The students developed the essential question and designed the one-hour lesson. Using an article and several video's, the students guided their peers through a lesson that included an interactive survey, a large group discussion, and reflective journaling.
It was powerful to watch as the students ran their class for close to 90 minutes. The conversation was rich and included comments such as:
- "I don't think normal is the right word to use. If something is normal then we aren't trying to stop it."
- "The article talked about the profile of bullies. But I think anyone can be a bully, especially over social media."
- " Maybe if you have more friends to back you, if you are more popular, it is easier to be intimidating."
- "Sometimes people bully because of their back story. But does that really matter?"
- "People think burns are funny, but they really hurt. The person getting burned or roasted may be acting like it's fine but they are actually crying inside."
- "It's about speaking up. Let the bully know right away you don't like it. We need to stop saying 'it's a joke'."
- "Sometimes I feel like there are a million different reasons why someone might bully: your friend group, your parents and how they solve problems and treat people, your social status."
The group ended their lesson with a video from UpTV Who Will Stop the Bullying
