Bullying is seldom the only factor in a teenager's suicide. Often, mental illness and family stresses are involved. But bullying does play a role in many cases. These students feel that they have no way out of the pain heaped on them by tormentors--no one to turn to, no way to tell others. So they turn the violence inward with a tragic and final…

The author knows from teaching young children herself how challenging it can be to face an endless parade of students reporting things to teachers as they're trying to teach. Figuring out how to deal with tattling takes time and energy and, as a result, teachers are often tempted to tell children to keep problems to themselves. Indeed, some…

Schools in Maryland and Connecticut are rethinking suspension policies and practices. They are finding that promoting positive behavior choices rather than punishing the negative is leading to higher graduation rates, especially among students of color. In the 2003-2004 academic year, Baltimore City Public Schools recorded 26,000 suspensions. Six…

Research has established a link between the experience of trauma and school misbehavior and academic failure. Surveys show that as many as a quarter of children in rough Chicago neighborhoods have witnessed a shooting, but helping these children is proving to be difficult. Traumatized students often misbehave in school and fall behind, but many…

Anti-bullying is much more than pointing fingers and labeling perpetrators. Teens who are labeled as bullies are unlikely to simply change their ways just because they have been accused of bullying. Preventing bullying also goes beyond hanging rules on a classroom wall. The real goal should be to undermine bullying by fostering compassion in…

At their worst, parent meetings (especially when they focus on a problem) are packed with defensiveness, frustration, guilt, and fear for parents, teachers, and students. All parties want to "get it over with." But by sharpening their facilitation skills, teachers can keep a parent meeting from degenerating into a dance of blame. This article…

No school board member, administrator, or teacher wants to see a student suffering from taunts of the student's peers, but with budget cutbacks, reductions in force, and increased class size, teachers and administrators are stretched too thin to easily identify, investigate, and remedy student-on-student harassment. But school districts must…

"Relational aggression" refers to harm within relationships caused by covert bullying or manipulative behavior. Examples include isolating a youth from his or her group of friends (social exclusion), threatening to stop talking to a friend (the silent treatment), or spreading gossip and rumors by email. This type of bullying tends to be…

Over the past decade, many schools have adopted zero-tolerance policies to curtail negative student behavior. Such policies persist although "there is as yet little evidence that the strategies typically associated with zero tolerance contribute to improved student behavior or overall school safety." Suspension and expulsion result in…

As Internet-based communications and interactions by and between students and school staff become more prevalent, an appreciation of school rules for student behavior is important. Students carry electronic devices, sending and receiving communications inside and outside school, so two key questions exist regarding search and seizure of such…

Students who engage in physical aggression in school present a serious challenge to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment. Unlike other forms of student aggression, fighting is explicit, is violent, and demands attention. A fight between students in a classroom, hallway, or the lunchroom brings every other activity to a halt and…

Classrooms are complex societies. Teachers are the leaders of these societies and the way they exercise their leadership abilities greatly affects the interactions that take place between teachers and students as well as interactions between the students themselves. These interactions, both social and instructional, have a great impact on the…

A conservative estimate is that one in six children in school today has a parent dependent on or addicted to alcohol or other drugs. This places these students at high risk for social and emotional problems, as well as for school failure, drug use, and delinquency. Schools, however, are a logical place to reach them. Identifying children of those…

Over the past 25 years, Gallup polls have consistently reported that disruptive behavior and discipline problems are some of the top concerns of school staff and community members. In fact, problems with classroom management are among the most common reasons that teachers leave their jobs. In response, many schools are turning to more formal…

When the author's 25-year-old daughter Anna applied for a job as a secretary at a charter public school in the Rio Bravo neighborhood of Albuquerque, the principal thought she was overqualified for the job with her degree from St. John's College in Santa Fe. The principal instead asked her to take over for a teacher who was quitting her 6th grade…