February 9th, 2009

The Sioux City Schools Project

NOTE: The original video is no longer available on kcautv.com.  A transcript has been provided.

KCAU-TV Sioux City, Iowa Feb. 9, 2009

When a student is bullied they probably go to a teacher for help, but bullying isn’t just a kids game.

So where do adults go when they’re bullied at work?

Bullies aren’t just an issue in the school yard anymore.

Many adults can feel pushed around in the workplace as well.

That’s why the Sioux City School Board is suggesting a pro-active approach to deal with the problem.

Embarrassment, demeaning, and degrading co workers are all signs of bullying at the workplace, and that behavior may not be much different from middle schoolers.

“Part of being a middle schooler is making good choices, and sometimes middle school kids don’t make good choices about teasing, about making fun, about leaving kids out”, says West Middle School Principal Cindy Washinowski.

Anti-bullying programs are already in effect in Woodbury County Schools, but tonight school board members will discuss an anti- bullying policy for adults in the education workplace.

Those issues, include what are bullying behaviors, how to enforce them, and where to provide assistance.

Teachers say it’s an important step, because their students are learning from them.

“Having this discussion with adult to adult, understanding what bullying is, and what it looks like. We believe and the school district believes that it’ll have a major impact on the school climate, and really will trickle down to how the kids interact with each other”, says Education Consultant for the Waitt Family Foundation Alan Heisterkamp.

The first discussion for the policy is tonight.

Heisterkamp says putting in a policy like this, will help set good examples, and make work a positive place to be.

Experts suggest you report the issue if you feel like you’re being bullied, and give examples of how it’s affecting your work, and the good of the company.

Tags: Sioux City, TV

This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 6:05 pm and is filed under Bullying in the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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