Karolinka Peterka

EDS 369
6/1/14

How to Bullyproof Your Classroom Ch. 4-6

3 Main Ideas
1. Children do not naturally know how to work well in groups together, therefore a lot of these
skills need to be taught by the teacher. The best way to do this is through interactive modeling.
Students can see the teacher modeling behavior, such as responding or adding on to someones
comment, and then can practice for themselves. Role playing is another strategy that can be
used to help students learn how to deal with tricky social situations before they encounter them
in their own group work. As always, teachers need to reinforce positive behavior so that the
students have a sense of the behavioral expectations.
2. A lot of bullying can happen outside of the classroom: on the playground, in the cafeteria, or on
the bus. Because teachers usually do not spend a lot of time with students in these areas,
bullying behaviors can go unnoticed by teachers. Therefore, teachers need to stay in contact
with parents so they can be aware of what happens outside of the classroom. Also, teachers
should take a couple minutes to observe students while they are on the playground or in the
cafeteria to notice which students are at risk for being bullied. These observations can help
prevent or take care of any bullying that might be occurring outside of the classroom.
3. In order to teach students how to be kind to each other, teachers should dedicate lessons
specifically to this topic. However, in order for the lessons to be effective, the lessons need to
be explicit and consistent. Ideally, social curriculum lessons would be taught once a week over a
few months towards the beginning of the year and they would build on each other. Later in the
year some follow-up or refresher lessons could be implemented to help reinforce the content.

2 Questions
1. Chapter four talks about teaching students to work together. It says that for students to be
respectful, they need to learn to listen to each other while sharing ideas. Teachers need to teach
students that while a person is speaking, the child needs to be looking at the person and sitting
still to show they are listening. However, what about students with ADHD? As we learned in our
mainstreaming class (EDS 382), students with ADHD often pay attention better while they are
moving around. Because they are auditory learners, they do not need to be looking at the
person who is speaking to be paying attention and hearing what they are saying. If we always
force students to look at each other and sit still, arent we doing a disservice to students who
learn in different ways, like students with ADHD?
2. In one of the lessons suggested in the book, it has students talk about areas of the school where
students dont feel safe. However, what if a student is being bullied by someone in the
classroom? Wouldnt it be difficult for that student to talk about it? How would you know the
students are being honest about their responses and not lying to protect themselves?
1 Idea for Implementation and Reflection
1. I like the idea of exposing the students to some group games that could be played during recess
to promote cooperation and social inclusion. When I have my own classroom, I would like to
start out the year teaching my students some noncompetitive games such as Red Light/Green
Light or Freeze Tag. When the whole class learns to play the game and common rules are
established, it would be easier for the students to play together at recess. I think it would help
create a positive and friendly atmosphere for all students during recess.
Like I mentioned in my last assignment, I tried setting the expectations for positive
behavior ahead of time. I had taught a lesson and the students were not acting appropriately,
so I started the next lesson by asking the students to tell me what the classroom should like look
so that we can all learn while being respectful. However, the students seemed to rattle off
correct behavior that has been forced into their heads. I didnt get the feeling that they
believed it or had ever had a chance to live out the rules. I was a bit disheartened by this. In
previous classrooms when I have tried this strategy I seemed to have a more sincere response
by the students. Im not sure exactly how to show the students that positive behavior isnt just
a list of rules, but a practical way to act in the classroom.