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Bullying is a form of violence that threatens the fabric of our schools. It has been around for a very long time but recently we have seen instances of it where the victim kills himself or herself. In a recent case, a fifteen year old girl, Phoebe Prince, hung herself after relentless threats of physical harm on Facebook, in text messages, and with verbal assaults. In this now well known case nine teens were charged with a variety of offenses ranging from civil rights violations to stalking and statutory rape. Sometimes we read stories like this and think, not in our schools, not our kids. But the fact is that bullying is a problem in Catholic schools as well.

If you Google online bullying today, you get 12,700,000 sites. Google cyberbullying and you will get another 3,000,000 sites. Bullying is a form of violence that erodes the dignity of the person and the morale of the school if it goes unchecked. Recently, there was an incident in one of our schools where several students threatened another student on Facebook and in person with violence and death.  Bullying is a serious matter and requires prompt action by the school, including informing the Catholic Schools Office.  In a recent article authored by Kevin P. Dwyer, past President of the National Association of School Psychologists, and published by the National Catholic Education Association, the question of what can be done about bullying was posed. Listed below are some of Mr. Dwyer's responses:

• Affirm to all, including parents, a zero tolerance for verbal and physical bullying as a school community policy.
• Provide ways for students to discuss their concerns, confidentially.
• Teach victims of bullies to challenge bullying through a variety of techniques (beyond "ignoring").
• Provide bullies with socially appropriate ways to seek attention, power, or whatever motivates their behavior. In more complex situations refer youth for proper mental health interventions.
• Establish, well-supervised conflict resolution and peer mediation programs.
• Teach all about bullying and role of "bystanders," including all adults.
• Use pre-intervention measures of your "bullying level" and evaluate the effect-size of your interventions. Measurements should include confidential questionnaires of students.
• Celebrate and advertise your successes.

Aside from academic excellence standards and a generally safe environment, Catholic schools are known for Catholic identity, especially the practice of our faith. We have shown that we are serious about providing a Catholic environment which includes instruction in Catholic moral excellence and utilizes both the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Holy Scripture. Our school study is even proposing that we ask parents to sign a statement of their intent to practice their faith and to reinforce both baptismal vows, as well as support the formation of their children in the faith.  The challenge for us as administrators, teachers, and aides is to make our own faith more visible by developing our own intimate relationship with Christ.  It is only in charity and truth that we can hope to be role models for the children entrusted to our care for their education.

This is one reason why the Bishop Helmsing Institute courses are so important to our teachers, and must be looked upon as a means of enhancing our knowledge and love of the faith. One of our goals as Catholic educators is to prepare our students for a life filled with good things, the most important of which comes through the practice of their faith in an ethical, productive, and charitable life.  Ultimately, we are a part of the process of preparing them for eternal life. So whether the problem is as ancient as bullying, or some other 21st century challenge dished up by our culture, we must treat each other and our students, with the dignity they deserve and the charity we are all called to, especially when they misbehave. Sarcasm and cynical comments are powerful and their impact is not lost on most children.  These are to be avoided despite the level of frustration. Is this possible without deepening our relationship with Christ?