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Staying Safe and Being Prepared
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Then the principal collected the surveys. He met with the bullies one by one. But instead of
punishing them, he talked with them. He found out why they were bullies. He asked what kinds of
problems they had. He worked with the school to help the bullies. In turn, the bullies were happier
and stopped bullying other students. Everyone won.
Another school in New Jersey deals with bullying right from the start. The school has an anti-
bullying program for kindergarteners and first-graders. Students learn about good character traits,
like respect. They also learn about empathy, the skill of understanding other people’s feelings.
This New Jersey school has a zero-tolerance policy for bullying. If any teacher or other school
worker catches a student being bullied, he stops the bullying. Bullies are not ignored; they are
punished. Bullies learn immediately their behavior is not OK.
Counseling and anti-bullying programs are two good ways schools deal with bullying.
The American Medical Association has found that boys are more likely to be physically bullied, and girls are
more likely to be bullied verbally or psychologically.