Beyond Bully Prevention

03/26/2008

Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde

Lyn Mikel Brown is concerned that "bully prevention" programs gaining prominence in public schools are more a problem than a panacea. Writing in Education Week (March 5, 2008; www.edweek.org), she proposes "10 Ways to Move Beyond Bully Prevention." The first suggestion she offers is to "stop labeling kids"...

"Bully-prevention programs typically put kids into three categories: bullies, victims, bystanders. Labeling children in these ways denies what we know to be true: We are all complex beings with capacity to do harm and to do good, sometimes within the same hour. It also makes the child the problem, which downplays the important role of parents, teachers, the school system, a provocative and powerful media culture, and societal injustices children experience every day. Labeling kids bullies, for that matter, contributes to the negative climate and name-calling we're trying to address."

Resources on Social Development

Exchange has over 10 Beginnings Workshop curriculum kits focusing on social development topics. And, this week only, Beginnings Workshop kits are on sale for only $5 each.

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