Meagans Service Learning Project

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.