Dr. Jo Ann Freiberg of the State Department of Education has spoken in Suffield twice before: at a forum in February 2011 with a sparse audience of parents and at a lecture in August that year to the entire Suffield teaching corps – in the morning for Spaulding and McAlister staff and in the afternoon for Middle and High. One of the main points she made then was: Never say bully, just describe the behavior. Call it mean, if you can. But if you call a child a bully, he’ll be less likely to change, and his parents won’t admit to the problem.
That was still pretty much the spirit when she was invited back this March 17 to hold a public forum called “Beyond Bullying.” As before, this forum drew only about 20, mostly mothers, a few men, and a few school leaders. But they were an intensely interested audience for a most informative session, whose subtitle was “Creating Physically, Emotionally, and Intellectually Safe and Positive Learning Environments.” The emphasis was on reducing bullying with preventative and restorative approaches.
As before, Dr. Freiberg spoke of the increased interest in bullying that followed the Columbine Massacre in 1999, where the two young shooters were thought to have been bullied. New laws have been passed and tweaked and refined. In March 2016, the Connecticut legislature passed a law establishing a task force to study school climate. That effort by the legislature may have influenced Dr. Freiberg’s approach, for this time she spoke considerably about school climate.
She said there must be a favorable framework in which to work for solutions to individual problems. Reporting forms should avoid the B-word; simply describe the negative behavior; avoid labeling a child; find positive actions to set things right. Dr. Freiberg listed four important tenets: 1. Every child should have an adult to be close to. 2. School should be a happy place. 3. Children should have a sense of belonging. 4. Children should feel that adults treat them fairly.
During the discussion that followed, Dr. Freiberg said, “We’re on a moral decline.” In the last quarter-century, there has been more emphasis on academics, with less on being a good person. This reporter would add that Spaulding School’s admirable Star Award program and Suffield Middle School’s Wingman program are definitely working toward correcting that negative trend.
Later, Doriana Vicedomini, a parent activist who attended the March 17 forum, commented that she felt there was insufficient interest in the victims of bullying. The story of an eight-year-old Cincinnati schoolboy whose poorly reported bullying probably motivated his suicide, which was in the news as this report is being written, suggests that this side of the bullying issue cannot be ignored.