Students Talk Bullying

By: Holly Wagner

Updated: Fri 6:00 PM, Mar 19, 2004

For some students a little teasing may seem harmless.

Eighth grader Skylar Fossberg says, "Kids like to mess around with you. They don't know if it get's on your nerves or not."

For Nisha Patel and her friends, it doesn't feel so good. "Sometimes people mistake our friendship for other stuff, and they start teasing us."

Nisha is a seventh grader at Mickle Middle School. She says she's found her own way to deal with it.

"We go to the counselor. Ms. Davis helps us ignore it or stand up to it, which gives me more confidence," says Patel.

Teachers and administrators say it's not just about being alert.

Principal John Neal says, "It's finding the right combination of interventions to solve the problems and look for solutions."

At Mickle, passing periods have been made shorter to help eliminate congregation in the halls where bullying can happen. Sixth, seventh and eighth graders have class in different areas of the building.

The Department of Education has helped set up bullying policies in schools across the state. Each school is set to have it's own response system and disciplinary action in place when incidents come up.

Teachers have curriculum they go through and classes they've taken to help treat incidents effectively.

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