Photo courtesy of Evgeni Dinev
For some kids, summer vacation means a welcome break from school bullies. Now that school is back in session, they may be dreading the return of their tormentors. Many schools take the issue of bullying seriously, understanding that successful learning can’t happen if a child feels unhappy or unsafe in her school environment.
The Kansas City Star reported on Sunday that the University of Kansas will test drive an anti-bullying program in 2012 in some Lawrence (KS) district schools. The program will explore the idea of teaching children to respond differently to bullies and in turn, change bullying behavior. The idea is based on a program from Finland called KiVa which aims to change the perception children have of kids who bully. According to researchers, bullies are more likely to behave the way they do because their actions are rewarded with a boost in social status among their peers. Instead, the program teaches kids who observe bullying to react negatively by looking down on such behavior as uncool and unacceptable.
Changing school culture seems like a tall mountain to scale, but more power to the schools if they can implement workable solutions to successfully curb bullying.
What do you think? Do you think a program like this can work?
