Speaker addresses bullying in Amherst Central Schools
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

"Kids know each other's buttons very well," said clinical supervisor Dan Greene about bullying in today's schools.

Because of this he recommends early intervention and teaching youths about respect.

As an employee of Family and Youth Services of Catholic Charities, Greene has been asked by the Amherst Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association to be the guest lecturer for "Am I the Only One? Nothing but a Big Bully? Parents - Let's Talk" being held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 27 in the middle school cafeteria, 55 Kings Highway, Amherst.

Greene said that many of these programs are held in the fall during the beginning of school, but trends show the number of conflicts rise during this time of year.

"Schools feel pressure to do more," he said about addressing the issue of bullying.

He added that it's not proven if bullying is happening more now than in the past or if it's just being identified more.

Either way, schools are stepping up to handle the situation by getting parents and the community involved.

"We talk to parents about social skills in their children, telling them how to tell a bully to get away from them. They need to be forceful without being aggressive," he said. "They need ways to get the target off of them."

One of the dangers facing today's youth is Internet bullying.

"It seems to be a different animal now," Greene said about the methods used to attack students. "There are a lot of avenues they are using to get to each other."

He said different sites, such as blogging or MySpace, are used to intimidate and humiliate youths.

The discussion topics for the March 27 seminar will be about warning signs when a child is being bullied; when a parent should get involved and when that would make it worse; how to help young women cope and avoid abusive friendships; what if your child is the bully; and how bullying can be emotional and psychologically subtle.

Greene said that bullying today isn't just the school yard fights, but has become more dangerous and also less obvious, such as on the Internet.

To handle this, schools are starting to install bully boxes, Greene said. This allows students to slip in a note, alerting administrators to certain youths who are bullies. He said it also alerts the administration to a child who is being bullied and a friend has become concerned about them.

He said it's a form of self-policing for the students.

The seminar is open to middle school and high school parents. The PTSA is asking parents of high school students to share their experiences of how they successfully coached their children through bullying.