As the kids came into class, Ms. Gilmour greeted each with a high-five and she said, “Stop Bullying!” They were all surprised at first, but then they all started high fiving each other and repeating, “Stop Bullying!” Ms. Gilmour then asked them, “What is important about this month?”
Everyone shouted, “Halloween!”
Ms. Gilmour laughed, “That’s right, but what else is important about this month?” Rudy looked at the other blank faces and said, “I know, it’s Bullying Prevention Month, right?” Ms. Gilmour told Rudy he got it right. Nicole then added, “I remember last year we talked about how Bullying Prevention Month should be Bullying Prevention Year.” The kids all agreed that was a good idea, since bullying doesn’t stop on Oct. 31.
“Now that you’re back in school, where are you seeing bullying at your school?” Ms. Gilmour asked. All hands went up. Carmen said, “I see it on my bus.” Stephen said, “Kids are bullying in my classroom, and they find a way to do it so the teacher doesn’t see it.”
Truman the Dragon then said, “I see bullying in the cafeteria where some kids won’t let others sit with them, or make fun of the way some kids eat.”
Rudy said, “That’s not kind or cool.”
Carmen added, “That’s just mean and rude.”
Ms. Gilmour asked where else they saw bullying. Nicole said, “I see kids being bullied in the locker room or in gym class for how they look, or even for how they play a game.” Stephen then said, “That happens on the ball fields too, both during school and after school at practices and games.”
“What do you think about bullying on the Internet? Is that part of school bullying?” asked Ms. Gilmour. Nicole was first to answer, “Yes, because it’s the kids from school who are bullying other kids online. We need to do something to stop all this bullying!”
Ms. Gilmour then asked Carmen, “You said you see bullying on your bus. What can kids do to stop that kind of bullying?” Tanner jumped in with, “Show kindness to everyone; no teasing or picking on anyone, especially younger kids.” Rudy added, “Be a friend to younger kids, and report older kids who are bullying to the driver or aide.” Nicole said, “We have to let kids know that reporting bullying isn’t tattling, especially if someone is getting hurt.”
Truman the Dragon then said, “I can stop bullying by just giving the kids who bully a look. But not everyone can do that. We have to get our friends together and tell the bully to stop.”
All the kids pretended to be shaking in fear of Truman. Carmen added, “We have to all follow the rules on the bus, like staying seated and keeping our hands to ourselves. Let’s all be Bus Bully Busters!”
“Great idea,” said Ms. Gilmour. “We still have many places where bullying is happening to talk about. See you next time.”
Note To Parents From Ms. Gilmour:
Bullying is the #2 epidemic in the US. In addition to these Cool Kind Kid articles, we endeavor to provide up to date research, articles and other news on this topic on our Facebook page. We’d love to post stories and photos of your kids being Cool Kind Kids, and learn about how you have successfully dealt with bullying. [We don’t post names or locations.]
Go to http://www.facebook.com/coolkindkid.
To send photos and stories, and give your permission to post, go to info@coolkindkid.com.
At the request of parent focus groups, we have been developing a Bullying Prevention Parent/Child Resource Kit. We will be having 3 new books for parents and children available soon as well. Look for them on our website: www.coolkindkid.com.
