Helping a Bully

Helping a Bully

Introduction

Initiatives to stop bullying require proper counseling for the bullies. However, detailed strategies required for this purpose are not well defined. To be successful in stopping the insistent activities of bullies, you must first realize the needs and motivations for such a behavior (McAdams et al, 2007). Once you have specified the reasons behind the aggressive behavior you need to sketch a strategy with the bully's parents to eliminate the sources which enhance the aggressive behavior inside your student.

How to Intervene

Your strategy should not target only one student it has to include your class as a whole. In this way, you can help other students who may have gone through bullying at one time or the other in their life. To help the students, you must conduct interventions at different levels. These may include:

School-wide intervention

It should include direct conversation with the students, questionnaire with bully victims, try to make them realize the seriousness of the problem and convince them to be on the good side.

Classroom level intervention

Reinforcement of the rules against bullying should start at the classroom level. Reminding the students of the rules and conducting class parents meetings after regular intervals will be helpful. Talk to the kids regarding the violent behavior that happens in the world. Ask the kids to share incidents from their life or the media they have found hurtful. Ask them why they assume people do things that hurt others. Tie the idea of anxiety and lack of understanding of how to act in positive ways to the student's examples of fierce activities. Prove them that those who commit violence forget that they have other choices. They get trapped in the belief that tells them only one thing--use violence to upset others. Remind the students that they always have choices as how to take action rather than aggression. There always is a better way of treating others. There is a healthier way to live. We can decide to live the superior way where everyone is protected, and no one is harmed. We do not need to wait for others to transform to find out this new approach. We can treat people with admiration and gentleness. We can feel proud when we stop hurting others. We can address the way of thinking and use problem solving methods to deal with differences. We can start living the better way now. Maybe then this improved ...