Creating a Bullying Prevention Unit for Students of 8th Grade - Essay Example

The horrible shame experienced by victims of bullying rips them off of their self-esteem which is why this prevention unit needs to be implemented in the schools.
Session I
Goal:
To assist students in recognizing examples of bullying and differentiating them from casual arguments.
Objectives:
Students will become more self-aware. This self-awareness will heighten their awareness of their surroundings. This knowledge will help them detect and recognize evidence of bullying. It will also help them differentiate it from other arguments.

Students will become more aware of how their thoughts or feelings can influence or change their behaviors. Being able to recognize patterns of bullying will make them mentally mature and behaviourally more capable of saying no to bullying people.
Activity:
Students will be asked to categorize their feelings or thoughts into positive and negative in association with a bullying pattern noticed by them. Feelings will be categorized differently for each pattern noticed.
Session II
Goal:

To facilitate students in promptly reporting events of bullying to teachers without feeling any shame or regret about this.
Objectives:
Students will understand that relationships based on trust and communication serve as a key to addressing bullying issues. It is the lack of trust which prevents victims from communicating or reporting bullying to adults. Students will be trained to efficiently report to caring adults.
Students will learn to trust the staff. They will be trained to seek help from staff regardless of the nature of bullying. This will improve their relationship with the staff.
Activity:
Mock staff rooms will be set up in the corners of each classroom. Students will be divided into two groups. One group will imitate the staff and students from the other group will pretend to be victims of bullying. This pretend play will encourage students to practice trusting the staff.

Session III
Goal:
To motivate students to respond to bullying by standing up for themselves and developing high self-esteem.
Objectives:
Students will learn to let go of their low self-esteem and prioritize their value and importance.

Students will acknowledge that it is the low opinion they have of themselves that makes them a favorable target of bullying.
Activity:
One important activity that will help students improve their self-concept and self-esteem is to accentuate the positive. For this purpose, students will be divided into groups of four and focus will be concentrated by each group on one member. The rest of the group members will have to identify one positive thing about that student’s behavior.
Session IV
Goal:
To assist students in maintaining good mental health by developing a positive support network in the classroom which every student must be obligated to join.
Objectives:

Students will learn to say positive things about others and accept positive compliments from other members of the support group.
Students will acknowledge the value of positive input and this acknowledgment will help them inculcate that input in their life.
Activity:
Well-being is essential to prevent bullying as vulnerable people are easy targets. Students will be made to sit in a circle at the end of the school day in the classroom. Every student will tell one good thing he/she has learned in that day about him/herself and one thing about any other student in the support group. Students will be asked to put these inputs in their journals.

Evaluation Plan:
This prevention unit can help students in overcoming their struggles and showing interest in growing as individuals. Victims of bullying often have a low opinion of themselves. This unit will help such students build a high opinion by working on self-esteem. It will also encourage them to report bullies to the staff or other caring adults because they will be trained to put their trust in them. It will also motivate the development of strong support networks within a classroom and it is very hard for bullying to gain a footing in an atmosphere where people support each other. Such networks can play a role of profound importance in deterring bullying. Read More