Jason Loving of Ottumwa takes off in his balloon “Spitfire” as part of a school celebration on Wed. Oct. 14 at the STC Elementary. News-Herald photos/Allison Graham

Bullying. It’s a hot button issue that people are rightfully concerned about. The word bully has become a household name in ways different than in generations past. With October being National Bully Prevention Month there is no time like the present to dive into what bullying is, how to prevent it, and what the South Tama County school district is doing to combat this epic problem.

What is bullying

The term bullying boils down to an imbalance of power. Bullying occurs when someone uses his or her power to intimidate another person. Behavior is labeled as bullying behavior when the person’s actions are intentional, unwelcome, persistent or pervasive, causing harm to others, labeled as severe misconduct, and an unreasonable interference with education.

Bullying does not generally come from a stand-alone malicious comment, but it can. For example a child tells a classmate on the playground that they are ugly. While most would argue that would be a mean comment, it doesn’t necessarily constitute bullying. However, if the comments persisted multiple times or were made to several other students over a period of time, that would be labeled as bullying behavior.

Bullies often do not have the capacity to empathize. This means they struggle or lack the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.

Students at the STC Elementary Schools laugh and squeal in delight when Jason Loving fires off the gas in his hot air balloon on Wednesday, October 14. The school held a celebration for achieving a PBIS milestone.

South Tama staff went through training at the beginning of the year led by Amanda Easton. Easton is an expert on the subject in Iowa and founded Easton Bullying Investigation Systems (EBIS).

According to elementary school counselor’s Melanie Kemper and Anita Townsley Easton taught that empathy is fully developed in a child by the age of six. It’s hard to believe it but by six years old a child has developed the skill to essentially care about other people’s feelings. If they don’t develop empathy by that time there is a chance they will not learn how to care for others feelings.

Iowa Code

Iowa Code 280.8 states that harassment and bullying are prohibited. The code states “Iowa is committed to providing all students with a safe and civil school environment in which all members of the school community are treated with dignity and respect.”

When does bullying occur

Ryan Kupka, of Ferrellgas, donated the gas used for the Hot Air Balloon Launch at the STC Elementary on Wednesday, October 14. The balloon was launched as part of a school celebration for PBIS.

Kemper and Townsley have seen bullying behavior begin as young as preschool. According to Kemper, part of the problem is they haven’t developed enough social skills to know what is socially acceptable. Maybe they have seen kids in their neighborhood, shows on TV, or even their own parents display bullying behavior which would lead the child to believe that the behavior is acceptable.

According to Easton most bullying behavior occurs in the classroom with the teacher present. You may be asking why isn’t the teacher catching it and putting an immediate stop to it? Often a bully will find times when a teacher may have their back turned or are helping another student one on one to begin antagonizing other students. This can make it incredibly hard for school officials to identify.

At the high school level counselor Kate Ihnen says while she has dealt with face-to-face bullying situations, she sees most cases happening online. Cyber bullying is another animal because it is nearly impossible to catch and to stop. In the online world someone can create a fake account on social media and have free reign to say whatever they want behind the wall of anonymity.

How to combat bullying

When bullying was first becoming a hot button issue it was taught by experts that the right thing to do is ignore the bully. That has changed in recent years. School officials are now teaching children that if you are being bullied you should tell the bully to stop and then report the incident to a teacher. If you don’t feel comfortable telling the bully to stop then go straight to a teacher and report the incident.

One way South Tama is trying to combat bullying is by shining a light on positive behavior. All South Tama schools use a program called Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS). While it looks a little different in each building PBIS is a program designed to reinforce positive behaviors.

At the Elementary students are encouraged to “fill their bucket”. Students earn tickets when displaying good behavior that they can use to fill up a bucket in their classroom. Once so many tickets are earned individual classrooms celebrate in various ways. Some will have a comfy pajama day or extra recess time. The middle school and high school do something similar. At the middle school, students earn blue tickets while at the high school students earn orange slips. Students at the high school can redeem their slips for a piece of candy and they are also entered into a weekly drawing. Another option is to collect 10 slips and redeem them for pop and popcorn at an STC event or an a la cart item at lunchtime. Bullying is also one of the issues that is discussed during advisory time on Wednesdays.

As part of the elementary school’s achievement of filling their buckets to a certain level the entire school celebrated with a hot air balloon launch. Jason Loving of Ottuwma brought his balloon “Spitfire” to the STC Elementary on Wednesday, October 14. Students were able to get up close to the balloon to see how it operates. The gas for the event was donated by Ryan Kupka from Ferrellgas.

What to do if you fear your child is being bullied

According to Townsley and Kemper the best thing you can do is to listen to your child first and then call the school. Talk with your child’s teacher or school counselor. That is what they are they for and they truly care about the students and their safety.