Anti-Bullying Week
Hey, if you’ve been looking for a way to talk to your students or children about bullying, have we got the week for you!
Anti-Bullying Week starts from 15 to 19 November 2021 and this year’s theme is One Kind Word.
Given all that we’ve been through the last year – the isolation and facing the unknown – acts of kindness can have profound impacts on people’s lives. Possibly even more now than ever.
Bullying is a relationship problem based around an imbalance of power; it’s harmful and unwanted behavior that is done on purpose and frequently repeated so it’s critical to promote awareness and understanding of the terrible impacts of bullying.
Here is a round up of some really great resources to help you move the conversation forward.
First up, teachers, you can find all kinds of invaluable resources at the anti-bullying alliance by clicking here.
Meanwhile, over at Bullies Out, there’s a great series of ‘Call to Actions’ to help put a stop to bullying behaviors and encourage empathy and random acts of kindness. As they say, “It starts with One Kind Word. It starts today.”
This US Government site called Stopbullying.gov has an invaluable “Youth Engagement Tool Kit” here for download.
It covers A LOT. Including the different forms of bullying, the Cartoon Network’s “Speak Up” video, a series of discussion points to engage in dialogue with kids and students after watching the video. It also includes some really inventive calls to action that include hosting a bullying prevention event in your community.
Twinkl is another site with all kinds of great resources for teachers along with activities to lift the conversation into the real world.
Now that you have a solid list of resources, here are some ways we can take part in Bullying Awareness Week:
Share bullying prevention resources and ideas on social media
Talk with friends and family and teachers about to intervene
Promote the event
You can find a list of anti-bullying and suicide hotlines in the US and Canada here.
And in The US, Canada and nationwide you can here at Cybersmile.
More US resources can be found here.
Verywell Family has an insightful and helpful article on how these hotlines work here.
Remind the kids in your care that help is always available.
It’s never easy to stand up to a bully, but maybe the most important thing you can do to help the kids in your life stand up to the bullies in your own life. Afterall, they won’t trust us if we don’t practice what we preach.
Taking a stand against bullying has to be a year round, everyday thing. Anti-Bullying seems like a great place to start.