School Climate & Safety News in Brief

On the Bully Pulpit to Stop Bullying

By Alyson Klein — May 15, 2018 1 min read
First lady Melania Trump speaks about her initiative to promote the well-being of children during an event at the White House.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

First lady Melania Trump unveiled her new “Be Best” initiative last week aimed at promoting emotional well-being, combating cyberbullying, and fighting the opioid crisis.

“As a mother and as first lady, it concerns me that in today’s fast-paced and ever-connected world, children can be less prepared to express or manage their emotions and oftentimes turn to forms of destructive or addictive behavior such as bullying, drug addiction, or even suicide,” she said during a White House Rose Garden press conference. “I feel strongly that as adults, we can and should ‘be best’ at educating our children about the importance of a healthy and balanced life.”

The first lady has already laid the groundwork for part of the initiative, meeting in March with tech executives from Amazon, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Snap for a roundtable discussion on cyberbullying. She and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos also recently sat down with teenagers to talk about their lives and problems at school.

During the campaign, when Mrs. Trump first indicated that she was interested in making bullying prevention a central tenet of her tenure as first lady, some critics quickly suggested she start by talking to her own husband about his Twitter feed, which he often uses to mock his opponents. Others said that she should learn more about the relationship between cyberbullying and in-person bullying and look into state efforts to combat bullying, which have often lacked enforcement action.

President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2019 budget proposed scrapping the Student Support and Enhanced Academic grant program at the U.S. Department of Education, which can help schools bolster social-emotional learning, combat bullying, and deal with the opioid crisis. But Congress, which just gave a $700 million boost to the program, seems poised to ignore the administration’s request to zero it out.

The Obama administration made a big play to crack down on bullying, in part by funding research to explore possible solutions, and by aggressively investigating civil rights complaints in schools. Schools that don’t address bullying on the basis of religion, race, or gender can be found in violation of civil rights laws.

Other recent first ladies also have focused on children’s issues: Laura Bush promoted children’s literacy, and Michelle Obama championed healthy eating and exercise, especially for young people.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the May 16, 2018 edition of Education Week as On the Bully Pulpit to Stop Bullying

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Boosting Student and Staff Mental Health: What Schools Can Do
Join this free virtual event based on recent reporting on student and staff mental health challenges and how schools have responded.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
Practical Methods for Integrating Computer Science into Core Curriculum
Dive into insights on integrating computer science into core curricula with expert tips and practical strategies to empower students at every grade level.
Content provided by Learning.com

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Do Cellphone Bans Work? Educators Share Their Experiences
Educators describe how policies banning cellphones at school are affecting students and learning.
6 min read
Photo illustration of cell phone with red circle and slash.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
School Climate & Safety Disparities, Bullying, and Corporal Punishment: The Latest Federal Discipline Data
As most schools offered hybrid instruction in 2020-21, Black students and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined.
5 min read
The image displays a lonely teenage boy facing away from the camera, sitting on the curb in front of his high school.
Discipline data from the 2020-21 pandemic era, released by the U.S. Department of Education, shows persisting disparities in discipline based on race and disability status.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety From Our Research Center Where Should Students Be Allowed to Use Cellphones? Here’s What Educators Say
There’s a yawning gap between what's permitted and what educators feel should be allowed.
2 min read
Tight crop photo of a student looking at their cellphone during class. The background is blurred, but shows students wearing uniforms.
E+
School Climate & Safety Explainer What Is Restraint and Seclusion? An Explainer
Restraint and seclusion are dangerous practices that are used to control students with disabilities, experts say.
8 min read
schoolboy sitting on a chair isolated in a hallway
DigitalVision/Getty