Does anyone elses school have a bullying prevention program in place at your school and if so, how do the kids like it and how is it ran? And do you think it is working?
Here at the Middle School in Anaconda we were the first school in our district to start a bullying prevention program. We use the Olweus program. We meet every Wednesday for 45 minutes with our advisor class. We do activities with the students, talk about ways to prevent it, what can be done etc. The only problem is, the students do not like it at all. Some kids think it has made bullying worse!
I think it is a great idea and all but doing it 45 minutes a week is a little much. The 6th graders here at our school enjoy it, but the 7th and 8th graders don't. What are your thoughts on this topic?
Well you know what I think...by the time the kids are in 8th grade they are very tired of this program. I spent more time trying to convince the kids to actually pay attention. Yes I agree that it is never to late to teach an old dog new tricks but the dog has to have a positive attitude and most of our middle school kids are so tired of the program that they just won't participate.
ReplyDeleteYeah I know exactly what you think Tami, the same as I. I don't know what the answer is, I just feel that every Wednesday is too much for both teachers and students. Once a month would work better and I think kids would respond better to the program also. But I just work here!!!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't know how ANYONE teaches Middle School! The kids at that age are so FULL of raging hormones and are outright MEAN to each other. I would teach high school before middle. Fifth grade has bullying as well though. The girls can get pretty clickish and start turning on each other. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you, but this is over my head with your age group. My hat's off to you!
ReplyDeleteYou know I hear that often. When I tell people what age group I teach they always say,Oh my, I don't know how you do it. Actually I like this age group. Mainly the 6th and 7th graders because most of the time the 8th graders have short timers syndrome, moving to the high school soon, so they think they can do whatever they want. I don't think our 8th grade group this year is as bad as some we had in the past. I keep getting warnings from other teachers in the lower grades, "Wait til you get the 5th graders next year". Now that is scary!! Someday I would love to teach Kindergarten though! At least they still like you at that age!
ReplyDeleteAmy...I feel your frustration as well. I know that one of the middle schools that I go to twice a week started a new program for bullying. Unfortunately I have not been trained because I am only there for 4 class periods a week. It may be the same program you have in place but I agree that is going a little overboard! What happen to basic teaching? Sometimes I feel that teachers are required to teach everything that used to be taught at home! My daughter and I were talking the other day about my own high school classes. She took my music appreciation class her senior year (2 years ago). She was appalled at the way the students acted in class to me and even other students. Things have really changed in the seventeen years that I have taught there...oh no...I am beginning to sound like my Parents!!! Sorry I too don't have much advice to give you. I really LOVE going to the middle schools to assist the band directors with their beginning programs. I guess I have the best of both worlds. Have a great week and hang in there!
ReplyDeleteAt our school, we haven't implented any actual program to address bullying. Our big thing right now is cyber bullying. It is becoming a problem, as is sexting. I know that we aren't the only school that is trying to address issues. Maybe we need to implement some sort of program. I agree with you that once a week is a little too much. There are so many other topics that they could be addressing, but 45 minutes a week on the same topic? I bet some of the 8th graders don't even listen anymore. I think that awareness and addressing the issue is needed, but I think there could be a better solution. How long has this program been around at your school?
ReplyDelete