Kauai Deaf/HH Student Resources

As Published in the 2006 – 2007 ODYSSEY Magazine

bullying as when a student is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to

negative actions on the part of one or more students. Bullying behaviors

include intentionally inflicting emotional and physical harm upon

another and being relationally aggressive by excluding others from a

group or promoting social ostracism.

Victims of bullying have difficulty defending themselves.

elementary school, continues in middle school, and decreases in high

school. Nevertheless, it remains a problem that needs to be addressed in

all grades, kindergarten through high school.

school, on the bus, and in the play yard.

activities, not being invited to parties, for example. Then it may become

more violent. We are all familiar with what happened at Columbine.

Cyber bullying has also become a major problem.

a whole new avenue of communication

and bullying, made more destructive

because it can be anonymous. Students

use the tools of digital communication

to place photos of individuals’ heads on

other individuals’ bodies, for example.

E-mails get started and no one knows

who sent them. Comments pour into

public places like MySpace.com. Sadly,

it’s a whole new area and the medium

and its negative effects can be very

powerful.

begun in the last 10 years. Only one

study focused on deaf and hard of

hearing youth and the sample was small.

We really don’t know much about the

differences, thus my interest in bullying

among deaf school-aged children.

students who are bullied is that they are

perceived as being different. Deaf

students, because they are perceived as

different from their peers may in fact

experience bullying more often—but

there is little documentation of this.

Deaf students are often paired with

interpreters and bond with them, and

they may be seen by other students as

protected by adults. We just do not

know at this point.

program because it involves all of the

adults and students within a school. It

focuses on the school as a system and has

a strong and growing research base. It

offers a questionnaire to determine if

bullying is occurring at the school.

Schools were calling and asking for a

prevention program like this one.

Research on this program indicated

significant reduction in existing

bully/victim problems among school

children. The program promotes more

positive social relationships, and a more

positive attitude toward schoolwork and

school.

Often bullies are first victims—of their

parents. Actually the United States is

behind Europe in addressing this

problem. Some parents—and other

people—still believe bullying is

“natural” or “just part of growing up.”

The administrators have to support

them with a plan for their schools.

Training should be provided to all adults

at school. Teachers need to learn how to

do weekly classroom meetings on

various bullying-related issues, and how

to do “on the spot” and follow-up

interventions when bullying occurs.

long-range effects, and they are

detrimental to both the student who

bullies and the student who is bullied.

Evidence shows it is difficult later for

bullies to keep jobs, for example. For

victims of bullying, it can leave many

scars. Everyone learns the wrong lesson

from bullying.

staff should assess the nature and

prevalence of bullying in their schools,

something they might do through the

Olweus Anonymous Student

Questionnaire. They should hold a

school conference to discuss bullying

problems and planning the

implementation of the program. They

may want to form a coordinating

committee that will coordinate all

aspects of the school’s program. It will

restructure the existing school

environment to reduce opportunities

and rewards for bullying behavior. Such

actions make the school a safe and

pleasant place to be.