In Ivanteyevka, on September 5, a desperate teenager took up arms, and on August 17, teenagers in the Yaroslavl region posted videos online showing how their peers were bullied. They make her lick dirt off their feet and dance naked. Who is to blame for this? We're all... What should I do? I constantly write and talk about teenage mobbing, drawing the attention of parents and teachers to this important issue. But I will consider my mission accomplished only when the state recognizes that mobbing/bullying exists in our schools and summer camps and, finally, uses its power to develop a system of preventive measures to combat bullying and persecution among children and adolescents. Adults empowered by the authorities should recognize that this is a common phenomenon and must be fought together. My suggestions are:
- Order social videos for the best directors about situations of violence and ways to overcome them that would be of interest to children and teenagers. Distribute these videos in electronic media and discuss them at school.
- To fund a competition for the best computer simulators that would simulate situations of violence and aggression, helping children choose the right behavioral strategies for each of their “roles” in a situation of bullying. Such simulators have already been developed in Denmark and are widely used not only in Scandinavian schools, but also in the United States.
- To introduce the compulsory subject “Psychology of Crisis Situations” for future teachers and school psychologists in pedagogical universities. And for working teachers, make mandatory anti-mobbing courses/trainings.
- Introduce mandatory anti-mobbing training for counselors.
- Develop rules of conduct/codes for schools that mention mobbing and bullying with a list of levels of responsibility for violations of the rules for both children and teachers. Perhaps, following the model of Norway, it is possible to introduce a system of tripartite agreements on rights and duties and measures of responsibility that children, parents and school administrators sign at the beginning of each school year.
- Work with children and parents in kindergartens and schools, talking about how to identify mobbing and how to act at the first sign of bullying. It is necessary to introduce a system of class hours dedicated to this topic with the involvement of school psychologists and teachers. Introduce optional classes for parents. Develop topics for essays and school essays on mobbing/bullying.
- Use the concepts of “mobbing” and “bullying” in all documents, including the “Education Act of the Russian Federation”, since these concepts are introducing the problem into the legal field all over the world. The words “bullying” and “persecution” preserve the situation at the emotional level.
- Increase teachers' responsibility for mobbing and bullying in the classroom. Introduce a system of measures for teachers who initiate bullying against children. School administration should be responsible for the physical and emotional health of children on school grounds.
- Think about a system of administrative penalties for teachers and parents who condone mobbing, do not react to the current situation or initiate it themselves.
- Talk openly and honestly in the media about the fact that mobbing and bullying are taking place in our schools and summer camps. To launch a broad information campaign with the participation of public figures and “stars” who are authoritative people for adults, children and teenagers. To constantly say that bullying and persecution are absolute evil, and not “temporary teenage problems, and all this went away.”
I do a lot to spread information about stereotypes of persecution and the fight against mobbing, but my site is with me mobbingu.net and a few more people dealing with this problem are clearly not enough to change society's consciousness. And as long as we wave our fists literally and figuratively after a fight, solve the problem after the tragedy has happened, nothing will change in our society and our minds.
The other day I was interviewed for a documentary film about teenage mobbing produced by REN TV. Thanks to them for deciding to raise this topic.
But as we speak and give interviews, children are torturing other children or taking up arms. As a rule, in a bullying situation, they are left alone with their grief and fear. And only smart and friendly adults can help them. And the state can do it too. And it should.
Let me remind you of another recent tragic story that took place in the Yaroslavl Region on August 17: https://news.ru/obshestvo/sindrom-chuchela/
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