of bright paint, tries to roll over the little Blue Six. Only when the other numbers surround him does Red shrink down. But just as he’s about to roll away, the other colors remind him that “everyone counts,” and “Red” (now the number 7), “laughed and joined the fun.”

Most bullying won’t be solved so easily. But One presents the problems clearly, and the abstract characters might make kids more comfortable discussing a painful topic.

The Recess Queen , by Alexis O’Neill, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith. Mean Jean the Recess Queen holds her class in a constant state of terror. “If kids ever crossed her, she’d push ‘em and smoosh ‘em.” Then, one day, Katie Sue, a new girl, changes everything. She “swung before Mean Jean swung . . . . bounced before Mean Jean bounced.” When Mean Jean confronts her, and the other children gasp in fear, Katie Sue brings out a jump rope and asks Mean Jean to play. No one has asked Mean Jean to play before. Soon, Mean Jean is playing with everyone. The illustrations are wild, energetic swoops of color, with the kids’ smiling mouths taking up most of their faces.

Disappearing Desmond , by Anna Alter. Though not about bullying, Disappearing Desmond may be just the right tool to battle exclusion – or even ordinary shyness. Desmond, a cat with a timid little smile, is “hard to spot.” He deliberately blends into the background – dressed as a statue in an art museum, hiding under an umbrella at the beach, or sheltered behind a snowman in the winter. “Sometimes, even his teacher could not find him.” But one day, a new student, the extroverted Gloria, starts saying “Hi.” She asks Desmond to play. Soon, “he couldn’t remember why he ever wanted to disappear in the first place.” My favorite part is watching the now-outgoing Desmond bring another boy, Harold, out of hiding. On the last page, kids will enjoy finding all the other “hidden” children on the playground. The illustrations are blocky, like warmly colored woodcuts, with a slightly retro feel.

Real life bully prevention for real kids, 50 ways to help elementary and middle school students

Bullying, how to spot it, how to stop it : a guide for parents and teachers

The parent's book about bullying, changing the course of your child's life

Bullying at school, what we know and what we can do

Childrens̓ books about bullying