The Believe Game: Let's Talk About Bullying

Bullying is ever more prevalent in todays schools and must be acknowledged. It often looks like a shrug off or sometimes can be as severe as hurtful words, teasing, mean notes, harmful text messages, hurtful body language or posting an embarrassing moment. With the rise in youth mental health issues and suicide, it is ever more important that students and educators acknowledge the harm that bullying can have on an individual. By bringing awareness to bullying, educators, parents and other students can encourage kindness and combat bullying. Therefore, using the believing game described by Schieble et al. (2021), I have designed an activity to bring awareness to bullying and encourage kindness in the classroom.

1. Begin the lesson by having the students watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quaIbgWuYic

2. Next, ask the students to summarize the main message that is being conveyed in the video.

3. Before you critique, have students argue why this video may be an effective way to address bullying. Use prompts such as:

   1. How are bystander intervention and kindness being portrayed in this video?

   2. How can promoting kindness reduce bullying?

   3. What are good examples of positive peer interactions in the video?

4. Have students use the prompts above and critique the video.

   1. Have students compile a list of things that are believable in the video.

5. Have students discuss in groups of 4 and respond to things that the video did well, and what it could do better.

   1. How would they respond if in that situation?

   2. What should they do if they see bullying happening?

   3. What are some deeper causes of bullying?

   4. How can they be the change that needs to happen?

Having students think critically about this video can encourage them to think about their own actions before they act. As VanDerHeide, Beaton, and Olsen (2021) explain, by having critical discussions in a classroom, students can learn effective listening skills. Which, in turn, can encourage students to see the story from all sides. As bullying can be encouraged or discouraged, students need to understand all the areas to gain a broader picture, and having these critical discussions can be a valuable tool in combating bullying and encouraging students to act with kindness. My goal as an educator is to encourage the best versions of my students, help them grow into responsible, kind individuals who will one day encourage their peers and or children to also act with kindness.

References

• Schieble, M., Vetter, A., & Martin, K. M. (2021). Critical listening for critical conversations. English Journal, 111(2), 71–77.

• VanDerHeide, J., Beaton, E. L., & Olsen, A. W. (2021). Making others’ perspectives present: Arguments that listen. English Journal, 110(5), 87–93. https://doi.org/10.58680/ej202131233

• Photo Image taken from WIX photo gallery