Outwitting The Schoolyard Bully

By Author: Laurel Springs
Total Articles: 273
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Schools report that more than a quarter of a million students are physically attacked during the school day with 160,000 kids missing school everyday due to bullying and school violence. Nearly a million students across the U.S. bring weapons to school every month. More than 5.7 million young people in the U.S. are estimated to be involved in bullying as either a bully, a target of bullying, or both. Unchecked bullying can escalate to more serious violence as 75% of school-shooting incidents have been linked to harassment and bullying issues. Bullying is deeply seated in our tough and competitive culture. Experts maintain that it is a barbaric, ingrained human survival behavior. Though regrettable, that may explain its widespread presence in our everyday lives: in schools, households, workplaces, sports arenas, media and politics. However, with a nation shaken by school tragedies, it remains difficult to comprehend what fuels such behavior.

What's not difficult is assessing the impact on its victims. The tension and anxiety created by bullying is burdening kids with worry. The threat affects concentration, health, relationships ...
... and self-worth. It can create social isolation and depression with long term consequences. One out of every 10 students who drop out of school does so because of repeated bullying, and those who are bullied are five times more likely to be depressed and far more likely to be suicidal.

Brock Bowman, a ninth grader living near Columbus, Ohio who found difficulty in the classroom despite his high IQ, found a solution through distance learning. Brock was not thriving in his public school and was labeled ADD. Angie Bowman, Brock's mother said, This diagnosis led to Brock being placed in a reading special services program, which only made matters worse. His peers picked on him relentlessly and his self-esteem plummeted. The stress left him completely exhausted, school became unbearable and they looked into distance learning options. We were able to find a fully accredited school with caring teachers that eliminated negative social distractions and reignited Brock's interest in learning, said Angie.

Families looking for peaceful solutions to bullying are turning increasingly to distance learning providers like Laurel Springs School. At Laurel Springs, the focus is on Brock's learning style, interests and passions. Established in 1991, Laurel Springs now has more than 4,250 students in 50 states and in 43 countries. Distance learning in an all-inclusive learning environment creates a place for skill building and mastery without the threats of bullies. For Brock, Laurel Springs offers web-based and text-based curriculum built on state standards. Instruction is targeted to his innate learning style profile; a proactive evaluation of his disposition, motivators, interests and learning modalities. No attacks occur. No guns are drawn. Students and families blossom in the natural flow of the learning process. Nick Marks-Paschal, an eleventh grader, was emotionally shut-down at school even though he demonstrated creative genius outside of the classroom. According to his mother, Shelley Marks, Nick was put-off by school-wide bullying and antagonizing. He withdrew, not wanting to participate in this dynamic, and others called him stupid and slow. At Laurel Springs, he took the Learning Styles Profile and the results were an astounding endorsement of him. Nick's learning style is ‘invent/perform' — he learns best by discovering, designing and exploring in an independent environment. He was assigned a teacher appropriate for his learning style and together, they designed curriculum to bring out his highest ‘invent' capacity. Nick is inspired by the aligned focus of his learning and has a huge digital multimedia design career ahead, Shelley added.

Distance learning is a growing option with the impact of the Internet, educational software, video learning tools and online communications systems. It began mostly as a higher education convenience for completion of college and continuing educational credits. Now the trend is evolving to support K-12 students, challenging the traditional premise that learning occurs best within the confines of a classroom under the control of faculty. Most people are still in the Industrial Age mind-set, even though our economy has moved into the information knowledge age that requires an ‘unleashing of talent', according to noted author, Stephen R. Covey. Management means control; leadership means release. The same goes for our educational systems and finding ways to foster greatness beyond drawing lines of control that can breed conflict.

Schools like Laurel Springs have the information age in mind and are bringing distance learning programs to K-12 students. By linking students like Brock and Nick with excellent teachers and personalized curriculum, K-12 distance learning provides a realistic alternative. Students, parents, counselors, administrators and teachers have begun to recognize that distance learning for K-12 students is transformative - moving education from a school-centered to a student-centered approach and often providing talented, tormented kids with a safe haven from the schoolyard bully.

About Author: Marilyn Mosley Gordanier, speaker, author and founder of Laurel Springs School, a private distance learning school for grades K-12 that specializes in college preparatory curriculum and services. Marilyn is also the president of the Global 500 forum for the United Nations. You can visit his site at http://www.laurelsprings.com/.