Each October, individuals and organizations nationwide work together to raise awareness of bullying during National Bullying Prevention Month, an initiative of the PACER Center. Whether you are an educator, education leader, parent, or other community member, you can take action to prevent bullying and harassment by fostering a culture of caring and respect in your school, home, and community. Use the resources below to support your efforts. In addition, consider participating in Edutopia's community to share your own insights and resources about bullying prevention.
Resources for Educators
Take a look at the infographic "Bullying: What You Need to Know," courtesy of StopBullying.gov, a U.S. government website, for information about some of the statistics behind bullying and impacts on children. As this video about a study from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) demonstrates, the effects of bullying are serious and linger well into adulthood.
The resources from StopBullying.gov address detection, preventive strategies, and effective responses. How do you know if a child is being bullied? Keep an eye out for these warning signs. Need to know what actions to take? Review these effective responses to bullying and prevention strategies. "Bullying: A Module for Teachers," from The American Psychological Association, includes a useful tip sheet, "Myths and Facts about Bullying," that addresses beliefs about school bullying not supported by current research.
Bullying Prevention Curriculum
Visit the websites below to find videos, activities, and lesson plans you can use in the classroom:
For more ideas on addressing issues of diversity and inclusion, join the conversation in Edutopia's community. The conversation "Supporting LGBT Students in Your School" is one place to start. Also see these posts on Edutopia:
"Suicide and Bullying," an issue brief from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), discusses the relationship between bullying and suicide among children and adolescents, including recommendations, with a special focus on LGBT youth. Initiatives like The Trevor Project focus on crisis and suicide prevention among kids in the high-risk LGBT student population. All teachers should review the Trevor Project's list of warning signs.