Michigan State University School of Journalism recently released an article entitled, "Teachers say that training must support bullying laws." The article continues, "Although many schools already have anti-bullying policies in place, many teachers find themselves searching for more effective ways to combat bullying in their classrooms. Laws alone are not enough, they say, and training would help."
My experience and observations have been much the same. I have many educators in my immediate family. I also get invitations to retiree gatherings, monthly lunch meetings, and family gatherings in which education is the centerpiece of most discussions. In casual discussions it became apparent to me that many teachers are still unsure of what bullying is (definition) and what to do about it; and few (if any) are familiar with the legal requirements mandated by state legislation or state policies on bullying prevention.
In authoring the
Bullying Prevention Compliance Course, my goal is to provide instruction on how to define bullying; a "how to" emphasis on responding to a bullying incident; and finally, the legal requirements required in each state.
A special emphasis on cyber-bullying is covered, including your legal obligations regarding when and how to intervene.
The course has a 25-question quiz at the end; and in addition to the completion certificate, an
open badge known as the "new online standard to recognize and verify learning" will be issued. Open badges
allow learners to get recognition for skills they learn anywhere. You might think of it as an online portfolio.
If you want to know more about open badges, read the
New York Times article, "
Show Me Your Badge," which explains the badge as, "... a new type of credential being developed by some of the most prominent businesses and learning organizations in the world, including Purdue, Carnegie Mellon, the University of California, the Smithsonian, Intel and Disney-Pixar."
