Don't YOU Bully ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and gave them the following exercise to perform. She had the children take a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stamp on it and really mess it up but do not rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty is was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry. Now even though they said ......they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it. That is what happens when a child bullies another child, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. The looks on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home.

I am definitely using the story above in my classroom to talk to my students about bullying. This is a very serious and real problem that we are facing today and it is not going away. It is up to us teachers to ensure the safety of our children in our schools.

On October 26, 2011 I attended my very first webinar on bullying. 

Kappa Delta PiInternational Honor Society in Education
Recognizes and Appreciates the Participation of

Angela Morales
in the October 26, 2011 Webinar

"Cyberbullying: What Schools, Parents, and

Teachers Can Do to Prevent It"
Presented byDr. Hani Morgan

Over the past few years, I have been hearing all of the horror stories of those killing themselves and others because of  bullying and I was always so saddened by the news. Dr. Morgan made me realize how much of a problem cyber bullying really is.  Cyber bullying is when one person targets another by using interactive technology.  Technology has been so wonderful but has caused so many problems as well.  Now with the use of technology, people feel like they will not get caught because of the lack of face to face interaction.  

"Bullying in school is usually a hidden problem.  The teaching staff typically is unaware of how widespread bullying is in their building and may not even recognize the seriousness of bullying incidents that do come to their attention. In order for teachers to prevent bullying behaviors they must assess the extent of the 
bullying problem in their classrooms, ensure that the class understands what bullying is and why it is wrong, confront any student engaged in bullying in a firm but fair manner, and provide appropriate and consistent consequences for bullying."  

I will ensure that bullying is included in my curriculum no matter what grade I teach.  I want to ensure that my students are safe and I want to be an anti bullying advocate.