By Eileen Dachnowicz
“It makes you feel a little bit more courageous and makes you want to stand up for someone else and not be a bystander.” —Mikie
“If I’m in a situation with a bully, it makes it better knowing some of the character education skills.” —Isabella
Isabella and Mikie may not be recognized as experts in the conflict resolution field, but they certainly are pros in understanding ways to ward off a bully. It is obvious that these fifth graders have learned their anti-bullying lessons well at Richard Stockton Elementary School (grades K–5) in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Richard Stockton also recognizes the importance of tying anti-bullying to the larger issue of improving school climate. All the other 2012 National Schools of Character (NSOC) have also used myriad ways to improve school climate—school themes, Morning Meetings, class constitutions, assemblies, cross-grade buddies, compacts for excellence—and, like Stockton, they too are teaching students useful skills for resolving conflicts peacefully and are having them practice responses as “upstanders” rather than as bystanders in bullying situations.
Fifth grader Roni explains why anti-bullying works at Stockton: “Everyone knows each other; no one is left out. There is no bullying.” All students receive Lions Quest training; all classes write class constitutions on the core values of responsibility, respect, and citizenship; and all grade levels receive anti-bullying lessons that include strategies for supporting the victim. In short, Stockton actively teaches getting along gracefully.
Using similar strategies, Henry Raab School (grades K–6) in Belleville, Illinois, has taught students positive ways to counteract bullying. From the early grades, boys and girls learn important skills such as maintaining eye contact and using “I messages” to indicate how they feel. Two sixth-grade programs, Don’t Laugh at Me and Bully-Proofing Your School, have been highly effective. By enacting the roles of the bully, the victim, and the bystanders, students learn “when to ignore it, walk away, [or] go get help.”
Read more in the upcoming edition of Schools of Character: Building Strong Communities One Child at a Time, available in November.
