Breaking Bullying Behaviors
Bullying is defined by Dan Olweus as, "repeated aggressive behaviors that are intended to cause harm to a victim with relatively less power to defend themselves." (Faucher et al., 2015). Over the past several years the district I work in has adopted and implemented the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program to address bullying behaviors. The program is designed to fit an entire school and has components that are carried out as a whole, as a class, in small groups, or even individually. My favorite component by far is the class meetings. This is a time, once a week, where students and teachers circle up to talk about a variety of topics including bullying and friendship. during these meetings, students have opportunities to share things that are happening to them and/or offer advice about situations. The class meetings are quickly established as a Vegas zone; there are no names mentioned and what happens in the meeting stays in the meeting. These procedures make for a collaborative environment where students can express themselves and share their issues, as well as receive and give guidance regarding real incidences. I think this type of approach works well for students. They have the opportunity to be honest and vulnerable in a safe place. There is also the opportunity to participate in role-playing. They act out certain situations and practice how they would react or respond.
These Olweus BPP practices in combination with healthy models of digital communication would be an effective way to approach the topic of cyberbullying. I am one of many adults in the building who have the opportunity to model and discuss appropriate versus inappropriate ways to communicate digitally. However, it is not enough to just model without opportunities for application or conversation. Therefore, I think sharing videos like those provided by the Cyberbullying Research Center and having follow-up discussions would open the floor for constructive conversations. Students need to see the effects that cyberbullying has on the victims. I also think it is important to show a variety of examples of what would be considered cyberbullying. Too often, they think that if they are "just kidding" then there are no repercussions. Showing examples that can be clearly defined as cyberbullying might make them more aware of the weight carried by their words and choices.
References
Center, C. R. (n.d.). Cyberbullying videos to use in presentations. Cyberbullying Research Center. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://cyberbullying.org/videos
Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts, impacts, and solutions of bullying in k-12, higher education, and the workplace. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3(6). https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v3i6.1033
I love your description of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program at your school! I think all schools should have a specific bully prevention plan in place that fosters a school culture or kindness and respect. I love the idea of "Vegas zone" where students are given a nonjudgemental environment to express their concerns, conflicts, and issues. Additionally, as you mentioned, it is necessary that not only do we provide our students with a safe environment, but also educate them on how to communicate and interact on digital platforms. I also agree that students need more than just discussion, but also need real-world application/examples. I like your suggestion to utilize resources from the Cyberbullying Research Center, as a part of a larger bully prevention program. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMeagan Hooks Boyd
Our school is(or was?) an Olweus Prevention school. I think that we still are considered this, but I'm not sure that it's something that we really "do" anymore. When we first began the program, we had a certain day and time set aside each week that every teacher spent completing a lesson. There were many good components of the program, I just think a lot of people did not like the amount of time required each week by our school. Like you, I really liked the class meeting time. I feel like this was the best opportunity for students to share and have open conversations about what is going on. These meetings could be used as the perfect time to address cyberbullying and digital citizenship as well! With so much going on with social media, students are bound to bring up something relating to the cyber world!
ReplyDeleteJosie, I enjoyed reading your post. I really like the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program that your school is implementing. That is such a great idea. All of the activities you mentioned are things that students need to be aware of and taught when it comes to cyberbullying. The weekly class meetings sound awesome! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete