ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

I think that you are right even though it is just words,words can hurt a child for life,thier self esteem can be demolished,I think that the bulling needs to be taken care of imediately in such a way that the child that is doing the bulling does not forget, explain to the child that is doing the bulling how bad that it hurts the child that he or she is bulling feelings, ask the bulling child if he would like to be treated that way and try to explain that he or she needs to treat other people the way that he or she would want other people to treat them

I am very concerned about the confusion over bullying and mean behavior. Children are getting labeled as bullies the instant they are mean. A push or unkind comment is not a bully...it is the unceasing behavior toward the same victim which defines a bully. We must not paint all unkindness with the 'bully brush'. We must guide children and our profession in defining unkindness vs bullying.

It is our job as educators to guide behavior, intervene and redirect especially with young children. Talk to children, model kindness be the adult we want children to grow up to be. They need to learn the power of their words to create a more caring world, and they need to learn to identify their emotions and express them without damaging others.

National politics are full of bullies. These people are repeatedly mean and direct their rude and cutting remarks to specific people. We have a systemic problem here folks. Let's not blame bullying on the children.

I once read someone say that we live in a "culture of mean". No wonder bullying persists. We model it for our children, but tell them not to do it. Look at the sitcoms that we think are funny, the mean-spirited political campaigning that goes on; led by the man who is once again our prime minister,(we just had a federal election here in Canada), the tv commercials that poke "fun" at easy targets, etc. There is also a lack celebration of collaboration. I see people collaborating every day in my community to make great things happen. I am writing this before I go sit on one such committee that makes wonderful things happen for children and families in our region, despite no budget. Who's cooler though? It's the bullies who are seen as funny in the media, the mean-spirited celebrity gossip columnists, or "the mean ones" on reality TV. It's no surprise then, that bullying continues and shrugged off. It's normal after all.