Beating The Bullies

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After three high-profile episodes in 1999 in which one child shot himself, another had a nervous breakdown and a third was threatened with drowning by classmates, the Czech government funded a pilot program to combat bullying in schools. Conducted in 2002 and 2003, the program found that a comprehensive approach — training the entire school staff, educating families, bringing in police and local counseling groups, and beefing up supervision of both school and nonschool activities — could reduce the incidence of bullying by up to 75% within four months.

Others are also experimenting with prevention strategies. In the U.K., the antibullying charity Kidscape hosts seminars to teach young people techniques to deal with their tormentors. At one recent event in London, 13 kids between 12 and 15 gathered in a church hall to share their experiences. Of the 13, four had been physically attacked and six had resorted to or were considering self-harm. At the seminar, the strategies to combat bullying included "fogging," in which children imagine they are surrounded by a dense mist that insults cannot penetrate, and the "broken record" technique, which teaches kids to say no to their tormentors without escalating the situation. Parents should look out for warning signs. Signals that a child is being bullied may include creating excuses not to go to school, or suddenly getting bad grades. Such a child should be asked directly if he or she is being bullied; if the answer is yes, a school official must be notified. Schools are best placed to interview both sets of parents, and can also take steps to break up bullying groups or keep bullies after school. If the bullying is about a specific issue (such as divorce, disfigurement or illness), teachers can launch an education program on the issue.

But many experts believe governments must ultimately get involved. Says ex-teacher Ebner: "The question [for politicians] is: Are you going to sit back and breed the future generation of head cases?"

The Jokin Ceberio case in Spain gives his comment a chilling urgency. Basque Ministry of Education officials say that Talaia, along with dozens of other schools, had planned to implement a program this year on "Education for Peace and Living Together." The initiative sought "to apply a conscientious and critical approach to the problems that come up in community living, as well as to promote respect and collaboration in the classrooms and the schools." Perhaps, some believe, if they had put in place the program sooner, Ceberio would still be alive.

The teenager was laid to rest on Sept. 23, but the reverberations from his death will be felt in Spain for years. So far, eight children who allegedly bullied Ceberio face preliminary charges of "induction to suicide," but legal experts say this charge is unlikely to stick. And some of Ceberio's fellow students say there's plenty more blame to go around. At a memorial march on Oct. 30, Andrea Azkune, one of Ceberio's friends, said: "When we look at the wall, we will say, 'A friend, a child, a 14-year-old child jumped from up there.' But he didn't commit suicide. He was suicided. We all suicided him."