Stories about bullying
About Phoebe PrincePhoebe Prince was a 15-year-old Irish immigrant and student in South Hadley who killed herself after relentless bullying.
In the time since her death, Massachusetts lawmakers unanimously passed a bill that seeks to curtail bullying in schools and in cyberspace. Nine teens are facing charges in connection with her death.
|
Kevin Cullen Phoebe Prince’s mother |
- Globe Editorial Superintendent’s defense rings hollow
- Anger turns toward school staff in bullying case
- District attorney faces unique challenges in bullying case
- Kevin Cullen Standing up for Phoebe | PDF Statement on Prince's death
- Globe Editorial Criminal charges mark a new seriousness about bullying
- Kevin Cullen System of secrecy allows bullies to thrive | Nip bullying in the bud at home
- Kevin Cullen Too little, too late against bully tactics | The untouchable Mean Girls
Taking bully by the horns
The state’s new antibullying law requires school districts to develop a plan to keep kids safe. A plan must define bullying of both the physical and cyber varieties, outline procedures to report either, and identify training for teachers and staff, including bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and coaches. Lesson plans to teach kids about healthy relationships must also be identified for students in grades kindergarten to 12. (Boston Globe, 2/26/11)
Sixth in a series of occasional articles on bullying
No easy fix found on horizon
With Mass. schools facing a deadline to address the problem of bullying in schools, remedies have proven elusive, but awareness and resolve may offer promise. (Boston Globe, 12/30/10)
- Fifth story in the series School leaders confront bullying head-on
- fourth story in the series A world of misery left by bullying
- third story in the series For many parents, bullying poses a baffling threat
- Second story in the series Summer camps confront challenge of bullying
- first story in the series The agony of a girl who just wanted to fit in
Getting the antibullying word out on the streets, in big letters
The state’s new antibullying law requires school districts to partner with law enforcement and community organizations to get tough on bullies. The Anti-Defamation League of New England, which led a statewide coalition to get the law on the books, has launched a new billboard campaign, “Take A Stand Against Bullying,’’ to drive home the message. (Boston Globe, 2/27/11)
Most schools make antibully plan deadline
Ninety-nine percent of Massachusetts school districts filed bullying-prevention plans with the state by the Dec. 31 deadline — a marked turnaround from nearly two weeks ago when just 60 percent had complied with the mandate.
Expelling accused bullies is not the answer, specialists say
At a time when a new state law has put the burden squarely on schools to investigate and crack down on bullying, the headmaster at the Groton School swiftly ousted a 16-year-old sophomore last month after the youth and two other students allegedly posted photos of a classmate on the Internet with sexually explicit remarks. (Boston Globe, 11/28/10)
Inside the bullied brain
A new wave of research into bullying’s effects is now suggesting that bullying can leave an indelible imprint on a teen’s brain at a time when it is still growing and developing. (Boston Globe, 11/27/10)
State offers schools help to combat bullying
The state Education Department released a model antibullying plan to help local schools develop their own policies to protect students from being picked on. (Boston Globe, 8/24/10)
Pushing back
Bolstered by a new state law addressing bullying, schools are moving to educate staff and students on responding to aggression. (Boston Globe, 5/13/10)
Barbara's Mailbag: Mother feels ignored by school on bullying
My daughter has been bullied for 2 years now. She is 11 years old and talks about killing herself. I have spoken to the principal but I get ignored. -- Sue, Quincy (Boston.com Moms, 5/12/10)
Antibully law may face free speech challenges
When Governor Deval Patrick signed Massachusetts’ first antibullying law yesterday, supporters heralded it as the most far-reaching effort yet by a state to deter behavior that has driven youngsters to suicide. (Boston Globe, 5/4/10)
State bill targeting bullying approved
Invoking the suicides of Phoebe Prince and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, lawmakers unanimously approved a measure to crack down on school bullying. (Boston Globe, 4/30/10)
globe magazine: the education issue
The secret to stopping a bully?
After decades of research, no one has yet found a way to reduce bullying in US schools. But in the shadows, you just might find the solution. (Boston Globe, 4/30/10)
Yvonne Abraham
Two deaths too many
Carl’s death should have changed everything. When 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover (left) killed himself after months of relentless bullying at his Springfield charter school, the entire state should have been outraged. (Boston Globe)
Maia Szalavitz
School empathy first line against bullies
Schools that create a caring climate not only have reductions in bullying and other teen issues, but enjoy improved academic performance as well. (Boston Globe, 4/3/10)
Who's to blame for cyberbullying?
Recent events from eastern to western Massachusetts have focused our attention and concern on the widespread problem of cyberbullying among children and adolescents. (James Alan Fox, 4/2/10)
City targets Web to dull bullies’ barbs
The calls began coming in Monday. A horrified guidance counselor, a teacher, and then a student lit up Boston’s new antibullying tip line, telling officials about multiple Facebook pages that featured pictures of female high school students with derogatory and sexually explicit captions beneath them. (Boston Globe, 4/1/10)
Combatting bullying requires changes in attitude
Rarely do we see such unanimity as in Thursday's 148-0 vote in the Massachusetts House for an anti-bullying bill. It is too bad, of course, that it seemed to have taken two tragic suicides by victims of bulling to have pushed this long-languishing piece of legislation forward. (James Alan Fox for Boston.com, 3/22/10)
Bullying bill OK’d in House, 148 to 0
The Massachusetts House, after an emotional debate, unanimously approved a bill yesterday that seeks to curtail bullying in schools and in cyberspace, mirroring similar legislation passed last week by the Senate. (Boston Globe, 3/19/10)
- Kevin Cullen Bully bill survives the grind
- Globe Editorial Bullying: More training, fewer mistakes
Mean girl behavior begins at early ages
The girl came home from school upset. A classmate had called her names. Told her everyone hated her. Said she couldn’t sit with the others at lunch. The other girls all went along with it. Such ''mean girl'' behavior is not new. But this girl was 7 years old. (Boston Globe, 3/9/10)
When your kid is the bully
Parents have been inundated with information about protecting their children from the taunts and attacks that seem to be all too common. But what about the other parents, the ones who discover that their child is not the victim but the bully? And how best to confront such destructive behavior in your own child? (Boston Globe, 2/17/10)
- how to know Is your child a bully?
Barbara's Mailbag: Getting schools to respond to bullying
Our elementary school does not teach or foster conflict resolution in any grade. This has been evident by the recent issues with bullying. Hopeless, Westport, MA (Boston.com Moms, 2/12/10)
Waltham parents demand answers on bullying
Waltham parents and community members demanded answers from school administrators Thursday night about their handling of an 11-year-old girl who was accused of bullying children at her elementary school last month. (Boston Globe, 2/11/10)
- Waltham police charge 11-year-old in three bullying incidents
- Waltham students participate in anti-bullying event
Newburyport teens charged in cyberbullying case
Three 14-year-old boys from Newburyport have been charged with identity theft after they allegedly harassed a boy at Newburyport High School by creating a fake Facebook page bearing the boy's name and picture and then posted disparaging remarks on the page about other students, police said. (Boston Globe, 2/11/10)
Barbara's Mailbag: When your child is victim of a bully
Barbara Meltz answers a question from a Framingham mother who wants to help her third-grade son deal with bullies. Barbara writes, "It's hard to know as a parent how to help your child. The approach in anti-bullying is two-fold: to empower bystanders and to marginalize the bully." (Boston.com Moms, 2/3/10)
Derrick Z. Jackson
The kings of trash talk
Look no further than well-paid sports stars or loud talk show hosts for a reason why adolescents trash-talk each other. (Boston Globe, 2/1/10)
Globe Editorial
In Facebook age, bullying requires concerted response
The two recent suicides of students who were bullied, along with statistics showing that as many as one in four students report being victimized, is a crisis on par with the H1N1 outbreak, but given far less attention. Anti-bullying legislation, though necessary, can't solve the whole problem. (Boston Globe, 1/30/10)
Students urge Mass. lawmakers to act on bullying
Students, teachers, and specialists on aggressive behavior filled a State House hearing room with personal stories about bullying at school and in cyberspace and offered opinions on several antibullying bills under consideration by lawmakers. (Boston Globe, 11/18/09)
Support swells for anti-bully legislation
After years of delays, the Legislature appears poised to crack down on bullying among schoolchildren, with hearings beginning this week on nearly a dozen bills that would force local schools to respond more aggressively to instances of cruelty among students. (Boston Globe, 11/14/09)
Claudia Meininger Gold
How we can end the cycle of bullying
Without meaningful health care reform that places value on primary care and mental health, the bullies will prevail. (Boston Globe, 9/13/09)
