Do bully prevention programs work?

                  Over the course of the past two weeks, we have been talking in class about bullying. Bullying is an extremely serious issue in today’s world, significantly in the school systems. How do we put an end to this epidemic of bullying? Should we talk to the principals and parents? Do we hold classroom discussions on issues of bullying? Many schools, especially in Ohio, have implemented anti-bullying or bully prevention programs to try and educate the students and staff on bullying and how to end it. However, there have been many studies showing that these prevention programs are not helping to alleviate bullying, but informing students on how to be a bully thus increasing bullying. The article I found at http://www.preventionaction.org/reviews/bullying-prevention-works-you-have-keep-doing-it/5929, says that bullying prevention can work, but in order to make it work it you have to keep educating about it. The article explains that since bullying has become such a prevalent issue, many schools have taken it upon themselves to create programs that help to create better relationships between peers, and also promote secure support systems among friends. It also offers a study and analysis that was performed on some programs, showing the best ones were ones that, “adopt a multidisciplinary perspective and focus on improving social and interpersonal skills and modifying attitudes and beliefs.” The analysis also found that they could identify little things that could be tweaked in certain programs to create outcomes that schools desire in terms of ending bullying. Conclusions include that in order for these programs to actually work, the presentation and enforcement of these programs need to be maintained. So even though people argue that these programs are not working, it is possible to have programs that work if they are maintained and enforced. To me, there should be no reason that these programs are not maintained in schools. There should be some kind of reminder every day in the classroom about how bullying is not okay, and that we should always treat others how we want to be treated. With how much bullying has become an issue, I think it is pure laziness if these programs are not being maintained in the schools to achieve desired results of putting a stop to bullying.