I'm not going to sugar coat it, it has been rough in 4th grade for the past few weeks. There have been lots of tears, tattling and torment. We have talked a lot about being more respectful, etc. but it just didn't seem to be working. Today we took a HUGE step as a class.
We started by reading My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig. The book is about the "all-too-familiar story of two girls that have been friends since kindergarten. Monica loves being around her friend when she's nice. But there are times when Katie can be just plain mean. And Monica doesn't understand why. Monica is a target of relational aggression, emotionaly bullying among friends who will use name-calling and manipulation to humiliate and exclude. But with a little help from a supportive adult—her mother—Monica learns to cope and thrive by facing her fears and reclaiming power from her bully."
After reading the book we had a class discussion. The two main questions were, "Who has ever felt like Monica?" and "Who has ever acted like Katie?" The discussion was AMAZING! Students admitted that sometimes while they think they are joking sometimes, others might not see it that way. Some students were brave enough to talk about how they have felt to be bullied. Finally, quite a few realized that their behavior IS bullying when they really thought it was all in good fun.
I feel like we have turned a corner!
Afterwards, we read a pledge out loud and everyone signed the poster which now hangs in our window. Students also each took a copy of the pledge home. Everyone has made a commitment to treat each other better and they know that I have a ZERO TOLERANCE stance on it.
Please help me keep this going by talking with your child this weekend about our pledge and our discussion.
