The Nest — #teachers

Four and a half years I lived bullying. I cried every day after school when I made it to the respite of my room at home. I often ask myself what I would have done if my bedroom weren’t my solitude? What if I couldn’t get away? Even if bullying “goes away” the scars don’t. How can I be in my forties and still be feeling the aftershock of when I was 14?        “What are several real ways you’ve seen bullying reduced?” This month’s question as part of Cathy Rubin’s Global Search for Education is hard. I’ll...

Approximately 32 percent of students report being bullied at school. Bullied students are more likely to take a weapon to school, get involved in physical fights, and suffer from anxiety and depression, health problems, and mental health problems. They suffer academically (especially high-achieving black and Latino students). And research suggests that schools where students report a more severe bullying climate score worse on standardized assessments than schools with a better climate. This is all common sense to educators. They have known for decades that students need to be in safe, supportive learning environments to thrive. And the vast majority care...