"The Anti-bully Specialist"

I was looking forward to Ms. DG visiting our classroom and talking with the students about bullying. First, she shared her definition of bullying and then did a read aloud of Bully B.E.A.N.S. by: Julia Cook. The book teaches students how to be proactive against bullying by eating jelly beans to emotionally prepare yourself to stand up to a bully. It also defines what a bystander is and the role that this individual plays in bullying. 


In the following video, Ms. DG asked the students, "What are the things that we learn from this book, if you are ever faced with a bully?"

I was unhappy with the framing direction Ms. DG took with bullying. The story and the actions to stand up to a bully all placed blame on the individual. Even more alarming, Ms. DG placed the blame on students who are bystanders. She stated, "A bystander is somebody who just stands there and just kinda goes 'oh' and you don't tell anybody. You're not going to do anything. That's the worst part to be too. That's even worse than a bully because then you're not even helping. You're just gonna let it happen and not tell anybody." It seemed to be a lose-lose situation. 


As I continue to reflect on that lesson, I am going to use it to teach the students there are multiple perspectives on issues, such as bullying and the best way to learn is to gather all the information then formulate an opinion. I think it is very interesting I am currently experiencing this learning process as well. Our next step is to gain another perspective on bullying. We will achieve this by taking a tour of our school to see how our school community feels about bullying.