Boston Krav Maga - School Bullying Prevention Training

Anti-Bullying Programs in Boston

Bullying can take a number of forms. It can be physical, such as being punched, kicked, pushed around, etc. It also can be psychological, when it takes the form of threats and rumor-mongering, and emotional, when it involves gossiping, and social exclusion. As parents and adults we may even have participated in these acts and campaigns inadvertently, excluding children from playdates, and passing on information to other parents, that we were informed about. It is only when we start to understand the fabric and the landscape of bullying, that we can help those who are being bullied, and educate those who either participate in these acts, or stand by and watch without saying anything.

In its traditional forms, bullying is about power disparities, between the victim and the bully; this is what differentiates acts such as teasing, where both parties have the same power in the relationship, from bullying. There are a number of reasons why children get bullied, and although the stereotype of the smaller, weaker child still exists, in truth, athletic and sporty children can and do get bullied, too. There are also a number of reasons that children bully others, and whilst there is the popular myth that such behaviors are driven by low self-esteem, this isn’t in fact shown to be the case, and is one of the reasons that many school bullying programs fail to achieve their objectives.

With the rise of social media, there is now the issue of cyberbullying, where victims have stories, embarrassing photographs, and rumors, posted on social media sites such as Facebook and similar. Many of these incidents of bullying don’t fit into our more traditional definitions around what bullying is and isn’t, as often these incidents are one-off events, as opposed to campaigns. This has meant that the way we look at and interpret bullying is changing, and our definitions are having to be a little looser and more encompassing. One of the biggest issues involving cyberbullying is the longevity of a post, or tweet, etc. - things posted to the internet simply don’t go away. If you would like to read an article on cyberbullying, featuring Gershon Ben Keren, that was published in the Boston Globe, please click here.

The SEPS (Situation Effective Protection System) School Bullying Program, looks at educating those involved in incidents of bullying, whether they are: the bully, the bullied, or the bystander, on how to deal with them – unfortunately, ignoring bullies doesn’t make them go away – and preventative measures to avoid being targeted in the first place. Our programs for schools also look at the roles that teachers and staff can play in helping create environments that are not conducive to bullying, and how to facilitate conversations between all parties involved.