Together we can stop bullying

UFV Program Values - Social Justice. TEP believes that educators must be open to and respectful of diversity and difference. Educators require the ability to see beyond their own ways of defining the world and to be advocates of social justice and the inclusive classroom. A high value is placed on the ethical responsibilities of educators.

During my practicum I taught a unit on bullying and due to the diversity within my classroom this was something I was quite passionate about. My students all came from different walks of life and they all had experiences to share. That said there was a lot of bullying within my classroom and I often spent the time after recess and lunch dealing with playground situations. So when February 26 rolled around I wanted my students to understand the impact that their words have once they leave our mouths. I had spent many classes making our room a safe place for sharing and encouraging respect from students for other students. We had done an activity where the students wrote down some of the most hurtful words that had been said to them on a huge cut out of a person. Once this was done I tore down the man and crumpled him up and asked the students if we could get rid of the wrinkles. The answer was no we cannot, just like we cannot take back the effect that negative words have once they have been said. After this my students were given a pink shirt and on it they wrote a phrase about bullying that was posted in the hall for pink shirt day. This phrase was one they could use to protect themselves and others from hurtful words. While these shirts look like simple slogans there was a lot of personal meaning behind each and every one.