Elizabeth K. Englander - 25 Myths about Bullying and Cyberbullying

1 Cover

2 About the Author About the Author Dr. Elizabeth K. Englander is the founder and executive director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center ( MARC ) at Bridgewater State University, delivering programs, resources, and research to more than 400 schools every year nationwide. As a researcher and a professor of psychology for 25 years, she is a nationally recognized expert in the areas of bullying and cyberbullying, childhood causes of aggression and abuse, and children's use of social media and technology. She was named Most Valuable Educator of 2013 by the Boston Red Sox because of her work in technological aggression and how it interacts with peer abusiveness in general. In 2018, she was appointed to the Massachusetts Governor's Juvenile Justice Advisory Council. Dr. Englander is also the chair of the Cyberbullying Workgroup for the Institute of Child Development and Digital Media. Each year, Dr. Englander trains and supervises graduate and undergraduate students and collaborates with multiple agencies around the state of Massachusetts and across the nation.

3 Preface

4 Chapter 1: Why Talk About Myths Instead of Facts?

5 Chapter 2: Myth #1: Bullying is usually about a big kid beating up a smaller kid.

6 Chapter 3: Myth #2: Bullying causes suicide and homicide. 3.1 Question #1: Can being bullied cause a child to begin thinking about suicide? 3.2 Question #2: When should a parent be most worried about bullying leading to suicidal thoughts or actions?

7 Chapter 4: Myth #3: Bullying is a normal part of childhood.

8 Chapter 5: Myth #4: Kids who are small and physically weak are targeted for bullying.

9 Chapter 6: Myth #5: The most important thing is what they did to you.

10 Chapter 7: Myth #6: Cyberbullying is just like bullying, only on the computer.

11 Chapter 8: Myth #7: Bullying and cyberbullying are separate problems.

12 Chapter 9: Myth #8: Most adults cannot help kids with computer or Internet issues, since kids typically know more than they do.

13 Chapter 10: Myth #9: Bullying and cyberbullying stop after high school.

14 Chapter 11: Myth #10: Cyberbullying is usually anonymous.

15 Chapter 12: Myth #11: Cyberbullying is the most emotionally devastating form of bullying.

16 Chapter 13: Myth #12: Bullies have emotional problems.

17 Chapter 14: Myth #13: All children all equally vulnerable to bullying.

18 Chapter 15: Myth #14: Bullies are raised in dysfunctional families by parents who are bullies themselves.

19 Chapter 16: Myth #15: Revenge is an effective way to handle bullies.

20 Chapter 17: Myth #16: Bullies don't understand how much they're hurting the target.

21 Chapter 18: Myth #17: Schools don't do anything about bullying.

22 Chapter 19: Myth #18: Schools can't take any action in cyberbullying cases.

23 Chapter 20: Myth #19: Schools could absolutely stop bullying if they wanted to.

24 Chapter 21: Myth #20: When kids shake hands and make up, the bullying stops.

25 Chapter 22: Myth #21: There’s no point in forcing kids to be nicer to each other, because they’ll just be mean again when the adults aren’t there.

26 Chapter 23: Myth #22: If only kids would report to adults, the problem would be solved.

27 Chapter 24: Myth #23: The best way to stop bullying is for bystanders to confront bullies and stop bullying episodes.

28 Chapter 25: Myth #24: The best way to deal with cyberbullying is to keep kids off their phones and computers.

29 Chapter 26: Myth #25: Just ignore them, and they'll leave you alone. That's the best strategy for dealing with bullies.

30 Conclusion: The Good, the Bad, and Why It Usually Isn't Ugly

31 Index

32 End User License Agreement

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Elizabeth K. Englander

This edition first published 2020 © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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