Often bullying doesn't take place in view of authority figures, so when teachers are working with students in the classroom, they should proactively look for signs of bullying. Indicators that a student is being bullied include physical evidence such as bruises or psychological signs like alienation. One strategy for uncovering the problem is to ask students to fill out an anonymous survey in order to assess the presence of bullying. Teachers can let students know that "tattling" is safe and that they can alert a teacher or administrator to bullying behavior without repercussion.
Determine which behaviors are classified as bullying and put the rules in writing. In addition to physical harassment, policies should be established to prevent social exclusion and aggressive online behaviors. Teachers and administrators should create a "menu" of punishments for bullying. Decide which offenses merit which penalties. For minor or first time offenses, consider a detention or lesser punishment.
Teachers, coaches and other adults in supervisory roles should remind students that the school will not tolerate bullying. One way to achieve this is to have students sign an anti-bullying pledge. Teachers can also act as mentors to students who spend more time alone, helping them make friends by participating in school activities or by giving them special jobs and responsibilities.
Once a student has been observed or reported bullying, the teacher should intervene immediately. If possible, confront the bully one on one outside of the classroom so that the student doesn't feel compelled to perform or rebel to get attention from onlookers. The parents should be informed of their child's behavior. In some cases it can be helpful to recruit a faculty member with whom the student has a good relationship to talk him through his problems and to find out the reason for his behavior.