Recently, the United Nations reported that 1 in 3 students worldwide reported being a victim of bullying in some capacity. For all ages, social statuses, genders, and backgrounds, bullying is prominent in school, sports, and virtually every social situation throughout childhood. Uniquely, bullying is universal, but that doesn’t mean bullying is equal for all groups.
Notably, for students and people with disabilities, the likelihood that a person is bullied doubles, as students often alienate one another by focusing on the differences among them. The most common ways that bullies target other students include: calling someone names, starting rumors, purposeful exclusion from activities and social groups, and in recent years, cyberbullying. These actions have dramatic effects on the social, emotional, and even physical well beings of bullying victims, directly affecting the health of children across the globe.
The best way to mitigate bullying in schools is to tackle it at its foundation—by maintaining an inclusive environment as teachers, so students can grow and learn in a place where inclusion is the norm rather than an eventual lesson. For teachers, teaching with kindness and empathy is key, as well as setting up and encouraging tough conversations in class. When students are tested by interacting with people who are much different than they are in productive conversations, students are more likely to respect and understand each other’s differences.
For educators and students, there are many resources available to learn more about bullying prevention practices and, more importantly, how to act for positive change. Those resources are linked below, and can be found all throughout the Spread the Word website!
