Bullying has been and continues to be far too prevalent in today’s schools. Bullying can take many different forms: students are teased, hit, pushed, punched, tormented, have their lunch money and other articles taken, and are called names. While it should never hurt to be a child, bullies intentionally affect children’s physical, academic, emotional and [...]

A study of the Bullies are a Pain in the Brain (BPB), a bully proofing education program, was conducted during the 2009-2010 school year in Texas. The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the BPB program utilizing a multifaceted approach. The study consisted of a district’s fifth grade students and their [...]

A pilot study of the Bullies are a Pain in the Brain (BPB), a bully prevention education program, was conducted during the 2008-2009 school year in Texas. The purpose of the pilot study was to examine the effectiveness of the BPB program utilizing a multifaceted approach. The pilot study consisted of the district’s fifth grade [...]

Legislatures, School Boards Beginning to Respond to Cyberbullies Schools have had difficulties in when and if to punish students for cyberbullying. Jurisdictional issues and a basic understanding of bullying over cellphones and the Internet have made creating legislation difficult for superintendents. Recent national headlines involving cyberbullying, especially the Phoebe Prince case in Massachusetts, have forced [...]

Clique-Busting Strategies for Parents and Educators Most teachers and parents know how to treat our peers, and like all good adult role models, they try to guide children towards this model. However, when the classroom or car door shuts and those children are in the hallways and schoolyards, parents and educators can only hope that [...]

Brain Power in Breakfast As a new semester begins, instill in students the value of eating breakfast each morning. Breakfast meals containing a lot of sugar with little nutritional value need to be avoided. Breakfasts should be high in fiber, whole grains, and protein and low in sugar and salt. When children have a healthy [...]

The Fear of Speaking Snakes may rank first, but public speaking consistently ranks at the top of most people’s fear lists. The fear of speaking is often rooted in looking foolish in front of others. We fear that we may “draw a blank,” stumble while approaching our speaking position, or be judged and evaluated negatively [...]

Counselors Are Source of Strength for Parents & Children During Divorce Divorce can have a traumatic and wide-ranging effect on school-aged children. Research has shown that most teachers notice changes in student behavior after a divorce. Children in the early elementary grades go through stages of heavy grief, anxiety, and often have irrational feelings of [...]

Using Cultural Studies as a Social Awareness Tool While close childhood friendships have been found to develop a strong sense of individuality and a healthy self-esteem, early childhood friendships can also develop into group bullying behavior when taken to extremes. Cliques can form as early as preschool when parents from the same neighborhood and socioeconomic [...]

Social status and being accepted by peers is very important to young people. By the fourth grade,  most kids, young girls in particular, begin a frantic game of catch-up to be a part of the “cool” crowd. Young “Queen Bees” and “Big Men on Campus” begin to dominate the social scene in late elementary school. [...]