This time I read part of a report published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. It’s called “Bullying is a Serious Public Health Problem” and it's a very complete and serious document, with lots of research and data. It’s not easy to read, honestly, but it gives a very wide vision.
The part I focused on was the beginning of the report, where they define bullying clearly and explain that it's not “just a part of growing up.” I really liked that they insist on the idea that bullying causes long-term consequences, especially in mental health. Anxiety, depression, lower self-esteem… These things stay with the victims for years, and sometimes forever.
They also talk about cyberbullying, which is growing fast and makes everything harder to control, because it can happen 24/7 and often anonymously. That’s scary, especially for teenagers.
Something that surprised me was that they recommend schools to stop using zero-tolerance policies. I thought these were good, but the report explains that these punishments don’t work well and can sometimes hurt students more than help. I think this is a good point to reflect on. Maybe we need more restorative strategies, like helping bullies understand the consequences of their actions and repairing the damage.
For me, this report was hard to read in some parts because of the formal language, but it was worth it. I feel like I understand bullying much better now – not just as something happening in a school, but as a complex issue that society needs to take seriously.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Preventing bullying through science, policy, and practice. The National Academies Press. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/23482/chapter/1
Today in class, my group and I have presented an intervention proposal for primary school children to prevent bullying, especially in the school environment. We think it is an interesting proposal adapted in a simple and visual way to exemplify the emotional and social consequences that bullying can have on the person who harasses it and the power that the people around it have to influence it. This activity has the purpose of reflecting on children and trying to increase their prosocial behavior by reducing the various behaviors or coping in a different way in these situations.
ReplyDeleteThe activity we shared at class was to watch a short video that shows a situation and, next, answer the questions we proposed. The questions were:
How do you think the hedgehog feels at the beginning?
How do you feel about the hedgehog?
If you were the hedgehog, would you react the same way? How would you feel?
If you were in that situation, would you act like the other animals?
What do you think the hedgehog does when it sees that none of its friends want to come close or play with them?
How do the other animals react when they see the hedgehog?
How do you think the hedgehog feels when they give them the gift and help them?
How does the hedgehog’s attitude change after receiving the gift and help from its friends?
Do you think the video resembles something that could happen at your school?
Finally, we wanted to make a reflection, asking if they think that it happens in real life………
After watching this video, what conclusions can you draw? What has it made you think about?
The video from which the activity will be done will be this children's animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64LNwrd0fHg
Judith Gonfaus - Aina Llastarry - Nil Sànchez - Laura Sanchez