The urgency of tackling bullying in schools: a call to action

“Never underestimate a report: as soon as a principal is made aware of a bullying incident, he or she must immediately initiate internal procedures. At least this is what I do,” says Sister Monia Alfieri, legal representative of nine parish schools run by the Marcelline sisters, ranging from primary school to secondary school and present in several Italian cities. The death of Leonardo, the boy who committed suicide in Senigallia because of three bullies and the significant indifference of the teachers, shocked her. She says that everything must now be verified by the magistrates, but in the meantime this death adds to the heavy toll of the past eleven years, marked by the suicide of Carolina Picchio, the girl who inspired the law of 2017. “A good law, but the problem is recognizing the signals, interpreting them and acting immediately,” she says in an interview with Il Messaggero. Why is the time factor so important in bullying? “Because a spiral that can do a lot of harm must be broken. If parents notice that something is wrong, they must demand action from the school: the director must immediately call the class coordinator and the faculty to report the facts, or an inconvenience, or more inconveniences. It is the duty of school leaders to take action, to listen to the teachers, ask them for feedback, analyze individual situations and scrutinize the whole class to understand why they behave the way they do, who they are, what situations they have behind them. The second step, after the alarm bell has sounded, is observation by expanding the testimonies of other subjects, for example cleaners, secretaries, etc. ” Does it have any consequences? “Internal investigations that should not last more than a week always succeed to give us a true picture. And if it matches the truth, the parents of the bullies should be called immediately. Then follows a frank confrontation with them and the child, extended to the parents of the bullied child, together with the parents Obviously it is a very confidential moment that must be supervised by a psychological team. In general, everything is resolved with responsibility, a very vulnerable boy and is almost always restored it is a difficult and challenging path, but it is the only way if we want to break harmful spirals. In Senigallia it seems that the institution has underestimated… “I don’t want to judge, now the magistrates will do it and I hope so.” they go to extremes. From my experience, speaking generally (and I’ve seen all kinds of situations), I know that there is a tendency in schools to underestimate. I always say that it is better to always take action, because otherwise you go from the frying pan into the fire: the child who is a victim of bullying, does not feel understood, does not perceive it. isolation, ultimately dependent on the internet, on social networks. And in the darkest loneliness the worst happens.” Then there are also parents who sometimes do not understand their children’s discomfort… “Unfortunately, a large number of parents remain their children’s buddy and stop being parents. At the same time, there are teachers who behave like classmates and not the educators. But in this way the authority is lost and the attention threshold is lowered, which an adult should have instead. Education is a complex matter, it involves a lot of competence. ” Does bullying also occur in parochial schools? “Certainly, they are just like any other school, and they are tied to ministerial programs. What makes the difference, I think, has to do with the competence of those who manage them. I have encountered everything. As soon as I receive an email from a parent reporting their child’s discomfort, I act a second later. I call the director and start the procedures. Teachers are called, operators are called, parents are listened to. Sometimes these are untrue things, exaggerated by parents, other times real cases of bullying. We blocked many cases at first, but we first noticed them as a school, observing the children’s changed behavior. A child was doing very well before and then began to slip, close down and change their behavior, isolating themselves. That is why it is necessary to act very quickly.” What is the ministry doing against bullying? “My assessment of the current Minister Valditara is more than positive in several respects. He is doing well. He is trying to restore seriousness at school, even with the return of behavioral grades or the ban on the use of mobile phones or the introduction of synthetic judgments may seem secondary aspects, but they are not He strengthens the authority of teachers and insists on pluralism in education Some episodes are fortunately on time stopped, we have recovered bullies who have been punished with the obligation to do socially useful work for a certain period of time. Ultimately, we have discovered that volunteering as an educational tool is very effective child who comes into contact with a different, difficult reality bullies, they are not well with themselves, they never accept themselves and making them measure themselves against real suffering makes them think.