Mal Educaion - Bullying

Cool.

But I'm not sure I agree with your conclusion (a). I'm pretty sure that if we started executing bullies, bullying behavior would come to a screeching halt.

Those few of us that needed, for whatever reason, to bully their way into a particular place in the line would suddenly find another way to get that coveted place. Or they might even decide to covet a different place - one they could get without bullying.

???
LB

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Larry Burford</i>
<br />Cool.

But I'm not sure I agree with your conclusion (a). I'm pretty sure that if we started executing bullies, bullying behavior would come to a screeching halt.
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Well I am not so sure that would work either - it hasn't eliminated murder as a crime.

I don't think the kids engaging in bullying behaviour understand why they do it, based on several interviews I have seen. This makes me more strongly suspect that it is instinctively motivated behaviour without their conscious awareness.

Therefore, even if they intellectually understood that such behaviour was "wrong" they would still engage in it. This implies that education will not be effective in preventing bullying.

[shando] "Well I am not so sure that would work either - it hasn't eliminated murder as a crime."

That is what I expected you (or anyone else for that matter) to say. And for the record, your observation is correct. IMO.

In contrast to my claim, my actual belief is that bullying would continue, but at a reduced rate.

<b>[shando] "This implies that education will not be effective in preventing bullying."</b>

The plan you outlined above (the creative bullying/relationships course idea) sounds reasonable. It also sounds like it could be effective.

Does this mean your theory is wrong? Or does your theory mean that the course will not be effective?

I'd rather not execute anyone, and I lean toward thinking that an educational effort such as you describe would work to a large extent.

Bullying behavior is part instinct and part cultural/learned. The instinct part is inside all of us, but most of us don't act on it. Those of us who do seem to learn it from family or friends. Bullies learn not just how and what to do to be a bully, but more importantly they learn <u>to be</u> a bully.

I don't see why some sort of training wouldn't help, at least in most cases.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Larry Burford</i>
<br /><b>[shando] "This implies that education will not be effective in preventing bullying."</b>

The plan you outlined above (the creative bullying/relationships course idea) sounds reasonable. It also sounds like it could be effective.

Does this mean your theory is wrong? Or does your theory mean that the course will not be effective?
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Arggggg ... Accurate communication is ridiculously difficult.

The "education will not be effective" I was referring to is <b>not</b> the course of study I proposed, rather it is the current practice of trying to eliminate bullying behaviour by educating students about how awful it makes the victims feel.

The educational course I proposed would allow students to engage in a variety of harmless exercises that would result in each of the students implicitly learning their position in the relationship hierarchy; the word "bully" would never be heard.

There may be some problems with some kids being unhappy with the position they find themselves in, so strategies would have to be developed to resolve such issues amicably.

After further cogitation, I believe that I have a possible solution to the problem of securing assets (buildings, presenters and other support resources) with which to produce the "Cure to Bullying" seminars. These seminars would be based on the assumption that the causes of bullying behavior are rooted in the instinctual or societal urge to find one's place in the social (tribal) pecking order.

Now I am thinking about the content of the curricula. I need help from what are usually called "instructional designers" to deal with the "how to present" and "content experts" to deal with the "what to present". I realize that most "instructional designers" and "content experts" are biased by their orientation to the current educational paradigm, and that what I am looking for is probably <b>not</b> inside the box - which is fine.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?