Despite the efforts from our Nation’s Government and many school districts, bullying today still thrives throughout schools and cyber spaces and effects roughly 28% of students from kindergarten to twelfth grade (2017). I believe the different approaches schools use and have used in the past to prevent bullying are mostly unsuccessful because teachers and administrators focus on bullying at an individual level instead of thinking about it as a social and systemic problem. For example, many schools focus bullying prevention on the punishment of the bully. This punishment could result in suspension, expulsion, and social isolation within the school building. This form of punishment and bullying prevention method is only a temporary fix to an isolated bullying issue that could create more anxiety, loneliness, and depression for not only the victim, but the bully. C.J Pascoe is an author and sociologist who studies young people, masculinity, homophobia, and gender. Within her work she comments on bullying throughout schools and has produced literature about the root causes and effects of it. Pascoe explains within her recent article, “Bullying as a Social Inequality,” that by re-defining bullying as an issue arising from the systemic inequalities that thrive in our country, teachers, administrators, and our government, would fight bullying by looking at the bigger picture and focus less on the individual “bully,” who is actually a well socialized child reproducing the cultural norms in our society (Pascoe). Pascoe goes on to say, “…(bullying) must be understood as an interactional reproduction of structural inequalities that socializes young people into accepting social inequality” (Pascoe 2014-2015). I agree with Pasco and believe that when looking at bullying as a social, systemic, and justice issue, it is clear that bullying will not end unless the inequalities and oppressions within our society disappear. From my background in education and social justice I am a strong believer in conflict resolution, holistic education, and justice. C.J Pascoe’s work has inspired me to think about bullying with a wider lens and combine my teaching and social justice beliefs to prevent it. Specifically, this prevention would start by implementing socio-emotional learning within my lesson plans and restorative justice approaches to discipline.
Socio-emotional learning (SEL) focuses on five areas of self-growth: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. Research shows that socioemotional learning improves achievement and increases prosocial behaviors including, empathy, kindness, communication, and appropriate behaviors (Low, Smith 2013). I have chosen to use SEL within my classroom because of its direct connectedness with social change, inner peace, and bullying prevention. I believe when someone is able to understand themselves and their feelings, they will then be able to recognize and empathize with others’ feelings and emotions. I want to help my students be able to love themselves so they are able to show kindness and love to others. Within my classroom these five areas of SEL would be implemented through assignments that foster self-exploration, morning meetings and discussions to build community and relationships, culturally relevant lessons and activities, and structured conflict resolution. By having my students be more aware of themselves, their communities, cultural differences, and conflict resolution, discussions about systemic injustices and oppressions would be able to take place between individuals and as an entire class. For example, at an individual level I would prevent bullying behavior by opening up dialogue between the individuals that are having the issue. Within each discussion I would help the students involved deconstruct the issue and walk them through ways to resolve the conflict. Depending on the age of the students involved this dialogue will look different. For elementary school students this might look like re-stating the problem and making sure each student has a chance to talk and share their side of the issue. For middle school and high school students these discussions between individuals would start by restating the issue and analyzing why the hurtful behavior or disagreement happened. The hurtful behavior could be racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, or culturally inappropriate, and depending on what the behavior is, I would acknowledge it for the individuals and we would discuss the hurtful behavior at a greater systemic level. These discussions with students would highlight to them the social inequalities within our society and how certain behaviors are reproducing them. To make sure these conversations happen and bullying behavior is addressed I would create conference slips for my classroom. These slips would be filled out by any student at any time during the day to request a conference with an individual and with me. The slips would be turned into a box at my desk and each day I would schedule time to meet with the students involved and discuss the issue at hand. I have personally seen these conference slips become very successful at Friends School of Minnesota here in St. Paul.
By opening up dialogue about oppressions, power, and inequalities, different oppressions will be acknowledged and students will internally reflect on their role within our society and how their actions and behaviors could be reproducing the inequalities we see today. As a teacher I am aware that certain behaviors must be addressed and students need to be held accountable for their actions. However, I do not believe that placing a young student in time-out for 5 minutes or suspending a student is an appropriate or effective way to discipline, especially when dealing with bullying behavior. Within the book, Better than Carrots or Sticks, by Dominique Smith, Douglas B. Fisher, and Nancy Frey, the authors define restorative justice by comparing it to traditional forms of discipline. These authors encourage educators to transform their classrooms into a community where students have strong and trusting relationships with teachers and their peers. By creating this trusting community of learners within a classroom, students will be less likely to misbehave because they will not want to disrupt the community they feel welcomed into. When an incident arises, individuals will be held accountable for their actions by understanding the effects of the incident and then repairing the relationships harmed (Smith, Fisher, Frey 2015). My use of conferences within my classroom will be a restorative approach to disciple by highlighting the relationships harmed, acknowledging the offence on an individual and systemic level, and creating space and time for repairing the harm.
My work with within my social justice and education majors has helped me understand power inequalities and oppressions within our society that effect the education and lives of youth. By implementing socioemotional learning and restorative justice disciplinary methods within my classroom I will be able to help my students learn more about themselves and the power they have to voice change and produce resolutions to problems. By recognizing bullying behavior as a reproduction of an oppressive society, I will be able to deconstruct problems between students and help them relate the issue or discussion to the real world. My social justice education has helped me become the teacher that will not only let students understand the world and the inequalities that exist within it, but also what they can do to change it.
Socio-emotional learning (SEL) focuses on five areas of self-growth: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. Research shows that socioemotional learning improves achievement and increases prosocial behaviors including, empathy, kindness, communication, and appropriate behaviors (Low, Smith 2013). I have chosen to use SEL within my classroom because of its direct connectedness with social change, inner peace, and bullying prevention. I believe when someone is able to understand themselves and their feelings, they will then be able to recognize and empathize with others’ feelings and emotions. I want to help my students be able to love themselves so they are able to show kindness and love to others. Within my classroom these five areas of SEL would be implemented through assignments that foster self-exploration, morning meetings and discussions to build community and relationships, culturally relevant lessons and activities, and structured conflict resolution. By having my students be more aware of themselves, their communities, cultural differences, and conflict resolution, discussions about systemic injustices and oppressions would be able to take place between individuals and as an entire class. For example, at an individual level I would prevent bullying behavior by opening up dialogue between the individuals that are having the issue. Within each discussion I would help the students involved deconstruct the issue and walk them through ways to resolve the conflict. Depending on the age of the students involved this dialogue will look different. For elementary school students this might look like re-stating the problem and making sure each student has a chance to talk and share their side of the issue. For middle school and high school students these discussions between individuals would start by restating the issue and analyzing why the hurtful behavior or disagreement happened. The hurtful behavior could be racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, or culturally inappropriate, and depending on what the behavior is, I would acknowledge it for the individuals and we would discuss the hurtful behavior at a greater systemic level. These discussions with students would highlight to them the social inequalities within our society and how certain behaviors are reproducing them. To make sure these conversations happen and bullying behavior is addressed I would create conference slips for my classroom. These slips would be filled out by any student at any time during the day to request a conference with an individual and with me. The slips would be turned into a box at my desk and each day I would schedule time to meet with the students involved and discuss the issue at hand. I have personally seen these conference slips become very successful at Friends School of Minnesota here in St. Paul.
By opening up dialogue about oppressions, power, and inequalities, different oppressions will be acknowledged and students will internally reflect on their role within our society and how their actions and behaviors could be reproducing the inequalities we see today. As a teacher I am aware that certain behaviors must be addressed and students need to be held accountable for their actions. However, I do not believe that placing a young student in time-out for 5 minutes or suspending a student is an appropriate or effective way to discipline, especially when dealing with bullying behavior. Within the book, Better than Carrots or Sticks, by Dominique Smith, Douglas B. Fisher, and Nancy Frey, the authors define restorative justice by comparing it to traditional forms of discipline. These authors encourage educators to transform their classrooms into a community where students have strong and trusting relationships with teachers and their peers. By creating this trusting community of learners within a classroom, students will be less likely to misbehave because they will not want to disrupt the community they feel welcomed into. When an incident arises, individuals will be held accountable for their actions by understanding the effects of the incident and then repairing the relationships harmed (Smith, Fisher, Frey 2015). My use of conferences within my classroom will be a restorative approach to disciple by highlighting the relationships harmed, acknowledging the offence on an individual and systemic level, and creating space and time for repairing the harm.
My work with within my social justice and education majors has helped me understand power inequalities and oppressions within our society that effect the education and lives of youth. By implementing socioemotional learning and restorative justice disciplinary methods within my classroom I will be able to help my students learn more about themselves and the power they have to voice change and produce resolutions to problems. By recognizing bullying behavior as a reproduction of an oppressive society, I will be able to deconstruct problems between students and help them relate the issue or discussion to the real world. My social justice education has helped me become the teacher that will not only let students understand the world and the inequalities that exist within it, but also what they can do to change it.