Addressing Bullying and Promoting Kindness

You’d have to be living under a rock to not know that bullying has become a major social issue in America.  “An epidemic that causes 160,000 children a day to stay home from school because they are afraid of being bullied, according to the U.S. Department of Education. (Bullied to Death in America’s Schools, abcnews.go.com)  I see it in my classroom among my students.  Situations that could seem so minor, could end up being catastrophic.  I am constantly trying to promote kindness within my classroom environment.  Sometimes children only have 1-2 adult figures that model kindness and acceptance.  Sometimes it only takes 1-2 positive examples in one’s life to make a difference.

“Because you’re at the cusp, kids.  You’re at the edge between childhood and everything that comes after. You’re in transition.” (Wonder, p 299)  As if middle school isn’t hard enough for a ‘normal’ kid, imagine being the new kid with a major face deformity.  August Pullman was born with a genetic disorder that caused him to have a cleft palate along with other facial deformities.  He was home-schooled throughout his early education years because of the countless surgeries and hospitalizations.  When he was 10, his parents decided it was time for him to start school at Beecher Prep.  As you can imagine this life-changing event came with many trials and tribulations. This book is beautifully written as it highlights all of the major characters’ points of view and their relationship with August over a period of his fifth grade year.

According to “Children’s Literature Promotes Understanding” by Thibault, books are often used by parents and teachers to help explain difficult situations.  I think this is a valid strategy because children easily make connections to characters and themes in books which is more effective than an adult preaching at them to teach a concept.  The book Wonder is ideal to use in the classroom in order to address bullying because it tells the same story from six different perspectives.  As an educator, I feel it is so hard to teach social skills such as empathy and acceptance.  Wonder does a great job of setting up scenarios that are easy to open discussion among students.  It not only highlights the effects of bullying, but also the effects it has on other people - not just the target of the bullying.  Overall it is a great book to teach kindness towards others despite their appearances.  Along with social teachings, upper grades teachers could use this book to address common core standards, including, but not limited to: RL 5.3, RL 5.5, RL 5.6.  Also Stop Bullying is a helpful resource to teach and inform students about bullying.

Common Core Standards

RL 5.3 Compare/Contrast two or more characters in a story (how characters interact).

RL 5.5 Explain how a series of chapters fit together to provide the overall structure of a story.

RL 5.6 Describe how a narrator’s point of view influences how events are described.

References

Dubreuil, Jim, and Eamon Mcniff. "Bullied to Death in America's Schools." ABC News. ABC News Network, 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2016.

Palacio, R. J. Wonder. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.

Thibault, By Melissa. "Children's Literature Promotes Understanding." Children's Literature Promotes Understanding. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2016.

"Home | StopBullying.gov." Home | StopBullying.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2016.