Others Keepers

Program urges middle schoolers to speak up about bullying

Story and photos by KRISTY DEER kdeer@newpalestinereporter.com

    Knowing that school should be considered a safe zone for students, but realizing that is not always the case, Southern Hancock School Safety Officer Steve Satterly conducted an antibullying program at Doe Creek Middle School recently. “Bullying is an aggressive behavior with the intent to harm,” Satterly told a group of students in teacher Danielle Daugherty’s sixth-grade Language Arts class. As the district safety officer, Satterly knows plenty on the subject. Not only has he researched and led numerous discussions on how to prevent bullying, he has a true understanding of why it happens. Satterly was a victim of bullying when he was in school.
 

    “After six years of being bullied, I had pretty much determined that the problem was me,” he told the students.
 

    Developing a low self-esteem, he said, is one of the characteristics children develop when they are abused.
 

    He also said many students who are bullied often become bullies themselves.
 

    Satterly told the students he grew up at a time when adults often told children that bullying was a part of life. However, he now knows that’s not the right message.
 

    “It wasn’t a phase of life that I had to go through; I got abused, plain and simple.”
 

    Satterly asked the students to search themselves.
 

    “What kind of a kid are you? If you see something, you can comfort the kid or you can let the bystanders know that it’s not cool.”
 

    Satterly informed the students that if they see bullying or are a victim of bullying, they should not ignore it.
 

    “It will not go away,” he said. “If you see something and you say, ‘It’s not my problem,’ then that means you’re OK with it. Is that the kind of person you really want to be?”
 

    He also warned the students that being a bully can lead to further problems down the road, such as being expelled from school and getting involved in criminal activity.
 

    “If a bully knows he can get away with it, he or she is going to try something else,” Satterly said.
 

    He also said administrators, teachers, parents and students all need to work together to put an end to abusive behavior at school.
 

    “There (are) state and national reports that show a third of the students that do report bullying feel their staff responded poorly,” he admitted.
 

    “Sixty-five percent of kids believe that teachers are not interested in solving their problems and that disturbs me, but not as much as the figure that shows 75 percent feel administrators are not concerned.”
 

    Satterly also shared that information with principals from around the state at a recent conference, hoping to show bullying does exist and should not be ignored.
 

    In addition to the anti-bullying program, Satterly has helped create a “Sheep Dog” initiative at DCMS where teachers and students are rewarded for protecting those who are bullied at school.
 

    He presented Daughtery with the teachers’ award during his presentation to her class.
 

    She promptly took the chance to share her thoughts on the issue with her students.
 

    “All these things, it should not go in one ear and out the other. You know which part you feel comfortable with doing, even if it’s talking with an adult to have them handle a situation for you. That means, you’re a sheep dog,” she said.
 

    “I thought he did a very good job with this,” sixth-grader Joey Heidenreich said.
 

    “I learned to stand up for other people and about being a sheep dog.”
 

    While he said he hasn’t seen any fights break out at school his first year at Doe Creek, he has seen some overly aggressive teasing towards others that made him feel uncomfortable.
 

    Students who do report bad behavior will be given a Sheep Dog award for their efforts to make the school safer. Satterly said the award will be kept confidential.