ERASE Bullying Summit

On November 13, 2012 , Joanna Woronchak attended the ERASE Bullying Summit on our behalf and submitted the following report.

ERASE Bullying Summit, Nov 13, 2012

The Erase Bullying Summit was not only a forum to launch the www.erasebullying.ca website, it was also an opportunity to bring together a diverse group of people with a common goal. It is clear that if we are going to make significant changes in the area of anti bullying we must take a unified approach. Kids, parents, schools, police, community outreach workers, government, etc. must work together to create positive change.

Premier Christy Clark said, “When a child is not safe in school they can not learn”. This is so true and when we live in a country that being educated is not just a privilege but a right, collectively we have a responsibility to our students to create a safe place for them to learn

WWW.ERASEBULLYING.CA

1. Reporting tool 
• Safe school coordinators manage reports 
2. Bullying… be in the Know. What is bullying? 
• Verbal 
• Physical 
• Social/Emotional 
• Cyber 
3. Information for parents – Warning signs, What can I do to help?, Youth Suicide and Helpful Resources 
4. Creating Safe School Communities - Bullying isn’t just a child’s issue; it’s a school and community issue, and must be addressed with a school and community solution. Everyone has a role to play in supporting students and preventing incidents like bullying. 
5. Policy to Action -Every child deserves an education free from discrimination, bullying, harassment, intimidation and violence. 

Erasebullying.ca is a fantastic new website. I encourage you to visit this site and become familiar with the reporting tool and the valuable information on this site. www.erasebullying.ca can only help those that know about it, so please spread the word.


The Government of British Columbia has implemented the following initiatives to help erase bullying:

• 1 Pro-D day a year will be dedicated to Anti-bullying training. 
• Integrating training into Post Secondary teacher training. 
• Introducing a 10-point strategy to all 60 school districts. 

There are 4 Levels of training as part of the ERASE Bullying program that they’re implementing in BC, Canada.

• Level 1 – One day for Elementary Schools

• Level 2 – Basic threat and risk assessment for Secondary Schools

• Level 3 – Next year – advanced threat and risk assessment

• Level 4 – 2014 – Train the trainer of the work that’s happening now

Barbara Coloroso, Author – The Bully, The Bullied and The Bystander

“You don’t have to like everyone, but you must honour their humanity and treat them with respect and dignity.”

• Learned behavior
• The dehumanization must stop
• The bully circle
• We need to care

Barbara emphasized that everyone has a responsibility to:

• Pay attention
• Get involved
• Never look away

Merlyn Horton, E.D. - Solos http://www.safeonlineoutreach.com

Find links at:
http://bitly.com/bundles/merlynmerlyn/r

SOLOS’ vision is to positively influence this and future generations to be informed and responsible users of digital technology. Merlyn Horton shared important information about the importance of kids and parents keeping educated. She talked on subjects such as:

• Keeping passwords secret
• Establish rules and guidelines in the home
• Kids need to know how to document abuse
• Kids don’t have elders to ask for guidance

Sgt. Frank Paulicelli and Cpl. Kurt Neuman, RCMP

There are 3 components in handling bullying:

1. Prevention
• Youth Officer Training
• I – SMART
• DEAL.org
• Youth Officer Resource Tool Kit
• DICE (Digital Investigators Computer Evidence)
• WITS
• Development Assets
2. Intervention
• School based threat risk assessment
• Youth criminal justice act
• Youth mental health & addictions workshops
3. Enforcement
Bullying is not a legal term. When bullying is being addressed legally the following are terms used:

• Section 264 Criminal harassment

• Section 264.1 uttering threats

• Section 372 (2)(3) harassing telephone calls

• Section 423 intimidations

• Section 241 counselling suicide

• Section 372 false messages

• Section 347 extortion

• Section 296 blasphemous libel

• Section 300 defamatory libel

Student Involvement

There were many students at the summit from different areas in the province. I so value their in-put, their contributions were extremely insightful. The following are some of the concepts they brought forward:

• The adults in the school building need to connect with students.When a kid feels disconnected they feel unsafe
• They encouraged kids to get involved in clubs and teams at school.
• Bullying needs to be made, “Not Cool”.
• The teachers attitudes highly effect the students. It would be helpful if teachers got to know a students strengths not just weaknesses
• With bullying issues they felt strongly that it is effective to let older students educate and mentor the younger students

School Initiatives

Teams from Frank Hurt (Surrey) and Timberline Secondary (Campbell River) shared some of the efforts they are making to maintain safe schools.

• Use Surveys – the kids know way more then the adults do
• Focus group held by students
• Safe School workers at school all day
• Ask and Listen to students
• Video cameras – kids can report just time and place
• Teach Stewardship
• Student Advocate programs
• Programs pinpointing at risk kids and working with them before issues arise

More Info

This blog only touches on the information. I found a great site, it has fantastic notes on the entire summit, I encourage you to visit:
http://www.5minutesformom.com/67629/erase-bullying/