Last week, CNN reported: “the study from the University of Illinois suggests dealing with classmate put-downs can make it harder for good students to learn and make it more difficult for students who are behind to catch up.” I think many of us have known for some time that bullying is physically and emotionally harmful to youth, especially bias-based harassment. And, although there’s now solid data to show that verbal put-downs also hinders learning, I believe almost every teacher could have shared this news through his or her first-hand experiences.
Let’s use this research as an inspiration tool to act even more aggressively to ensure our schools are engaging and effective learning communities that showcase genuine citizenry of respect and tolerance. To help you begin addressing bullying in schools, I suggest starting with some of these classroom activities (feel free to tailor for your specific learning needs):
I also recommend “10 Ways to Move Beyond Bully-Prevention (And Why We Should)” and the Ugly Ducklings website for materials specifically related to reducing bullying of LGBTQ youth.
I encourage you to share your ideas/suggestions on how you create compassionate and respectful learning environments. What are you doing to lessen verbal put downs in your classes and school?
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