MORENO VALLEY, Calif. -- Decades ago, many saw bullying as a "normal part of growing up" and a long-established behavior in society, according to a bullying prevention program by the California Department of Education.But then came reports that bullying "may have been a contributing factor" in shootings at Colorado's Columbine High School in 1999 and in other acts of juvenile violence, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.Today, a growing body of research in the United States indicates that bullying is more common and potentially more damaging to children than previously thought. It suggests a link between bullying and future delinquent and criminal behavior: Sixty percent of males who bully in grades six through nine are convicted of at least one crime as adults, OJJDP data show."Bullying isn't going to go away," said Stephanie Papas, an education programs consultant for the California Department of Education. "... We're trying to teach kids to be kind, compassionate, good, protective adults. And I think that job is endless between home and school. No one deserves to be bullied."With a new school year under way, Bear Valley Elementary in Moreno Valley, Calif. is working hard to create a "bully free school."The school hired a magician who made things disappear by sleight of hand and escaped from padlocks while staging "The Bullying Game." Youngsters acted as contestants and audience members in a rapid-fire quiz game.They learned about how damaging taunting and gossiping can be and about intervening safely and doing the right thing by telling an adult.Magician John Abrams did two assemblies -- one for kindergarten through third-grade youngsters, another for fourt- and fifth-graders -- for $900, said Principal Lillian Saldana."Our kids really want to help each other," she said. "... This is our way of saying, 'It's OK to get involved.' And we will reward that."In California's Riverside and San Bernardino counties, anywhere from 5 percent to 8 percent of youngsters report being hit, pushed or having mean rumors spread about them "all of the time." Results were gleaned from a 2006 anonymous sampling of fifth-graders as part of the California Healthy Kids Survey.Abrams created the bullying game about a year ago in response to schools' search for innovative ways to approach a serious problem."I read books, watched videos and put something together," he said. "If I can, I'll make a difference in kids' lives -- do magic and have fun and be all goofy and silly."After the final show at Bear Valley Elementary, fifth-grader Marcos Zaragoza said he was "going to tell my friends not to pick on someone because it's mean."Papas, with the state Department of Education, urged a schoolwide policy against bullying."There's a teachable moment in every classroom, every day," she said.Today, bullying extends far beyond name-calling and physical altercations on the schoolyard. It's now played out in cyberspace, with everything from unwanted e-mails to assuming a victim's identity and then publishing defamatory information about them.New strategies help in the fight against "cyber bullying."The state Department of Education's Web site recommends a "Stop, Block and Tell" approach in which youngsters don't respond to offensive e-mails, prevent further messages from being sent and inform a parent or trusted adult.(E-mail Steve Moore at stevemoore(at)PE.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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