Viewpoint: A call to teachers

[Guest guest]

http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2008/01/09/Viewpoints/Viewpoint.A.Call.To.Teachers-3148007.shtml

Viewpoint: A call to teachers

By Paquette on 1/9/08

What if your special-needs child was being bullied so severely that your only option was to pull him or her out of public schools and begin a home schooling program?

Unfortunately, this is not a "what if" hypothetical but a recent reality for one Washtenaw County family. After a wonderful experience with a local public middle school, where the school administrators and teachers were caring and helpful and the students were respectful, their son's early high school experience was so hurtful that his mother felt it was best for him to stop attending school. He was the target of bullying because of a disability that affects his ability to regulate his emotions and communicate effectively in social situations. He has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.

Aware of his condition, a group of fellow classmates physically and verbally harassed the boy on a regular basis, usually until a physical confrontation emerged or he had an embarrassing emotional breakdown. While this is perhaps an extreme case, it speaks to a more insidious problem that exists in all of Washtenaw County's public schools: a lack of tolerance and respect for others, especially for those with disabilities.

According to Children's Issues, a national survey found that one in 16 students reported being bullied during a single school term. This means that most classrooms include at least one bullied student. As a result, these victimized children will grow up to have lower self-esteem and higher levels of depression than other adults. Bullying can also result in school absences, behavior problems and poor academic performance. For students with special needs, the effects are often more severe.

Sadly, many of us only stare or ignore bullying. By choosing not to step in and stop it, we are essentially enabling and perpetuating the problem. By allowing it to continue, we are sending the message that bullying is acceptable. This must stop. A key place to start addressing and preventing bullying is in the classroom. Teachers have an incredible influence on children. To foster tolerance and respect, it is essential that teachers take advantage of their position to demonstrate these values.

One way teachers can reduce bullying is to make their classrooms a safe and comfortable place for all students. They should demand that their students be respectful towards one another while in class. They need to discuss respect at the beginning of the year and make it clear that anything less is unacceptable. Teachers must point out disrespectful behaviors and gestures. They should address them when they occur and have consequences for students who show disrespect. If children become accustomed to being respectful inside the classroom, they will be less likely to bully other students outside of the classroom.

But, prevention does not stop at the classroom door. Teachers must continue to be aware when walking through the halls and during lunch and recess. They need to familiarize themselves with the signs of bullying and look for them in the cafeteria and other places. They need to make it clear to students that bullying is not acceptable anywhere.

Finally, it is important that teachers reflect on their own biases. It is vital that students see their teachers treating all students, including special needs and marginalized students, fairly and equally. Instead of ignoring the fact that ny-with-ADHD is being left out by his group members, teachers should intervene and remind the class that all members need to participate equally. They should make a point to include the students with special needs in all class discussions. Doing so will show the class that teachers value everyone's opinions equally, and the class will too.

While demonstrating and promoting tolerance and respect in the classroom are by no means the complete answer to the bullying problem, they are an important first step. Bullying disrupts learning for all students, including the bullies themselves and those who witness it, so it is in everyone's best interest to work together to stop it. There is no excuse for the continued abuse that the children in Washentaw County's schools experience every day. School needs to be a safe place where young people can focus on learning, not their safety.

Paquette is a graduate student in the School of Social Work.