Bullying

CATEGORY: SOCIAL

Why:

Bullying is unfortunately common, but with understanding and preparation we can see beneath the behavior and prepare effective responses.

Warm-Up:

Have you ever witnessed or been part of bullying?

Exploration:

Bullying is when someone uses their power to intentionally and repeatedly harm another person. Nearly all of us have seen it or will eventually. What is the difference between bullying and teasing? And what causes someone to bully? In part, bullying may come from someone who feels threatened, confused, traumatized, and/or bullied themselves. What are some ways you could respond? After the group's exploration, see link for details and other strategies to consider.

Additional Resources

Students may be familiar already with anti-bullying workshops and resources (if not there are many excellent resources on this, for example https://nobully.org/resources/). For a different take on this, consider this video which delves into the experience of the person doing the bullying, and what might be motivating their negative behavior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz2Itp29PMI