In many school districts the school administration has declared a ‘no tolerance’ when it comes to bullying. While I believe that we should not tolerate bullying, sometimes when we have a policy like that it can lead to extreme measures being taken for minor infractions.
More important than having a policy, is to have a ‘culture’ of no bullying. When I speak of culture we are speaking about what is expected of all in the community. Our community is not just the students, but also the teachers, administration, safety officers, and parents.
To develop this kind of culture we must teach and model the values that promote ‘no bullying’. So what are some of those characteristics. Empathy, Kindness, Courtesy, Manners, Fairness, Respect, Open-Mindedness, Tolerance.
In fact, when we model and expect our community to demonstrate those qualities, that is when we are building culture. All of us can begin with ourselves and check to be sure that we are practicing these qualities and then when we teach them we will be teaching from a position of authority.
Tags: bullying, characteristics, culture
