New Tools and Strategies Help Prevent School Bullying and Violence

"Is it possible to identify and address bullying and other negative behavior at schools before it erupts into violence?

School bullying is now at crisis levels in the U.S., and it’s one of the primary challenges that school leaders face in managing the learning environment and ensuring that students feel safe and ready to learn. As school leaders look for ways to deal with this problem, some are turning to a promising new technology platform for help.

Before high-quality curriculum or pedagogy can foster student achievement, schools must establish a positive climate where staff, students, and parents all feel accepted and respected and where learning—not safety—is the main focus, experts say. Feeling safe and respected can be critical to students’ motivation to learn. It’s not hard to imagine how a student’s academic goals would come second to making it through the day without being bullied." 

The quote above is from an outstanding report that promises to help principals, school staff and communties not only prevent bullying and other forms of cyber-violence in their schools, but actually use the technology as an intevention in the prevention and mitigation of cyber-bullying and related forms of intimidation. The secret is to maintain a comprehensive school climate that promotes safety and learning rather than power and intimidation.

A new platform from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt helps track important information about school climate and the ways it either promotes or mediates violence.  The report not only describes this new tool and how to use it, but also provides solid resources on bullying and other forms of school violence that can be managed effectively with digital tools. 

You can see the entire report on the eSchoolNews website: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/05/01/creating-a-safe-and-positive-learning-environment/