For my service learning project I worked with a student who
has been bullied for the past couple of months. This student has been a victim
of bullying from not only his classmates, but the grade above. Some students
had been referring to him as a girl, when indeed he is a boy. After a while, he
finally opened up and explained to me that students are saying that he is a
girl, and likes boys. He also informed me that the other students saying this
stuff because the fourth graders are telling them to. As he is explaining this
to me I can see that he looks uncomfortable, anxious, and embarrassed. He then
adds in that he is afraid that it is going to get on the internet and cyber
bullying is bad, no, the worst, form of bullying.
With
all the information being thrown at me, I was a little overwhelmed. So I went
and talked to my cooperating teacher and explained what the student had just
told me. Immediately when I finished explaining what had happened he told me
that something has to be done about this, especially since it was cross grades.
He took the student into the computer lab and asked him a few leading questions
to try to get the problem out. He was successful. From there, we met with his
teacher and explained what happened. Then over the weekend the parents were
informed and on Monday morning there was a meeting that I attended. In this
meeting we talked about the overall issue and then what can be done. We
realized that posting signs about bullying does not really change anything,
there actually has to be an action that takes place in order for students to
realize the severity. Throughout the meeting we came to the conclusion that
unless a student is actually being bullied, they do not really understand what
it is and the different outcomes and consequences that can stem from it.
On
Wednesday, the three third grade classes met in one of the third grade
classrooms and we had a discussion about bullying; what is it? What are the consequences?
Why do people bully? And What can be done to prevent bullying. They also
explained that no one is weird or strange, just everyone is different. They then
focused on the values of being different by asking some students what they are
good at and what they enjoy. Throughout this meeting, the students seemed to
realize that no one is weird, they are different, but that is what makes the
world a better place. Everyone’s ideas, backgrounds, and experiences add to the
mix of life and without that it would be boring. By the end, most of the
students could think back to a time when they were bullied, why they were
bullied, and what the outcome was. We realized that there is never a sufficient
consequence because most of the bullying is at “playground talk.”
After
the meeting, I overheard some of the students talking about bullying. In their
conversations they were mentioning how they didn’t know how common bullying was
and how hurtful it really is. Overall, at the end of the meeting I feel that
the students now have a better understanding of bullying and what comes along
with it. They also all signed a document in which they promised to not bully
and to stick up for others when they needed it. Everyone is different and it
makes the world a better place.
