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Bullying Prevention Always
Posted: October 10, 2019By Erin Capone, Social Worker and Parent
My son left for school today wearing a pair of planet socks. His love affair with space is nothing new in our home and neither is the reason for the socks: every October his school holds a “Week of Respect” as part of its programming for Bullying Prevention Month. Today’s theme is to “stomp out” bullying, hence the socks. Later this week he’ll wear a Yankees jersey to “team up” against bullying and on another day he’ll wear school colors because they “protect their own.”
These things sound small in the face of something as all-consuming as bullying, right? Well, not so fast.
It would be small if it were just this one week, or if it happened in isolation without conversation. It would be small if the adults in the school community made it so. But that’s not the school my son goes to.
My son goes to a school filled with supportive people who build an inclusive environment day by day, piece by piece. This doesn’t happen magically because of the way the district lines are drawn or because they have some exceptional wall art. It happens through the small but impactful choices that are made each day. Take today for instance. It’s a gray, rainy, cold day here. But the principal was standing outside greeting the students, as he often does. Some of the upperclassmen donned neon belts because they are patrols who escort younger students. You know what else these patrols do? They say hello to my son, whose smile jumps off his face because older students know his name. And, as I walk away after dropping him off, I smile at the other parents because I’ve seen them before at school events, like the art show in the spring or the science fair in the winter.
This scene—the start of a school day—was familiar to me even before becoming a parent. As a children’s social worker earlier in my career, I’ve easily walked into hundreds of school buildings. Do you know what I learned from that experience? You can tell immediately what the school’s culture is just by the little things. Does the staff greet you with a smile as you walk in? Is there a shared sense of purpose and community in the way people speak? Are the school’s norms, values, and expectations clearly defined and displayed in the halls? All signs of a healthy, supportive environment ready to grow young minds and nurture their talents.
Just as these things are signs of a healthy environment, bullying is a sign of an unhealthy environment. We can’t think of bullying as a problem that can be solved by dusting off some prevention posters once a year; we have to think about bullying as a symptom that can only be improved with consistent and targeted efforts. That’s what life skills education is. It establishes culture and helps students and staff to develop the skills they need to be socially, emotionally, and physically safe.
Remember all the healthy environmental signs that I described earlier in my son’s school? They come because of the district’s strong commitment to life skills instruction. It probably wouldn’t surprise you to know that my son’s district first started using Overcoming Obstacles in 2014, and that our superintendent still to this day prioritizes the social and emotional learning of students.
So, all those “small” things during this Week of Respect at my son’s school aren’t done to start a conversation; they’re done to affirm the conversations and actions that take place throughout the year in their life skills program.
American civil rights activist Audre Lorde said “Revolution is not a one-time event.” Safe, supportive schools for our children is the next civil rights movement. And it won’t be a one-time event.
You can download the entire Overcoming Obstacles K-12 curriculum—featuring hundreds of lessons and activities— for free by logging in to your account. If you don’t yet have one, registering is fast, easy, and free—now and forever! Click here to get started. And if you think other educators would find Overcoming Obstacles’ lessons beneficial for their students, please share this blog with them.
