Glenville State College Hosts Bullying Seminar

Twenty-four educators from eleven different counties in West Virginia spent Friday, June 01, 2012, learning how to combat bullying in their schools during a symposium at Glenville State College’s Morris Criminal Justice Training Center.

The program was made possible through a partnership between GSC and ARMA Training/Vistelar Group, who are experts in addressing the problems of youth bullying.

Bullying has become a nationwide problem.

A recent study by the ‘Family and Work Institute’ reported that one-third of youths are bullied at least once a month, while other studies say six out of ten American teens witness bullying at least once a day.

“There is a great need in our school systems to learn to effectively handle and combat bullying. This seminar is designed to help educators take a pro-active role in managing this serious issue,“ said Ron Taylor, GSC Morris Criminal Justice Training Center Director.

The training was conducted by ARMA Founder and Director Dave Young who is recognized internationally for his work in law enforcement training.

Attendees learned the different types of bullying, how to identify early stages of bullying, and effective strategies to help manage bullying.

“The public awareness that is being brought to the issue of bullying makes it seem like this is a relatively new phenomenon, but bullying has always been around. The internet and social media has definitely increased opportunities for bullies to stay anonymous,“ stated Young.

Educators who received the training will be better prepared to recognize that bullying may be occurring in their classroom which should lead to earlier and more effective intervention to address the situation.

Parkersburg High School Assistant Principle Jeff Mennillo says this type of training is need for teachers and administrators. “I deal with the issue of bullying a lot. Seven or eight times per week, I meet with teachers and/or students because of bullying. It is a huge problem that I think has grown because of social media. Most educators do not have the training they need to handle these situations. Seminars like this will certainly help.“

Glenville State College is currently seeking a grant to fund a four-day bullying seminar which would concentrate on the different age groups of bullying and give the attendees the tools and information needed to train others in their school system how to handle bullying.

A positive move GSC and you are to be commended. Until local and college Administration acknowledge and accept responsibility, admit and stop the verbal and physical abuse happening in our schools right now,little will change.
Suppression of freedom of speech and freedom of information by blaming social media only protects you, the administration, from criticism.  It is up to the parents to control its misuse by their children. There is little they can do about what happens during the school day as this administration stays in denial mode.  There is the crux of the problem and if you really want it to stop in Gilmer County that is where the education on the subject must begin.
Our parents and caregivers are even denied the right to mediation with their school board which is, despite takeover, an admitted right by state leadership and it is being denied.
So get real here and start at the top.  You are headed in the right direction and your efforts are appreciated but the Teachers can do nothing if Administration does not acknowledge bullying exists in our schools and permit these techniques to be utilized.  Otherwise it’s just talk.

It is amazing to me the amount of money and time spent on combating bullying. Like the article said, it has always been around. A bully will push and push until someone pushes back. We try to teach our kids not to fight, but we need to remember sometimes we need to teach our kids to stand up for themselves. Discipline is not handed out fairly at schools and we all know this, but sometimes the consequences of fighting are much less than the consequences of letting someone run over you time and time again.

To Rose:
You are so correct. Kids have always been kids doing what they do. The big problem today IS NOT the kids. IT IS the administrators who fail to do their job. Bullying starts when the administrators do not treat all the kids the same and fairly. Therefore, instead of wasting so much money on bullying program for kids why not have a program to evaluate the performance of the administrators and their records.

The even bigger problem are the unfit parents, who should never have had children, who never teach them to respect others or raise them with any morals or values.

If the rules of conduct were clear and rewards for complying with and consequences for breaking those rules applied to each and every one across the board I believe we would see improved behavior in our schools.  This does not happen and the fault lies with the administration.
How can you expect the students to learn how to behave in a public setting when those in charge set no example. When family status dictates what they can get away with or must do without.
The entitlement mind set based on income or perceived social status is taught in the home and encouraged in the community.  It is a shame. 
No student should have to endure name calling and physical abuse while the adults in charge watch and do nothing.  No student should be punished for telling the truth but it happens.

I think it would be very interesting to the many honest,concerned parents and other people of Gilmer County to find out which administrators of/in the Gilmer County School System attended this symposium, IF ANY??? However, even if it was attended by anyone here, the administrators of GCHS will not apply their learning of how to combat bullying. First of all, it is allowed because of who the bulliers are, and second it is allowed because of who it is that is being bullied. Can we be told who attended or is it a secret like everything else with the school system?