WK:6, Back to Reality…Bullying!

So its the first week back from teaching rounds and its back to the reality of uni and doing work once more! I had a lot of trouble on my rounds as I sprained my ankle and then was failed for not doing the rounds in the specified time! Very disappointing but I guess these are trying times and we must always keep our head up! Everyone else seemed to go very well on their rounds, we sat in a circle and listened to all debrief on what had happened over the past 3 weeks and it all seemed to be very eventful. The others who didn’t have rounds this time and were going in a few weeks stayed atuni and they went tom Essex Primary School to do a session with the students there, we didn’t get a chance to speak about this but will in the next few sessions.

We then moved our chairs away and sat on the floor, Jo gave us a piece of paper and texta’s and we had to draw a picture of a bully, which turned out to be quite funny as some of our drawing skills were not the best. we then ran through everyones idea of a bully, each of us explaining the qualities that a bully had, most with spiky hair and earing’s , ripped jeans and rude fingers up. This was an exercise that we would be able to do with students in a classroom so that they understand that certain ideas of what a bully stereotypically looks like could be wrong. We then discussed that it could be a pretty little girl, it could be a skinny or bigger person and really that it could be anyone who bullyie’s people around.

We then stood ina circle and one by one said something that a typical bully would say, with the option of a gesture. It was funny as some people didn’t really speak roughly but the way they said things was very sneaky and smart. We the got into pairs and did a frozen tableau of what a bully would do when bullying someone. Many stood/towered over others but some used physical violence, this was interesting to see as i would think that if students under year ten were asked to do this exercise they would all be quite physical looking images, letting them know that bullying can also be an emotional type of abuse would be very good. My partner and i decided to go with both, the hand going to grab the other and a standing over glare that could kill! We then got into groups of three or four and made scenes based on the extortion of another person, such as telling lies about someone so that others wouldn’t like them, leaving the person out by not talking to them, laughing at them and teasing them. this was a good idea as students would understand that there is a very sneaky side to bullying and it can be quite indirect and non confrontational at times. The secrets, lies and deceit behind the plan to exclude another person needs to be done quite intelligently and quietly behind the others back in order to manipulate all those around them.

We then got into groups again and did scenes based on the begginings of the bully, how the bully became the way he/she is and what triggered that side of them in their life. My group did a scene based on a father giving his daughter a doll and telling her that she was not allowed to show her mother the doll when she got home. the daughter is then taken home and the drunken/druggie mother grabs the doll off her to sell it onebay to get money for her addictions. This to us was a scene that showed neglect of the child, the child did not know any better then what her mother was teaching her and that was to steal and snatch and talk down to others. It was then sad that we made that assumption about the child, maybe the child will be very good hearted and never steal or cheat as she knows the feeling of having things taken off her, maybe she will learn from others around her, like teachers and friends that it is not the right thing to do. Other scenes included a child that thought she was amazing, she told everyone what to do and spoke down to othersbgut when she got home was ignored and pushed aside by her parents. These scenes would be great to do with students, it would help them get a picture of why certain people behave the way they do and then to realise that it is wrong and that that person does need help.

We the did a short scene about who the person getting bullyied could turn to for help, some turning to sibblings, parents, friends and teachers. Also spoke about ways that we could try and help prvent bullying, such as buddying systems, councellors, programs and awareness within schools. We then split into two big groups and had to come up with a rap about bullying, something that we could do with students to get them to express their feeling on bullying. We came up with something but at crunch time, performance was extremely horrible and we stuffed it up. The other group on the other hand was fabulous and they came up with something long and creative a great exercise that i am sure i will do with students one day.

We the walked about the room and had to do walk as a timid person, a tough person and superstar, engaging in some sort of conversation from time to time in that character. We did this and then discussed the physicalisation of what we were doing, how each shape of the body and the speeds in which we walked varied quite dramatically. We the seperated into groups and had to make a frozen tableu which i had already done a few years ago. they were ‘Louts Hang out on Local Street’ and ‘Superstar Hits Town’, we then discussed the different body shapes in each of the scenes, the ‘louts’ were slouched over and just sitting around, arms crossed and ready for a fight and the superstar was gazing towards the sky and being photographed by papparazzi who were totally in love with her, the image was very glamorous and the two were watched in a still frame and were very contrasting.

The next activity was done in pairs, i had also done this one before. The bully stands over the victim whilst he/she sits on the chair and there is a frozen image. The next thing is the bully saying…’ You know what i want, give it to me?’ whilst the victim sits on the chair. The next activity is the bully sitting on the chair and the victim approaching the bully and saying…’Excuse me, thats my chair’ and then they have a conversation based on who’s the chair is, this was interesting as it brings in a different position for the bully, he is sitting and how does he keep the power whilst being stood over? We then looked at the physicality of the bully vs the victim, the voice, the body language and the eyes.

We were then goign to continue on with something else i had already done, where one person for each group of four or five leaves the room and when they re-enter the room the group have to treat them in a certain way. So they are ignored, agknowledged, welcomed, blamed and treated like a superstar. We ran out of time at this point but i thoroughly enjoyed this session as it is something that i will deffinitely use in the near future with my students.