11.
After that shock, his friends and family often advise him not to drink more wine is good for his health.
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Persistent bullying is one of the worst experiences a child can face. How can it be prevented? Peter Smith, Professor of Psychology at the University of Sheffield, directed the Sheffield Anti-Bullying Intervention Project, funded by the Department for Education.Here the reports on his findings.Section ABullying can take a variety of forms, from the verbal—being taunted or called hurtful names—to the physical—being kicked or shoved—as well as indirect forms, such as being excluded from social groups. A survey I conducted with Irene Whitney found that in British primary schools up to a quarter of pupils reported experience of bullying, which in about one in ten cases was persistent. There was less bullying in secondary schools, with about one in twenty-five suffering persistent bullying, but these cases may be particularly recalcitrant.Section BBullying is clearly unpleasant, and can make the child experiencing it feel unworthy and depressed. In extreme cases it can even lead to suicide, though this is thankfully rare. Victimized pupils are more likely to experience difficulties with interpersonal relationships as adults, while children who persistently bully are more likely to grow up to be physically violent, and convicted of anti-social offences.Section CUntil recently, not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachers to deal with bullying. Perhaps as a consequence, schools would often deny the problem. “There is no bullying at this school” has been a common refrain, almost certainly untrue. Fortunately more schools are now saying: “There is not much bullying here, but when it occurs we have a clear policy for dealing with it.”Section DThree factors are involved in this change. First is an awareness of the severity of the problem. Second, a number of resources to help tackle bullying have become available in Britain. For example, the Scottish Council for Research in Education produced a package of materials, Action Against Bullying, circulated to all schools in England and Wales as well as in Scotland in summer 1992, with a second pack, Supporting Schools Against Bullying, produced the following year. In Ireland, Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour in Post-Primary Schools was published in 1993. Third, there is evidence that these materials work, and that schools can achieve something. This comes from carefully conducted “before and after” evaluations of interventions in schools, monitored by a research team. In Norway, after an intervention campaign was introduced nationally, an evaluation of forty-two schools suggested that, over a two year period, bullying was halved. The Sheffield investigation, which involved sixteen primary schools and seven secondary schools, found that most schools succeeded in reducing bullying.Section EEvidence suggests that a key step is to develop a policy on bullying, saying clearly what is meant by bullying, and giving explicit guidelines on what will be done if it occurs, what records will be kept, who will be informed, what sanctions will be employed. The policy should be developed through consultation, over a period of time — not just imposed from the head teacher’s office! Pupils, parents and staff should feel they have been involved in the policy, which needs to be disseminated and implemented effectively.Other actions can be taken to back up the policy. There are ways of dealing with the topic through the curriculum, using video, drama and literature. These are useful for raising awareness, and can best be tied in to early phases of development, while the school is starting to discuss the issue of bullying. They are also useful in renewing the policy for new pupils, or revising it in the light of experience. But curriculum work alone may only have short term effects; it should be an addition to policy work, not a substitute.There are also ways of working with individual pupils, or in small groups. Assertiveness training for pupils who are liable to be victims is worthwhile, and certain approaches to group bullying such as “no blame”, can be usef
Honesty and ReputationA Japanese proverb offers wisdom for those who would consider cheating another: the reputation of a thousand years is determined by the conduct of one hour. In business, the treatment we extend to others, whether customers, suppliers, or shareholders, comes back to help us or to haunt us.Nestle, an international food production firm, made the decision in 1970 to market infant formula in Third-World nations. Nestle was the first and only infant formula manufacturer to enter these markets. While there was nothing illegal about marketing infant formula in African nations, there was an issue of honesty. In these countries, even in situations where mothers are malnourished, mother’s milk remains pediatricians’ preferred method of nutrition for several reasons: (1) the lack of refrigeration for unused, canned formula; (2) the lack of pure water for mixing powered infant formula; (3) the lack of knowledge about the risks of diluting the richer-looking formula to the consistency of mother’s milk; and (4) the lack of funds for the purchase of formula once the free samples run out and the mother’s milk is no longer flowing. Nonetheless, Nestle, without the disclosure of these drawbacks, entered Third-World nations and enjoyed great success in marketing formula. However, the presence of the four factors caused infant mortality rates to skyrocket in those countries where the formula was marketed.
Mother languages, along with linguistic diversity, matter for the identity of individuals. As sources of creativity and vehicles for cultural expression, they are also important for the health of societies. Not least, languages are factors for development and growth. We know how important education in the mother language is for learning outcomes. Mother language instruction is a powerful way to fight discrimination and reach out to marginalized population. As wellsprings of knowledge, languages are also starting points for greater sustainability in development, for managing more harmoniously our relationship with the environment and change.