Bullying Prevention

Blog 20: Bullying Prevention

            I only experienced a bullying prevention program once when I was at Red Smith Elementary in a 5^th grade classroom for another education class. I am not quite sure what it was called but they did talk about the many different types of bullying, including cyber-bullying. The local police came in and discussed bullying with students from each grade level in a little gathering room. The police asked the students if they knew what bullying was, what different types of bullying there were, and what to do if they are being bullied. When the students missed an important point the policeman/policewoman filled in what was missing. There was also a short film shown to the students about bullying and how to deal with bullies. After the film students were asked questions about what they saw. This gathering lasted about 30 minutes.

            After seeing how the police taught and talked about bullying with the students I felt that the program was and would be very effective. The presentation was well put together and held all of the student’s attention. Keeping the students focused by asking them questions and getting them to participate with the answers was key to getting the students to understand what was being taught and why. It also seemed to me that the students paid attention more simply because the police were talking to them about bullying and not a teacher, specialist, or somebody else that is not seen as somebody who has police-like swagger or authority.

            Even with these programs in place bullying is still a big issue in schools. Many students who bully probably don’t even know they are doing it. It is hard for a young student to understand how any type of bullying, no matter how small it may be or seem, can have drastic repercussions. It’s hard and probably impossible to come up with a very successful bullying program but any program is better than none. The program I witnessed at Red Smith seemed like a pretty good and successful program that helped most if not all of the students who were there. I only wish that I could witness throughout the rest of the school year if the program helped at all. I truly believe that many or most schools in Wisconsin are addressing bullying and addressing it successfully.