Rationale

Administrators must deal with contentious issues in the schools on a daily basis. They generally establish policies and procedures based on the requirements of the School Act and comply with other legal obligations and societal standards to regulate the school environment.

A major problem that has received their attention in the last ten years is the issue of bullying. Most instances of bullying occur under the radar screen of school authorities. By its nature, bullying occurs when teachers and supervisors aren’t looking—on the way to and from school, in the hallways when there is a crowd, on the school grounds or after school hours. Nevertheless, it is a school problem.

The children involved in bullying situations are often students at the same school, and school provides the opportunity for it to occur. Students are vulnerable at school, because they are outside the protective environments of their homes and there are no adults who traditionally look after their best interests. Often, policies to discourage bullying are made without consulting the people it affects most – the students themselves.

In this lesson, students are given the opportunity to examine the problem and develop solutions that they think would be most effective in stopping it. They will come up with a description of what they think bullying is, the kind of students who become bullies and the kind who become victims. They will examine the law – both its protections and its limitations. They will study some theories and practices already in place and they will come up with youth-oriented prescriptions to resolve the problem. Those ideas will be vetted before a youth panel, which will consider the merits and weaknesses of each proposal. From the resolutions presented, the panel will come up with a comprehensive and workable plan for dealing with the issue of bullying in their school.

Objective

To involve students in resolving issues related to bullying.

Strategy Suggestion

Divide class into five groups.

Review the article provided with students.

Provide each group with a group assignment and guidelines.

Group Assignment and Guidelines

Divide the workload among the members of the group.

1. How would it get students onside?
2. How would it educate students?
3. How would it be enforced?
4. How would it protect victims?
5. How would it rehabilitate offenders?
6. How would it promote a safer school environment?

1. Have a spokesperson from the group present your ideas to the entire class and then discuss the positive and negative aspects of each plan.
2. As a class, vote on your preferred plan or create a joint plan using your favourite strategies. Decide what they think would be the most effective strategy for combating the problem and discuss how it would be implemented in your school.

Extension Activities

1. Ask your counsellor, teacher or principal to provide feedback on the plan.
2. What school policies are in place and how effective are they? Find and review your school’s polices.
3. Devise a plan to present the proposal to the school administration.
4. Have students design posters or a website that would promote implementation of their policy in their school.

Materials required

Access to Internet, video and print resources

Additional resources

Copies of policies and descriptions of current anti-bullying programs in your school.

Most children identify with the characters in stories and are more willing to say what they think and feel if they can voice it through the character in a story. Children need the opportunity to talk about the problem, especially when the focus is not on them either as the bully or the victim. All students need to understand that certain behaviours are not acceptable and that there will be consequences, when they carelessly or deliberately harm another person. Students need to be assured that when they have a problem, they can discuss it with a teacher and the teacher will respond appropriately

Some of the websites listed above include stories from children who have been bullied. They could be used to stimulate classroom discussion. The websites also offer tips and ideas for how teachers should respond to particular bullying-related incidents.

It is important to help even young children realize that they can have some control over a situation, that there are some pro-active things they can do to avoid interactions with bullies, or that if they report it, something will actually be done to counteract the problem. Again, consult the recommended resources for assistance in knowing how to handle bullying at school.

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