Topic today: Bullying: how does this affect special populations?

Is bullying still a problem? Data gives us  a pretty good idea of where we are as a nation.

* In 2007, about 32 percent of 12- to 18-year-old students reported having been bullied at school during the school year and 4 percent reported having been cyber-bullied. (National Center for Educational Statistics)

* Pew Institute of Research: 7 in 10 (71%) of teens who have not experienced bullying believe it happens more often offline, while 57% of teens who have been cyber-bullied themselves say bullying happens more offline.

* 2010, there are about 2.7 million students being bullied each year by about 2.1 students taking on the roll of the bully.

* One in three online teens have experienced online harassment. Girls are more likely to be victims, but most teens say that they are more likely to be bullied offline than online.

* Researchers Alice Marwick and Danah Boyd have recently released research that complicates the term “bullying”12 and suggests that some of the troubling interactions that adults label as bullying may be referred to as “drama” by teens. According to Marwick and Boyd, the term “drama” is used by teens to assert a greater sense of agency – or control – in their social lives. The authors argue that the word “drama” sidesteps being positioned as a “victim” or “bully” and allows teens to see themselves as active participants in the things that happen to them.

Spedcast welcomes our special guests Ginger Lewman and Kevin Honeycutt! They have been partnering with the our colleague Tamara Konrade on a new anti-bullying curriculum. Ginger is an education consultant with ESSDACK, a regional educational service center in Hutchinson, Kansas. Ginger  specializes in Project Based Learning, Technology Integration, Gifted and High-Ability Learners, and Creativity. She was formerly the Director of Turning Point Learning Center’s f2f Program where, for half a decade, she worked to create the LifePractice Model. She created a rich learning environment utilizing Project Based Learning and 1:1 laptops with a Democratic approach to learning. Online networks have been the key to making it work!

Kevin is an international Keynote Speaker & Staff Developer who has already created an online safety, anti-bullying and cyber-bullying curriculum which he shares with parents, teachers and students around the country. He certifies instructors in this curriculum and supports trainers as they go out and do this important work. His recent book, Don’t Stay Under The Couch Starbuck and The Bully is the centerpiece of his Pre-K-6 curriculum. He continues to work with schools to develop innovative, engaging curriculum to better prepare learners for the world they will face when they graduate. He is passionate about meeting the needs of at-risk learners and works with kids in juvenile detention, developing approaches to re-engage the “lost” learner. Kevin travels the country and the world speaking at conferences and working with educators at t...