Bullying in the Classroom by: Elizabeth Grace

Bullying in the classroom is an ever growing problem in classrooms around the world, many cases going untouched and unnoticed. It is an issue that many students see every day, and an issue that many think you can not get rid of. Bullying in a classroom is a form of bullying that is unlike any other form, because it is more concealed and is harder to spot. For this reason, many victims think they can not get it to stop. But I believe you can.

Bullying starts very simply: one kid picks on another kid. But it grows into something more complex. Over time, students can start to feel worthless and that alone affects schoolwork.

But bullying in the classroom is more concealed and harder to find. Because it can only take place in one class, it may not have as extreme effects as other forms of bullying. But it can still make a mark on students.Some ways to spot bullying in the classroom are-

- reduced effort in one class. Maybe an all A student has a B in this class, or a very good student does not turn in homework as soon as they do in other classes.

- a hate of the class. If a student that normally likes science says “oh i hate science this year” that can be an indication of in classroom bullying.

-loss of friends in that class. If on the first day of school a student walks in with another, laughing, then in a few weeks walks in alone, this could be a sign as well.

So how can a teacher help prevent classroom bullying? I asked my twitter and instagram followers that question. Within a few hours, I got a flood of responses. Here are the three i heard the most:

- Creating a survey students could take every week or so, just to tell the teacher how they are doing. In the long run this could be very useful for a student who is dealing with in classroom bullying in that class. This could also be a safe place to turn to report bullying in general. The survey would also build a relationship with students, making them feel safer in the classroom as well. Some questions you could put in the survey could be simple questions, like “how was your week at school?” or “have you ever seen bullying at this school?”.

-having a place they could report bullying. This is up to you, but having a specific way to report bullying would make it more likely for students to report it.

-if you use assigned seats, having a way to request a seat change. This would create a way for students to say “If you could change my seat, that would be great” other than “can you pleaseeeeee change my seat!”. We all know that kid that whines whenever there is a seat change in class, and this would eliminate that and create a more positive classroom setting.  Lets say a student is being bullied by his/her table mate. Having a way to request a seat change would give the student a chance to eliminate the bullying without causing a scene.

In conclusion, there are many ways to stop in classroom bullying without getting into fight. Utilizing these ideas could give many victims of bullying a tool to fight back without the situation escalating. So, if you see a student who is struggling with in classroom bullying, help them fight it.