If you need to report a bullying issue, please use the form found in the downloads. Attach the form into an email and send the email to bullying@americanacademyk8.org. The email link can be found below along with the voicemail number.

In the subject box, please add either elementary or middle.

Thank you!

BUSTER: Ideas that help stop a bully.

B-Befriend the Victim

Bystanders often don’t intervene because they don’t want to make things worse or assume the victim doesn’t want help. If witnesses know a victim feels upset or wants help they are more likely to step in. And if you befriend a victim, you’re also more likely to get others to join your cause.

Show comfort: Stand closer to the victim.

Wave other peers over: “Come help!”

Ask if the victim wants support: “Do you need help?”

Empathize: “I bet he feels sad.”

Clarify feelings: “He looks upset.”

U-Use a Distraction

The right diversion can draw peers from the scene, make them focus elsewhere, give the target a chance to get away, and may get the bully to move on. Remember, a bully wants an audience, so reduce it with a distraction. Ploys include:

A question: “What are you all doing here?”

A diversion: “There’s a great volleyball game going on! Come on!”

A false excuse: “A teacher is coming!”

An interruption: “I can’t find my bus.”

S-Speak Out and Stand Up!

Speaking out can get others to lend a hand and join you. You must stay cool, and never boo, clap, laugh, or insult, which could egg the bully on even more. Stress that directly confronting a bully is intimidating and it’s a rare kid who can, but there are ways to still stand up to cruelty.

Show disapproval: Give a cold, silent stare.

Name it: “That’s bullying!”

Label it: “That’s mean!”

State disapproval: “This isn’t cool!”

Ask for support: “Are you with me?”

T-Tell or E-mail For Help

Teach “Reporting (Trying to stop someone from being hurt) vs. Tattling (Trying to get someone in trouble).”

Stress: “If someone is in harm’s way, report and get help.” Call from a cell, send a text, find an adult, or call 911.

E-mail the AA bully address.

Tell an adult

Bystanders often don’t report bullying for fear of retaliation, so make sure they know which adults will support them, ensure their confidentiality and give the option of anonymous reporting. Find an adult you trust. If you have problems, keep going until you find someone who believes you.

E-Exit Alone or With Others

Bullies love audiences. Bystanders can drain a bully’s power by reducing the group size a few ways.

Encouraging: “You coming?

Asking: “What are you all doing here?

Directing: “Let’s go!” Suggesting: “Let’s leave.”

Exiting: If you can’t get others to leave with you, then walk away. If you stay, you’re part of the cruelty. Leaving means you refuse to be part.

R-Give a Reason or Remedy

Bystanders are more likely to help when told why the action is wrong or what to do.

Review why it’s wrong: “This isn’t right!” “This is mean!” “You’ll get suspended.” “You’ll hurt him.”

Offer a remedy: “Go get help!” “Let’s work this out with Coach.”

Final Thoughts:

The right comments and behaviors can make peers stop, think, consider the consequences, and even move on. Bystanders can make a difference. They can be mobilized to step in and reduce peer cruelty. It’s up to us to show them safe ways to do so, support them, and then acknowledge their courageous efforts. 160,000 students today skipped school because of peer intimidation and bullying.

Finally, the students will create a mock-email to the Safe at School email as a means to let students know that we are here to listen to their needs.

Review our school-adopted definition of bullying:
“Bullying is a conscious, willful, deliberate activity intended to harm. It can be verbal, physical, and/or relational; includes all forms of hazing and cyberbullying. It can be and often is continuous and repeated over time, but does not have to be. Once is enough to constitute bullying.”

Ways to Stop Bullying

• DON’T REACT
Bullies usually pick on people to see what the person will do. They like to see people cry or get angry. When the bully thinks they have hurt your feelings– they see it as winning. It can be very hard to do, but when you are faced with a bully, you need to ignore them and walk away. You can also say something similar to, “That comment was beneath both of us.”
• DON’T BULLY BACK
Some people might say that if you fight back, the bully will leave you alone. What will actually happen is that one or both of you will get hurt. Walk away when you see a bully coming.
• KNOW WHERE THE BULLY WORKS
Think about all the places that you have seen a bully. Try to stay away from these places if you are alone until you tell an adult about the problem.
GATHER SOME FRIENDS
Surround yourself with some close friends. Make sure that they know about the bully. You can have them “swarm” the bully, or stick up for you. Bullies tend to like the attention they get from bullying. If they get a negative reaction, they might stop.
• TELL SOMEONE
This is not tattling. Tell a teacher, a parent, a friend, a bus driver, any grown up that can help you with your problem. Most adult have had their share of bullies and can give you really great advice on how to beats deal with the situation.

Also, you have an anonymous email address that American Academy has provided for you. USE IT!
• BE CAREFUL OF THE INTERNET
If the bullying is happening online, there are several things you can do. Change your email address and only give it to people you trust. When you are emailing with friends, ask yourself if this is information you would want the whole world to know. Never put personal information about yourself on the internet – you never know who might be reading it.

Learner Outcome:
By the end of this lesson students will be able to discuss the reasons they do not report bullying to adults.

Activities:

1. Ask the students to brainstorm reasons why they don’t report bullying.

   Here are some reasons students who see bullying do not report it:
   “They have seen adults in their school told and nothing was done.”
   "They are afraid the adults will make it worse for them.”
   “They are afraid the student who bullies will find out and make them a target.”
   “They don’t think it is a big deal. Bullying is just something that happens in school.”

2. Say: “Today I want us to examine the factors that might influence our willingness to report bullying when we see or hear it.”
3. Have students take the anonymous Survey on "Factors that Influence Reporting Bullying"
4. If time permits, discuss the results. If not, discuss the results during the next lesson.
5. Discuss what it means to be a bystander.

   Bystanders are important because:

   • Bullying most often takes place in front of peers.
   • It almost never happens when adults are watching.
   • Most bystanders want to do something to stop the bully.
   • Bullies like an audience. If the audience shows disapproval, bullies are discouraged from continuing.
   • Since adults are not normally around to witness the bullying, it is important that the bystanders take a stand against bullying.
6. Before the students leave, please remind them that they may use the AA bully email to report bullying at any time. The email address is Report Bullying and it is located on the AA website.