Why does BULLYING take place? What have you done to help students better understand empathy and compassion in your classroom? What curriculum or processes have you used to build trust with your students and in our YOKA community?
Bullying may take place because some people think its fun. They may also think bulling others makes them popular/cool in school. They feel more powerful or important and usually want to get their own way. Nobody should be mean to others. It is important to stop and think before you say or do something that could hurt someone.
The bullying I notice is meant to make the Bullyer Feel Cool at the cost of someone smaller or not as assertive. In PE there are lots and lots of small things that are hard to catch. Yesterday for example my group of Spanish speaking boys who carry themselves in a very tight clique cut in front of a line of about 10 kids waiting to drink water. Of course the kid who was cut on didn't say anything about it and I only noticed as the second boy was finishing and the third cut in.
I admittedly don't know how to make those boys feel empathy and compassion in this type of situation. They just chuckle and smile and say "sorry miss" when I call them on this type of behavior. They seem proud of themselves. I've admonished them in public, I've spoken to them privately as a group, I've spoken to them privately as individuals. They get some sort of security in maintaining their group and maintaining that tough exterior I guess.
I do a lot of team building games in PE and I make an effort to break up cliques but these bully cliques have a tendency to reunite as soon as I turn my back. Doing an activity 2-3 times and switching partners works to get the kids to interact with someone new. Sometimes I'll even say find someone you don't know or you don't usually talk to. And I do that KAGAN thing where you thank you partner for playing with you.
I'm operating under the belief that creating situations in which the bully has to interact nicely with someone he or she wouldn't otherwise be caught dead talking to helps them see others as worthwhile human beings. The only problem is grouping kids with someone they think they're better than and then hearing an audible insulting and sometimes humiliating complaint about their partner. How do you guys deal with that? I try to remember to threaten everyone before doing the grouping about audible groans, but whenever I forget, I always have someone do it. It's so mean!!
I think bullying comes from two places: one is insecurity with themselves so one feels better when putting someone else down; two, I think bullying is learned by watching others be a bully. To help students better understand empathy and compassion, I obviously use books as a great resource. I have so many fiction and nonfiction books that teach anti-bullying as well as compassion and empathy. To build trust with my library workers, I am consistent, clear, encouraging, and thankful. The library practice students work really hard and get a lot done for our school, and I think they feel enriched and confident from the experience.
I find that by putting students in a position of empathy they are better able to understand the extent of their actions. I often ask the students how they would feel if they were in a situation of a student in crisis., how would they feel? I often find that by discussing incidents and attempting to instill understanding, students are better able to grasp the feelings their peers may be experiencing. Rather than ridicule for bullying, I aim at mirroring.
One of the many benefits of teaching my subject is that I get to see my students for 3 full years! Over the years they learn that we are one big family. We take care of each other.
I use my subject to teach trust, as they must learn to be one unit. They learn that no one is more valuable than the next person.
After 3 years certain students have opened up in class and shared with us their difficult times and experiences.
The older students set the example and patrol each other, making sure that no bullies anyone.
THIS TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP CAN NOT BE EASILY TAUGHT VIA ANY SPECIFIC CURRICULUM. IT IS BUILT ON TRUST AND A GENUINE INTEREST.
I think bullying can be a major problem in a classroom. You as a teacher can put an end to bullying in your classroom by having strict consequences whenever it happens. You must set a no tolerance on bullying so the students can understand that bullying will not be allowed in your classroom whatsoever!
I think that having a strong presence makes a big different. Allowing for students to approach you and state concerns is very helpful in stopping bullying in the classroom. reminding students about rules and consequences reminds them of what can happen and limits the bullying.
In PE ive noticed that bullying happens most when it comes to equipment. The more popular, or more aggressive students end up with equipment i have passed out. Even though I have given certain students equipment, those students are quick to give it away to ensure that they remain in good standing with the more popular kids.
In order to help allieviate the bullying that happens over equipment, I use equipment captains. Everytime I stop class to redirect behavior, re-teach, or clarify the equipment should return to the Captain. Each student then gets an opportunnity to he Captain. What I hope is that it gives a sense that the equipment belongs to the class, and the Captain is in charge for the day.
Bullying takes places because students feel that it’s ok to put others down, have some type of trouble at home, and have no consequences for doing so. I’ve helped students understand empathy and compassion by doing second step with them or giving them scenarios. Students need to be asked how they would feel if they were treated the same way. It is also important to have one-on-one with students who bully because they need to understand that the teacher is aware and on the look out for it. That way they understand that they can’t get away with it, and understand that you are trying to build a safe learning environment.
My advisory and I are now just getting more accustomed to Community Circle, and recently the lived experience of bullying has surfaced for a few girls. Using Circle as a space for to "be" with each other has been a beautiful process, and we still have much growth to look forward. Sometimes it takes only one individual to share their vulnerability and almost automatically empathy follows from others. It also encourages others to open up and be vulnerable, which enables us to develop our empathy even more. I am still thinking on how to "do" Circle with my core classes without having the space access to do Circle...
To build empathy and compassion, we talk about how issues and problems are present in everyone's life and it is a choice on how to move forward. Students examine different outcomes using If and Then statements to learn to understand the choices they make. We share aloud and make connections to each other's struggles as a supportive group.
I feel that bullying comes from an insecurity or inadequacy a student has about themselves, and by bullying they feel (falsely) better about themselves. I feel it is also about impressing friends or others, a way to get attention and a laugh. I talk to students about treating others as they would like them to treat you. Students have such a high awareness of "fairness" in school and life, but often don't see the connection to treating others fairly in everyday life. My go to quote is "be the change you want to see in the world." Be an active voice, be an active example, be the person you want to be everyday, cause that's how the rest of the world will see you.
Bully happens when we allow it. Empathy can be taught with health curriculums such as, second step, healthy relationships, and other curriculums in the Health unit from LAUSD. Here are some sources I am currently using and I have more in my class if you want to stop by or send me and email for them. http://www.tolerance.org/blog/how-will-your-school-mix-it http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/bully.shtml http://www.aidspreventionlausd.net/
When I have students for detention for arguing or insulting each other, a big part of the detention analyzes their behavior. They have to identify why they are in detention - and it must be specific. What were they doing or saying? I do not lecture them why they are there. Next, they have to identify alternative behaviors and actions to replace the unwanted behavior. For example, I had three students that were arguing (and thus insulting each other) during a lab. They were able to identify what they were doing incorrectly, and three alternate solutions instead of arguing. Next time we did a lab, they were using the alternate behaviors. I find that many students do not know how to behave in socially acceptable ways, so we must teach them how to do it.
I think building connectedness affects issues of bullying. I focus on building a close community with my advisory and inform them of the behavior I expect from them with one another. I have them think about what it means to be students here, what it means to be part of their community, and what it means to be females in this community and at this school, and in this world. I cultivate trust and respect by communicating with them, and their teachers, parents, and providing opportunities to engage in different experiences like: 1) Making posters and cheering the YOKA dance team in competitions (I have advisory students in it) 2) Having Pen Pals with another advisory at YOKA 3) Taking field trips: Annual UCLA field trip and this October taking them to watch "He named me Malala." Any movies we watch have to do with ways to analyze our lives and reflect on ways to create a positive cycle for ourselves instead of repeating an unhealthy cycle in our future.
I feel bullying takes place for multiple reasons that include lack of self control, low self esteem and peer pressure. The way that I try to build connectedness between students in the classroom is through team building and role playing exercises. Most of the role playing exercises have the students designing their plays based on the dragon pact. They have to decided which letter their plays best represents and why? Considering most of the letters in the dragon pact refer to empathy and respect, the students build these fundamental skills as they work to develop their plays. Further I make examples of my older students and always refer to them as my role models for my younger students.
I want to have our students understand the saying, "don't judge a book by its cover" it is important that we spend some time making our students aware that we don't know how a person's life is like at home. Kids can be too quick to judge a person based on the quality of their clothing/shoes/smell/mannerisms and they don't take the time to think that some of their peers have struggles at home.
Last year, with my 8th grade advisory girls, i took excerpts from the YOKA book "stories of struggles, strength and solidarity...If you only knew" that our Yoka girls wrote with Ms. Cometa in 2013, and we read them together. It was a very impactful day.
Bullying these days seems to come in a group form. Groups of students picking on a few. I talk to my advisory students a lot about what drama and problems they have with one another. I've also had interventions with certain groups that I know are picking on some students. I remind them that adding oil to fire can lead to a very bad and dangerous situation. Oil being the gossip, rumors, stares, Internet posting, etc.
Bullying happens because students feel insecure about themselves and they are trying to make themselves feel better. Other students bully because they think it might make them look "cool" or "popular" amongst their peers. When students bully another student, it isolates and belittles the bullied while the bully feels he have more power and control over others. As a Health and Science teacher, I started the school year with a unit that focuses on respect and the dangers of discrimination. The students engaged in a "Walk the Line" Activity where the students realized that even though there might be differences between them, each of them are still amazing individuals in their own way. They also brought up how it is important to respect these differences because if they do not, it will lead to others feeling bad about themselves. In short, through the activity and the discussion, the students realized the importance of empathy. I then showed students two videos. One where a group of boys helped out a student who had a learning disability and another clip where classmates bullied another student because of his sexual orientation which lead to people getting hurt. We then had a discussion about the stark differences between the two videos, and the students concluded that bullying is dangerous and respecting differences lead to a positive climate in the school. Lastly, the students engaged in skits to practice positive social behaviors such as helping others.
I have been thinking a lot about building community in my classroom. I focused on it during the beginning of the school year but I have not continued incorporating it within my curriculum. I am thinking about ways I can continue to build community throughout the school year and make it a routine. I think it would really benefit the students and classroom culture. Many of our students think of education and school as an individualistic experience and often do not acknowledge the communal aspect of being a part of a learning community. I think we could all benefit from creating a classroom culture that gets our student working together, collaborating, and caring for each other. When we do this we can begin building trust, help our students develop empathy and develop supportive community.
Sometimes the most effective way to convey a message clearly, is to observe extreme cases. For instance, you can talk about the dangers of smoking all you want, but if you display images of tar covered lungs and people speaking from a hole in their neck, you probably will yield a vastly different perspective from your viewer.
The same can hold true with instances of bullying. In my advisory class, we've watched videos, read articles, and have had thorough class discussions and reflections about extreme cases of school bullying as well as cyber-bullying. Again, these cases were the extreme of the bunch - Cases that ended up with the victim committing suicide. We don't focus so much on the outcome, but rather, what were the factors that led to the choice that the victim ultimately made.
This can only be accomplished if you set the stage for an honest and respectful discussion before delving into the material. Tone is critical, or else they may not take away the information and/or perspective that's necessary for a discussion of this nature.
Students want to feel powerful and are feeling insecure. I begin my school year where bullying will not be tolerated, however, it sometimes takes one on one conversations when I suspect a student is being bullied. I let them know I am here to protect them and they are not here to hurt or harass other students.
I think bullies are insecure about themselves. Because of their insecurities, they observe other bullies and follow such misbehaviors. It's sad that they continue to act as bullies because not enough people care for them. As a result, others around them are bullied and hurt. I will be going through the second step about antibullying with my advisory girls.
Bullying occurs when no one says anything to stop it. If the teacher and adults are active in the classroom and hallways, they can say stop it when they see it.
I believe bullies are persons who don’t like themselves very much. Because they do not like themselves they do not like others. Bullies are also in groups and try to pick on someone who can’t defend themselves. I constantly tell my students that bullying will not be tolerated in my classroom and in our school.
I am so encouraged to read these varied and insightful blog responses on how to deal with bullying at YOKA. The tremendous work that so many of you have been doing to building trusting communities in your Advisories and your core and elective classes is testament to your expertise and commitment. Some key commonalities resonated throughout your responses. I heard the Golden Rule being mentioned again and again as a focal point for building empathy. Circle process allows us to witness that in front of and in response to our peers. And I was particularly excited to see how the skits around our Dragon Pact were bringing to living consciousness the principles of respect and kindness/compassion in Mr. Wagner's Advisory class. Carry on creating venues for discussion and reflection for our young YOKA Dragons! Every intervention, every trusting relationship that is built helps us uncover those fears and vulnerabilities that are at the root of much of the bullying that goes on in our world. Then the healing can begin... Thank you so much for being present to us, your colleagues, and especially for being there for our students. Your creativity and courage are such an inspiration to us all!!!
Bullying takes place for many reasons, but the primary reason can be summed up in a saying which says 'hurt people hurt people'. Normally those who bully others are themselves going through difficulties. I utilize personalization practices to communicate empathy and compassion in the classroom by asking the question, how would you feel if you or someone you love was treated the way you are treating others. The process I have used to build trust in the classroom is transparency and being open, also utilizing team building activities.
Bullying may take place because some people think its fun. They may also think bulling others makes them popular/cool in school. They feel more powerful or important and usually want to get their own way. Nobody should be mean to others. It is important to stop and think before you say or do something that could hurt someone.
ReplyDeleteThe bullying I notice is meant to make the Bullyer Feel Cool at the cost of someone smaller or not as assertive. In PE there are lots and lots of small things that are hard to catch. Yesterday for example my group of Spanish speaking boys who carry themselves in a very tight clique cut in front of a line of about 10 kids waiting to drink water. Of course the kid who was cut on didn't say anything about it and I only noticed as the second boy was finishing and the third cut in.
ReplyDeleteI admittedly don't know how to make those boys feel empathy and compassion in this type of situation. They just chuckle and smile and say "sorry miss" when I call them on this type of behavior. They seem proud of themselves. I've admonished them in public, I've spoken to them privately as a group, I've spoken to them privately as individuals. They get some sort of security in maintaining their group and maintaining that tough exterior I guess.
I do a lot of team building games in PE and I make an effort to break up cliques but these bully cliques have a tendency to reunite as soon as I turn my back. Doing an activity 2-3 times and switching partners works to get the kids to interact with someone new. Sometimes I'll even say find someone you don't know or you don't usually talk to. And I do that KAGAN thing where you thank you partner for playing with you.
I'm operating under the belief that creating situations in which the bully has to interact nicely with someone he or she wouldn't otherwise be caught dead talking to helps them see others as worthwhile human beings. The only problem is grouping kids with someone they think they're better than and then hearing an audible insulting and sometimes humiliating complaint about their partner. How do you guys deal with that?
I try to remember to threaten everyone before doing the grouping about audible groans, but whenever I forget, I always have someone do it. It's so mean!!
I think bullying comes from two places: one is insecurity with themselves so one feels better when putting someone else down; two, I think bullying is learned by watching others be a bully. To help students better understand empathy and compassion, I obviously use books as a great resource. I have so many fiction and nonfiction books that teach anti-bullying as well as compassion and empathy. To build trust with my library workers, I am consistent, clear, encouraging, and thankful. The library practice students work really hard and get a lot done for our school, and I think they feel enriched and confident from the experience.
ReplyDeleteI find that by putting students in a position of empathy they are better able to understand the extent of their actions. I often ask the students how they would feel if they were in a situation of a student in crisis., how would they feel? I often find that by discussing incidents and attempting to instill understanding, students are better able to grasp the feelings their peers may be experiencing. Rather than ridicule for bullying, I aim at mirroring.
ReplyDeleteOne of the many benefits of teaching my subject is that I get to see my students for 3 full years! Over the years they learn that we are one big family. We take care of each other.
ReplyDeleteI use my subject to teach trust, as they must learn to be one unit. They learn that no one is more valuable than the next person.
After 3 years certain students have opened up in class and shared with us their difficult times and experiences.
The older students set the example and patrol each other, making sure that no bullies anyone.
THIS TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP CAN NOT BE EASILY TAUGHT VIA ANY SPECIFIC CURRICULUM. IT IS BUILT ON TRUST AND A GENUINE INTEREST.
I think bullying can be a major problem in a classroom. You as a teacher can put an end to bullying in your classroom by having strict consequences whenever it happens. You must set a no tolerance on bullying so the students can understand that bullying will not be allowed in your classroom whatsoever!
ReplyDeleteI think that having a strong presence makes a big different. Allowing for students to approach you and state concerns is very helpful in stopping bullying in the classroom. reminding students about rules and consequences reminds them of what can happen and limits the bullying.
ReplyDeleteIn PE ive noticed that bullying happens most when it comes to equipment. The more popular, or more aggressive students end up with equipment i have passed out. Even though I have given certain students equipment, those students are quick to give it away to ensure that they remain in good standing with the more popular kids.
ReplyDeleteIn order to help allieviate the bullying that happens over equipment, I use equipment captains. Everytime I stop class to redirect behavior, re-teach, or clarify the equipment should return to the Captain. Each student then gets an opportunnity to he Captain. What I hope is that it gives a sense that the equipment belongs to the class, and the Captain is in charge for the day.
Bullying takes places because students feel that it’s ok to put others down, have some type of trouble at home, and have no consequences for doing so. I’ve helped students understand empathy and compassion by doing second step with them or giving them scenarios. Students need to be asked how they would feel if they were treated the same way. It is also important to have one-on-one with students who bully because they need to understand that the teacher is aware and on the look out for it. That way they understand that they can’t get away with it, and understand that you are trying to build a safe learning environment.
ReplyDeleteMy advisory and I are now just getting more accustomed to Community Circle, and recently the lived experience of bullying has surfaced for a few girls. Using Circle as a space for to "be" with each other has been a beautiful process, and we still have much growth to look forward. Sometimes it takes only one individual to share their vulnerability and almost automatically empathy follows from others. It also encourages others to open up and be vulnerable, which enables us to develop our empathy even more. I am still thinking on how to "do" Circle with my core classes without having the space access to do Circle...
ReplyDeleteTo build empathy and compassion, we talk about how issues and problems are present in everyone's life and it is a choice on how to move forward. Students examine different outcomes using If and Then statements to learn to understand the choices they make. We share aloud and make connections to each other's struggles as a supportive group.
ReplyDeleteI feel that bullying comes from an insecurity or inadequacy a student has about themselves, and by bullying they feel (falsely) better about themselves. I feel it is also about impressing friends or others, a way to get attention and a laugh.
ReplyDeleteI talk to students about treating others as they would like them to treat you. Students have such a high awareness of "fairness" in school and life, but often don't see the connection to treating others fairly in everyday life. My go to quote is "be the change you want to see in the world." Be an active voice, be an active example, be the person you want to be everyday, cause that's how the rest of the world will see you.
Bully happens when we allow it. Empathy can be taught with health curriculums such as, second step, healthy relationships, and other curriculums in the Health unit from LAUSD. Here are some sources I am currently using and I have more in my class if you want to stop by or send me and email for them.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tolerance.org/blog/how-will-your-school-mix-it
http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/bully.shtml
http://www.aidspreventionlausd.net/
When I have students for detention for arguing or insulting each other, a big part of the detention analyzes their behavior. They have to identify why they are in detention - and it must be specific. What were they doing or saying? I do not lecture them why they are there. Next, they have to identify alternative behaviors and actions to replace the unwanted behavior. For example, I had three students that were arguing (and thus insulting each other) during a lab. They were able to identify what they were doing incorrectly, and three alternate solutions instead of arguing. Next time we did a lab, they were using the alternate behaviors. I find that many students do not know how to behave in socially acceptable ways, so we must teach them how to do it.
ReplyDeleteFerrel
DeleteI think building connectedness affects issues of bullying.
ReplyDeleteI focus on building a close community with my advisory and inform them of the behavior I expect from them with one another. I have them think about what it means to be students here, what it means to be part of their community, and what it means to be females in this community and at this school, and in this world.
I cultivate trust and respect by communicating with them, and their teachers, parents, and providing opportunities to engage in different experiences like:
1) Making posters and cheering the YOKA dance team in competitions (I have advisory students in it)
2) Having Pen Pals with another advisory at YOKA
3) Taking field trips: Annual UCLA field trip and this October taking them to watch "He named me Malala."
Any movies we watch have to do with ways to analyze our lives and reflect on ways to create a positive cycle for ourselves instead of repeating an unhealthy cycle in our future.
I feel bullying takes place for multiple reasons that include lack of self control, low self esteem and peer pressure. The way that I try to build connectedness between students in the classroom is through team building and role playing exercises. Most of the role playing exercises have the students designing their plays based on the dragon pact. They have to decided which letter their plays best represents and why? Considering most of the letters in the dragon pact refer to empathy and respect, the students build these fundamental skills as they work to develop their plays. Further I make examples of my older students and always refer to them as my role models for my younger students.
ReplyDelete-Mr. Wagner
I want to have our students understand the saying,
ReplyDelete"don't judge a book by its cover"
it is important that we spend some time making our students aware that we don't know how a person's life is like at home. Kids can be too quick to judge a person based on the quality of their clothing/shoes/smell/mannerisms and they don't take the time to think that some of their peers have struggles at home.
Last year, with my 8th grade advisory girls, i took excerpts from the YOKA book "stories of struggles, strength and solidarity...If you only knew" that our Yoka girls wrote with Ms. Cometa in 2013, and we read them together. It was a very impactful day.
Bullying these days seems to come in a group form. Groups of students picking on a few. I talk to my advisory students a lot about what drama and problems they have with one another. I've also had interventions with certain groups that I know are picking on some students. I remind them that adding oil to fire can lead to a very bad and dangerous situation. Oil being the gossip, rumors, stares, Internet posting, etc.
ReplyDeleteBullying happens because students feel insecure about themselves and they are trying to make themselves feel better. Other students bully because they think it might make them look "cool" or "popular" amongst their peers. When students bully another student, it isolates and belittles the bullied while the bully feels he have more power and control over others.
ReplyDeleteAs a Health and Science teacher, I started the school year with a unit that focuses on respect and the dangers of discrimination. The students engaged in a "Walk the Line" Activity where the students realized that even though there might be differences between them, each of them are still amazing individuals in their own way. They also brought up how it is important to respect these differences because if they do not, it will lead to others feeling bad about themselves. In short, through the activity and the discussion, the students realized the importance of empathy. I then showed students two videos. One where a group of boys helped out a student who had a learning disability and another clip where classmates bullied another student because of his sexual orientation which lead to people getting hurt. We then had a discussion about the stark differences between the two videos, and the students concluded that bullying is dangerous and respecting differences lead to a positive climate in the school. Lastly, the students engaged in skits to practice positive social behaviors such as helping others.
I have been thinking a lot about building community in my classroom. I focused on it during the beginning of the school year but I have not continued incorporating it within my curriculum. I am thinking about ways I can continue to build community throughout the school year and make it a routine. I think it would really benefit the students and classroom culture. Many of our students think of education and school as an individualistic experience and often do not acknowledge the communal aspect of being a part of a learning community. I think we could all benefit from creating a classroom culture that gets our student working together, collaborating, and caring for each other. When we do this we can begin building trust, help our students develop empathy and develop supportive community.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the most effective way to convey a message clearly, is to observe extreme cases. For instance, you can talk about the dangers of smoking all you want, but if you display images of tar covered lungs and people speaking from a hole in their neck, you probably will yield a vastly different perspective from your viewer.
ReplyDeleteThe same can hold true with instances of bullying. In my advisory class, we've watched videos, read articles, and have had thorough class discussions and reflections about extreme cases of school bullying as well as cyber-bullying. Again, these cases were the extreme of the bunch - Cases that ended up with the victim committing suicide. We don't focus so much on the outcome, but rather, what were the factors that led to the choice that the victim ultimately made.
This can only be accomplished if you set the stage for an honest and respectful discussion before delving into the material. Tone is critical, or else they may not take away the information and/or perspective that's necessary for a discussion of this nature.
Students want to feel powerful and are feeling insecure. I begin my school year where bullying will not be tolerated, however, it sometimes takes one on one conversations when I suspect a student is being bullied. I let them know I am here to protect them and they are not here to hurt or harass other students.
ReplyDeleteI think bullies are insecure about themselves. Because of their insecurities, they observe other bullies and follow such misbehaviors. It's sad that they continue to act as bullies because not enough people care for them. As a result, others around them are bullied and hurt. I will be going through the second step about antibullying with my advisory girls.
ReplyDeleteBullying occurs when no one says anything to stop it. If the teacher and adults are active in the classroom and hallways, they can say stop it when they see it.
ReplyDeleteI believe bullies are persons who don’t like themselves very much. Because they do not like themselves they do not like others. Bullies are also in groups and try to pick on someone who can’t defend themselves. I constantly tell my students that bullying will not be tolerated in my classroom and in our school.
ReplyDeleteI am so encouraged to read these varied and insightful blog responses on how to deal with bullying at YOKA. The tremendous work that so many of you have been doing to building trusting communities in your Advisories and your core and elective classes is testament to your expertise and commitment. Some key commonalities resonated throughout your responses. I heard the Golden Rule being mentioned again and again as a focal point for building empathy. Circle process allows us to witness that in front of and in response to our peers. And I was particularly excited to see how the skits around our Dragon Pact were bringing to living consciousness the principles of respect and kindness/compassion in Mr. Wagner's Advisory class. Carry on creating venues for discussion and reflection for our young YOKA Dragons! Every intervention, every trusting relationship that is built helps us uncover those fears and vulnerabilities that are at the root of much of the bullying that goes on in our world. Then the healing can begin... Thank you so much for being present to us, your colleagues, and especially for being there for our students. Your creativity and courage are such an inspiration to us all!!!
ReplyDeleteThis blog post was made by Sharon Bernard. I was unsuccessful at getting my name on the post. :)
DeleteBullying takes place for many reasons, but the primary reason can be summed up in a saying which says 'hurt people hurt people'. Normally those who bully others are themselves going through difficulties. I utilize personalization practices to communicate empathy and compassion in the classroom by asking the question, how would you feel if you or someone you love was treated the way you are treating others. The process I have used to build trust in the classroom is transparency and being open, also utilizing team building activities.
ReplyDelete