Tag Archives: prevention

Is your school ready for Bill 56, Quebec’s anti-bullying legislation?

From zero-tolerance rules to restorative justice mediation circles, today’s schools handle bullying incidents in a variety of ways, not all of them effective. Some issues get resolved and some don`t. Sometimes parents, students and teachers are satisfied with outcomes, and sometimes there are lingering bad feelings, continued harassment or staff members without the appropriate resources to make a difference over the long-term.

Bill 56, Quebec’s newly adopted anti-bullying and anti-violence legislation for schools, aims to focus school anti-violence and anti-bullying plans on effective and accountable measures. Administrators are charged with preparing a detailed policy document for each school by December 31st, 2012 to describe how they will handle future bullying incidents. These documents must be shared with parents and students, and be written in accessible language. Prevention initiatives must be undertaken, school stakeholders involved. Linkages must be made with local police force and community health organizations.  And at the end of every year, an evaluation of all incidents needs to be undertaken in a report to be sent to parents.

It’s a lot of work, and many school administrators are seeking the resources and background knowledge to take this on. Since the policy documents require a detailed discussion of how different kinds of bullying incidents, involving kids at different ages and school levels, will be handled, it also presumes knowledge of best practices on this subject.

To that end, McGill University’s Office of Leadership in Community and International Initiatives (LCII, formerly CEL), in collaboration with MELS has invited me to facilitate a November 14th working session with principals and school coordinators designated with preparing these documents. Participants are invited to bring any existing policy documents, templates or working drafts and prepare to roll up their sleeves for a day of drafting, writing and rewriting the required materials. A MELS representative will be on hand to assist with the process, provide information and answer any questions.

We are looking forward to a day of collaboration and efficient, focused work on the tasks at hand. Principals or school administrators can sign up here.

Anti-bullying workshop flyer

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Sticks & Stones: Practical Strategies for Communicating with Parents About Bullying Issues

Workshop posterTeachers and school administrators consistently tell me that one of the most challenging aspects of dealing with bullying issues is communicating with parents. Parents of the bullies, for sure, but also parents of the kids who are targeted, and the kids who witness bullying events in the schoolyard, the playground or online.

Parents want what’s best for their children, of course. But sometimes this concern — and the emotions bound up with it — can interfere with proactive attempts to educate students about bullying, to give them the tools to protect themselves and stand up for others, and stop doing or saying things that are upsetting or harmful to others. Parents of kids who are aggressive to others are sometimes unable to admit to themselves that their child is being hurtful, and they tend to be very defensive and resistant when principals or teachers call them in to discuss this.

Students quickly pick up on the tension between their parents and the school, and this tends to muddy or render ineffective any anti-bullying messages that might otherwise sensitize kids to this important issue.

This one-day workshop is oriented towards developing practical strategies for school personnel involved in this kind of communication with parents. We will look at proactive, preventative communication (before anything occurs, to establish school policies and protocols, and to involve them as stakeholders), at developing sample scripts for phone calls and written communication, at negotiation strategies to get past defensiveness, anger and confusion and move everyone to consensus or acceptance. Clearly defined policies can go a long way to lessening stress and aggravation for all concerned.

Email donna.wilkinson@mcgill.ca or call her at 514-398-6961 for more information and registration forms.

 

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Guest Post: Breathalyzer tests used for teens in an effort to curb drunk driving

Risk Within Reason is pleased to feature this guest post by attorney and journalist Pari Chang.

Did you know that underage drinkers are responsible for between 10% and 20% of all alcohol consumed during the Christmas and New Year holiday period? Also, 21- to 24-year-olds repeatedly make up the highest percentage of impaired drivers.

Statistics like these have prompted initiatives by parents and school officials to administer Breathalyzer tests to young people. “Remember the debate over whether school nurses should distribute condoms? Now it’s: We know they drink, but what message does it send if schools give Breathalyzer tests?” says Mark Defino, a parent in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. School officials there have been testing kids for alcohol before school dances and proms since 2007.

Attorney Daniel R. Rosen, whose firm handles auto accident cases, adds, “Besides the moral implications, it’s a matter of balancing the privacy rights of students against controlling drinking and driving.”

The debate over Breathalyzer-testing our youth rages across the country. In the Pequannock school district in New Jersey, it began in 2006 and hasn’t stopped. That year, at a Pequannock school dance, 40% to 50% of the kids arrived under the influence of alcohol. A survey of 400 juniors and seniors taken during that school year revealed that 219 students had used alcohol in the previous 30 days.

Pequannock school officials decided to rely on Breathalyzers to keep the students honest. The district implemented a program that warned students; they could be tested for alcohol up to 80 
hours after they have consumed it. If a student had a drink on Friday, it would be evident on a test on Monday. Since that program began, the number of juniors and seniors consuming alcohol has decreased by 37%.

I commend the district for having the courage to take action instead of waiting for a tragedy,” says Lacy Link, an educator in Northern New Jersey whose district is considering a similar program. She notes that many parents support the program. “Some have purchased breath alcohol ignition interlock devices of their own,” she says. Breath alcohol ignition interlock devices (BAIID) are designed to prevent an individual from operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The result is peace of mind for parents by reducing the likelihood that their teenagers will be arrested for drunk driving or be involved in a near-fatal or fatal drunk-driving accident.

But Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) presses a less controversial approach.  MADD advocates teaching kids to say no when peers urge them to engage in underage drinking. They encourage parents to inform their teenagers, and the statistics support their approach: Teen alcohol use kills about 6,000 people each year, more than all illegal drugs combined.

One in three eighth-grade students has tried alcohol. One in five teens binge drinks, but only one in 100 parents believes their child binge drinks. Seventy-four percent of kids (ages 8-17) said their parents are the leading influence on their decisions about drinking.  Having regular family conversations about alcohol can reduce underage drinking and drunkenness by 30-60%. When parents and kids are better connected, kids are less likely to drink or use other drugs.

To help parents tackle this tough issue, MADD provides a parent handbook on its website and arranges community workshops. Around the holidays, it’s particularly difficult to curb teen drinking and driving, not only because kids let loose after exams, but because of capitalism, straight up.

Barron H. Lerner, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Public Health at Columbia University Medical Center and author of the book One for the Road: Drunk Driving Since 1900, notes that the alcohol industry has opposed many anti-drunk driving measures by enthusiastically promoting the phrase “responsible drinking” in public campaigns while opposing legislation aimed at deterring drinking and driving. Plus, beer companies, in particular, continue to advertise heavily and promote events on college campuses.

Teenage drinking and driving statistics are alarming, but parents are not without resources. The best resource is sharing yourself, and speaking from the heart, without judgment. No Breathalyzer test is a substitute for an open and honest conversation with a young person about taking responsibility for their actions. When young people feel they are heard and affirmed, constructive change can happen.

Pari Chang is an attorney and professional journalist with writing credits that include The New York Times, SELF, and Glamour.

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