To the Editor:
I was fortunate enough to attend the Knoxville Police Department’s anti-bullying summit on July 30 at the Expo Center on Clinton Highway. The main message given at the summit was summarized really well by the headline in the Knoxville News Sentinel the next morning: “Expert: Confront, rehab bullies.”
Dr. Steve Edwards, a former teacher and school principal, talked about methods he developed in which he would get to know the bullies in a school and find out their interests and what they felt was wrong in their school experience. He would then engage them in some way in helping the school. He said also that bullies often have leadership qualities which need direction.
Later presenters, four Knoxville life skills police officers, talked also about how bullies are often allowed to get away with bullying and they keep trying to get people’s attention in a counterproductive way. They talked about the importance of communicating with bullies and establishing a relationship so that they feel attended to and can begin to make a positive contribution to the school.
As far as schools, more than one presenter said that having teachers in the halls or looking out their doors between classes cuts down on the instances of bullying.
(A third-grader made the same suggestion at the Rotary forum on peace last March 9. She was attending the meeting with her father, a Rotarian. She made her remarks at a luncheon discussion of bullying. She said also that having teachers on the playground would make a big difference.)
It is encouraging that bullying is being discussed openly, and real solutions are being described. What a difference it can make for a lot of people to have this worrisome problem out in the open.
Virginia Jones
Oak Ridge
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