The Bully Proof Classroom
James H Burns
Anti Bullying Specialist
Educational Consultant
In-Service Provider – Keynote Speaker
To Book Jim Call – 732-773-9855 Or At jameshburns55@gmail.com
Programs and In-services available to schools
Custom programs available based upon school needs
Certificates of Completion will be awarded for between 1 and 20 hours based on the length of the course
Anti Bullying/School Climate Control – offered in person and online – 5 hours
This in-service provides teachers and administrators with 12 Strategies to help improve classroom/school climate, how to develop respect, responsibility and compliance in students, how to teach students character qualities they will need for life-long success, strategies that help bullies and targets improve their coping skills, how to develop a code of conduct that can be effectively communicated to all students, how to be more effective in changing student behavior, and the importance of getting and keeping everyone working on the same school goals.
Defusing Power Struggles With Difficult Students – In person only – 5 hours
Effective discipline can no longer be achieved solely through using authority. A typical school today has some students who have short fuses, and some who anger easily. Students today may make offensive statements and act in a hostile manner that can trigger a power struggle. Often, too much instructional time is lost because of minor disruptions that all too quickly escalate into classroom battles that destroy relationships and any positive climate that exists. To keep the focus on educational achievement educators must master how to avoid and defuse power struggles. This practical workshop will present easy-to-learn methods of effective intervention that preserve students’ and teachers’ personal dignity.
Motivating Difficult and Hard to Handle Students – offered in person and online – 5 hours
There is a direct relationship between motivation and discipline. The hard to motivate are often hard to discipline. Teachers are becoming increasingly more frustrated and are asking what we do with students who are not prepared, don’t care, will not work, and are on track for failure as adults. Finding tools and strategies to increase motivation can solve many behavior problems. There are many things educators can do to reawaken motivation in students who have lost interest and perhaps hope. This seminar helps teachers develop techniques that build respect, increase responsibility, and develop greater compliance in students who are hard to handle. It helps teachers overcome the strong emotional frustration that saps their energy and ultimately leads to burnout.
Can You Handle The Truth? – offered face to face and online – 1 hour
Society seems to want to withhold the truth and make everyone believe that they are smarter than what they are and that their behavior is based upon circumstance, their environment, or lack of therapy or medication. Facing the truth about their abilities and work ethic can put a student back on track, and help them choose a good vocation, and understand and how they need to improve academically and behaviorally. This one hour self study will give teachers the tools to confront students without condemning them and help them help students to evaluate their efforts and work to realistically look at their performance.
Principles Of Teacher Transformation – offered in person and online – 20 hours
This is an eight week life changing course that will transform you personally, professionally, and the best part of all permanently. It will help you make changes from the inside out and bring you to a point of self awareness and self actualization which will help you reach your full potential as educator and a person.
Anti Bullying 101 – offered in person and online – 10 hours
This course is designed to provide the participant with many strategies, and skills to help combat the bullying epidemic in schools and in society. It has many unique approaches that tackle the problem from a different perspective and focuses on the root problem not the symptoms. The course will also provide information on how to help those who were affected by the trauma of childhood bullying. This is a great course to help meet the NJ requirement for anti bullying specialists and other personnel. N.J.S.A. 18A:37-17b and c., N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.7
How To Encourage Student Responsibility – offered in person and online – 5 hours
Responsibility can be taught through the use of clear consequences. All children must have in their mind the question; what am I going to gain and what am I going to lose as a result of my behavior. Once we have a child’s attention through the use of consistence consequences their behavior begins to improve. This course will help the participant understand the importance of responsibility and how to encourage it in their students.
How To Teach Respect – offered in person and online – 5 hours
This course emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and respect. The participants will gain an understanding that if students are to be respectful they must be in control of their thoughts, words, actions, and attitudes. The participants will learn how to teach their students respect by helping them understand that thoughts ultimately lead to words and actions, which if not corrected results in poor attitudes on the part of everyone with relationships being strained and maybe even broken.
How To Teach Resiliency – offered in person and online – 5 hours
Our students need to understand that they are solely responsible for themselves regardless of what people, situations, or the environment bring into their life. What are the areas that they are responsible for? They are responsible for their thoughts, words, actions, attitudes, and motives; five areas. This course will help the participants gain an understanding of how responsible thoughts words and actions can lead to greater resiliency for their students. This course will provide the participant with the tools necessary to teach resiliency, improve student behavior, and to help their students become successful adults.
Understanding Sexual Harassment – offered in person and online 2 hours
Sexual harassment is bullying or coercion of a sexual nature and the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions from mild transgressions to sexual abuse or assault. Harassment can occur in many different social settings such as the workplace, the home, school, churches, etc. Harassers or victims may be of either gender. This course will help the participant understand sexual harassment and the steps that can be taken in order to prevent it in the workplace and in schools. This course can be taken by students (when appropriate) as well as teachers for PD credit. This course may help meet the NJ requirement for anti bullying specialists and other school personnel. N.J.S.A. 18A:37-17b and c., N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.7
Rumors, Gossip, Complaining And The School Climate – offered in person and online 2 hours
Complaining about students in the faculty room does nothing to support the educational environment. Once you find other teachers who enjoy complaining about students, it becomes much easier to get into a routine of complaining to each other. This then makes it easier for other teachers to join right in. What usually goes along with this is a great deal of talk about how the student’s lack of achievement or bullying and behavioral problems in the classroom are caused by outside circumstances such as family or the child’s intergenerational tendencies (e.g. “I had his father as a student and I am not surprised. He is just like him”). The problem is that you take the focus off of yourself and the things you can do to be part of the solution. Plus, if you’re badmouthing your students, and other teachers are feeding right into it, you will walk back into your classroom with a greater dislike and additional reasons for having a negative attitude toward those students
The Provocative Victim – offered in person or online 2 hours
Imagine this student: They have no friends among their peers and no friends among adults. Youth and adults alike avoid them. They often appear to be a bully, but always seem to end up the victim, losing no matter what they try. Even adults have a difficult time empathizing with this child. This child is often more disengaged from school than their peers, achieves less academically, and has higher rates of smoking, alcohol use, depression and is at a higher risk for suicide. These students are Provocative Victims (aka the bully-victim or aggressive victim) and up to as many as 6 percent of students report that they both bully others and are bullied “sometimes” or “more often.” This course is designed to help teachers, parents, and care givers with the necessary understand this child and take the steps necessary to help this child become more aware of his behavior and how it affects others. This is a great course to help meet the NJ requirement for anti bullying specialists and other personnel. N.J.S.A. 18A:37-17b and c., N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.7
Dealing With Angry And Irate Parents – offered face to face and online – 5 hours
Parents who are angry and irate can wreak havoc in a school and can be intimidating. Participants in this course will learn how to defuse power struggles with parents and maintain their dignity, and the dignity of the parent as they manage planned and unplanned parent /teacher conferences.
Character Is Everything – offered in person and online – 5 hours
Much has been said over the years about the student who is difficult to manage, and who exhibits behaviors that lack a moral compass. Educators and child-care providers need strategies that address the pervasive problems of disrespect, irresponsibility and a lack of compassion for their fellow students. This course addresses the problems that are at the root of these behaviors. Character training truly makes a difference in the outcome of a student’s life. As a student builds character he/she will become more successful. Students who are taught character qualities such as honesty, reliability, diligence, and respect learn to change their behaviors from the inside out and truly understand how to self generate positive behaviors, and have a change of heart, not just a change of mind. This Is a Five Hour Course.
Understanding What Is Weakening Our Schools (Everybody Knows) – offered in person and online – 10 hours
This is a ten hour course that covers topics in education and in our society things that are obvious to everyone and those who are in education need to be made aware of. Denying them is just embarrassing and we all should be red faced. There is an 800 pound gorilla in the room and he is being ignored and the path of least resistance is being taken. What are these things that educators, parents and society know but for some reason won’t discuss or won’t even admit? This course will be an eye opener as it not only covers 10 topics to consider it also provides the participants with solutions to the problems.
Helping Students To Become Their Personal Best – offered in person and online – 2 hours
If we were to recall a teacher who we felt had a positive influence on us during our student days, we are most likely to think of a teacher who had made us feel comfortable and through the teacher’s ability to make us feel comfortable, we are able to learn what we have been given to learn. Modern cognitive research also shows that the brain cells would shrink in the face of a hostile environment as for example when we feel fear or unsafe. On the other hand, the same brain cell would grow and develop if the environment is safe and comfortable. A teacher, therefore, be aware that the classroom climate is the most important condition for learning to take place. The teacher must cultivate positive attitudes and perceptions about learning among the students. This course is designed for teachers, and will provide them with the necessary tools, strategies and ideas in order to help their student’s change from the inside out and ultimately become their personal best.
Online Courses Are Available On A Variety Of Topics And Can Be Purchased By Visiting
The Bully Proof Classroom
Books and Resources Available Click Here
About Jim Burns
Since 1977 Jim Burns has been working with students who have learning disabilities and behavioral problems. He has almost 40 years of experience working as an administrator, teacher, college instructor, and a seminar leader. He is committed to helping administrators, parents, and teachers establish standards of excellence and to help them build successful relationships with their staff, students, and children. He has written and designed The Bully Proof Classroom, a graduate course that is offered at The College of New Jersey and La Salle University in Pennsylvania in partnership with The Regional Training Center and is endorsed by the New Jersey Education Association. Jim was awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of his work in the area of anti bullying. He has also written several books on the topic of anti bullying and classroom climate. “Anti Bullying 101” is a great resource for teachers, administrator, support staff, and parents as it provides permanent help in dealing with unruly behavior and can be used as part of any anti-bullying program. He is available for on sight in-services and keynotes and can be reached at 1-732-773-9855 or jameshburns55@gmail.com
Testimonials
The information you presented was right on target with what I have experienced in the recent past. The fact that you gave information that was research based was good but the way you showed how to put the information to practice assured all of us that we are doing something right and we found it priceless.”
School Superintendent in New Jersey
“Jim Burns is a real leader. He works well with others, and has a real understanding of teacher’s and administrator’s needs. After hearing Jim speak, you’ll quickly call up your friends and colleagues and say: You need to hear this guy, he knows what he’s talking about!”
Director of Professional Development, Montclair New Jersey
“It is my belief that every person in that room, all 133 of them, walked away from Jim’s In-Service with valuable information and a renewed positive attitude toward their professional life.”
Principal Aliquippa Pennsylvania
“An end to psycho-babble Jim taught us how to deal with kids realistically.” “Today applied to me both as a teacher and a Mother.”
“This was so much more than I expected to take back to my classroom.” “This was a wonderful day and exceeded my expectations at all levels.” “One of the most interesting and useful In-Service ever” “The best In-Service I ever attended.”
Teachers of the Diocese of Pittsburgh
Pricing
Full Day On Sight In-service – $2000 (five hours)
Half Day On Sight In-service – $1200 (up to 3 hours)
Keynotes – $3000 – 90 minutes
Consulting – $500/day (3 days or more) $1000 (one day)
Most Private Conferences are between $125-$150/per person
