This is the first post in a series titled, “What Can I Do About Bullies?”
Close your eyes and think about an average day at a middle school. Quite possibly the first thing you’ll notice is a distinct class system among the students. The smart kids, the athletic kids, the popular kids, the kids who don’t do anything, the dorks, etc. have all safely confined themselves to their own groups … until you see a few athletic kids knock the books out of a skinny kid’s arms. Then you look around and notice some popular girls looking towards the dorky new girl and giggling to themselves. Your smartest student’s homework has been stolen again. The word “fag” was just yelled across the hall, no doubt intended to hurt both the feelings and reputation of a student. Oh no, the black gang and hispanic gang are at it again — get ready to call for backup. What you have just pictured is an average day in the school where I student taught.
At first, I was shocked and completely appalled at the extent of bullying that went on in the one place that is supposed to be safe for kids — school. But after 4 months seeing the same stuff go down day after day despite the efforts from teachers, bullying became commonplace. I started coming to school expecting to break up a fight or console a crying student. Sadly, bullying has become a part of the middle school experience — even sadder, we seem accept it from our students. My new school even set up an advisement program last year which addressed bullying among other topics.
In her recent article, Reframing Bullying in Middle Schools, principal Sarah Shulkind explores the issue of bullying in her school and encourages educators to re-examine their educational priorities. It’s a pretty good read. Go read it.
Why do students bully others? Shulkind suggests the prison-esque way we run our schools influences our students’ behavior.
She states,
Classrooms are overcrowded, teachers overworked and underprepared, and buildings are falling apart. Bars on the windows filter the sunlight, metal detectors block the doors, and security guards watch over everything, their walkie-talkies crackling. More time is spent on discipline than on teaching. Those who make a mistake are tossed out, the result of one-strike, zero-tolerance policies intended to make schools safer. When schools operate like prisons, why are we surprised that kids behave like convicts?
Shulkind suggests in a time of strict educational accountability, teachers are losing focus of their primary job: teaching students to become better citizens for tomorrow. So how do we go about raising healthy, contributing citizens? Well, to be honest, I’m not really sure.
Over the next few days, I will share my gameplan regarding how I will create a safe and respectful classroom, but I also hope to hear from readers about what they do to cut down on bullying. If you are a teacher, I know you deal with bullying on a normal basis. What do you do to create a positive, safe, and repectful learning envoirnment?
