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Should we Teach More Anti-Bullying?

dibblenancy

Answer to This Quora Question: Should teachers and schools increase their anti-bullying efforts, given that Trump shooter, Matthew Crooks, and some mass shooters were bullied a lot at school? Would this help prevent shootings in future?



Yes.


Students need to be actively involved in this effort as well.


Even though bullying has been happening for years that does not make it right (still happened to kids when I was in public school and that is over 50 years ago).


A student that I worked with on student government shot himself and I was devastated. He was such an awesome kid. He took his own life because of constant bullying. I learned after he took his own life that he had been bullied on a regular basis. His teachers knew this but I did not. Could we have prevented this? Maybe. We must take bullying seriously and start YOUNG teaching kids to be kind and compassionate.


Learning how to treat others from a very young age is one of the most important things we can teach. Although this should happen in the home it doesn’t always and so teachers try to fill the gaps.


At the last high school where I taught before I retired a group of students started a “Kindness Club.” The club was very successful and they did many activities throughout the school year that made a significant positive impact on campus.


Here are a few of the activities that I remember:


  1. On Valentines Day the Kindness Club made a valentine for each and every student, teacher, administrator and classified staff. They remembered everyone. The valentines were posted on the school wall for each person to pick up.

  2. The Kindness Club kids took colorful sidewalk chalk and wrote positive messages all over the outside hallways.

  3. You are beautiful.

  4. Be good to yourself.

  5. Have a wonderful day.

  6. You are not alone.

  7. You are loved.

  8. Come join the Kindness Club. You are welcome.

  9. Club Meetings encouraged all to attend, had food/goodies to encourage people to come and had positive talks re: how to be truly kind and compassionate to all.


The Kindness Club kids were bold to start this club and follow through with activities and the student body response was very positive.


Final Thought: Ideally this type of action would start as young as kindergarten and should be integrated throughout the school and for the entire K-12 experience. School can be a cruel place for some kids and to prevent this, positive social training must be started young and continued.

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