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Action Ideas for Adults

Action Ideas for Students

Action Ideas for Adults Who Want to Support Youth and Create Kind Schools


(Compiled by Jeremiah’s Hope for Kindness
)

“If there is anything that we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.”   ~Carl Jung

These suggestions could be used various places in the community including schools, places of worship and/or any club or organization for youth.

 

  • Offer to support students/student groups who want to stop bullying in their schools by helping with some of the ideas or projects suggested in the “Student Action Ideas for Kind Schools” found below.

 

 

  • Mentor students who may be targets of bullying and/or who are doing the bullying.  Mentoring programs help prevent bullying in a number of ways. Go here to learn about mentoring.
  • Volunteer to help at recess or in the lunchroom, making an effort to watch for bullying and befriending kids who appear to be alone.
  • Volunteer to play/teach kids some cooperative, community building games and activities that teach respect and compassion.
  • Offer to read stories with themes of anti-bullying, kindness, compassion and respect. If possible, do this on a regular basis to have a bigger impact.

http://www.chicagonow.com/portrait-of-an-adoption/2012/04/anti-bullying-reading-recommendations-for-children-and-teens -list of books for children and teens

http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/libraries/documents/bullyingk_5.pdf  – very comprehensive selection of books divided into various aspects of bullying with descriptions of stories for grades k-5

http://www.open-circle.org/resources/literature.html -list of books for each grade level and by subject (great!)

http://www.bullyingpreventioninstitute.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=VWXJwRQjWUE%3d&tabid=39  -comprehensive list with additional info compiled for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

  • Spread the word and include these suggestions and others to community leaders, businesses, churches, civic organizations and other community organizations. Bullying affects everyone in the community. Bullying prevention is crime prevention, substance abuse prevention, family violence prevention, truancy prevention and suicide prevention. A kind and caring school environment positively influences the community and vice versa.

 

Bullying Prevention Programs:

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is one program that uses Best Practices and has been very effective in schools when implemented with fidelity and consistency.
http://www.olweus.org/public/safe_schools.page

http://www.olweus.org/public/parents_school_bullying.page
Other programs and websites with good information:

http://www.welcomingschools.org – Free program and resources

http://nosuchthingasabully.com/

http://www.sde.state.ok.us/Schools/SafeHealthy/pdf/Bullying.pdf

http://www.safeandcaringschools.com/default.asp

http://www.bullyingprevention.org/
http://www.pta.org/bullying.asp
http://stopbullying.gov/

www.bullying.org

www.bulliesout.com
www.stopbullyingworld.org

www.stompoutbullying.org

http://www.bullying.co.uk/

http://www.bullyingnoway.com.au/default.shtml

http://www.pacer.org/bullying/

http://www.eyesonbullying.org/

http://www.tolerance.org/

For further information or assistance please contact Ann Gettis at jeremiahs.hope@yahoo.com and/or visit  www.facebook.com/jeremiahshopeforkindness

 

 Student Action Ideas for Kind Schools

(Compiled by Jeremiah’s Hope for Kindness www.facebook.com/jeremiahshopeforkindness)

Establish a group/committee in your school whose focus is creating a kinder school climate (bullying prevention)

http://www.schoolclimate.org/bullybust/assets/documents/upstanderKit_students.pdf  -Toolkit for starting an Upstander Alliance

http://www.dosomething.org/clubs/starter-kit -Toolkit for starting a club/team/committe

-Ask a teacher or parent to help you get started on this.

-Determine a name for your group and how often you will meet.

(http://www.actionwork.com/positiveslogans.html)

  • Themes related to anti-bullying/bullying prevention that you can focus on:

-Being kind, respectful, compassionate.

-Making sure kids are included (no one is left out).

-Being a good friend.

-Speaking up when you see /hear or hear about bullying (be an ally, an upstander instead of a

bystander).

http://www.semissourian.com/story/1810578.html -article about one school’s antibullying club

Projects that your bullying prevention group can initiate:

  When possible include parents and the community.

  • Create a pledge based on one of the above themes or something similar such as
  • I will be be kind.
  • I will try to include everyone.
  • I will try to help kids who are being bullied by befriending them and report the bullying.

–     Some schools have created a short pledge/promise that the students recite every morning and/or create a longer pledge that students (and teachers) sign and display.

–     Examples of pledges.

http://www.azkids2.org/Anti-BullyPledge.htm

http://www.bullying.org/external/documents/ACF6FA.pdf

http://www.sad34.net/~tritown/Anti-Bullying%20Pledge  (also has a bus safety pledge)

http://www.csh.k12.ny.us/files/filesystem/pledge%20%20anti%20bully.pdf

http://www.arsafeschools.com/Files/BullyingCardBack.pdf

Create a Friendship Club  that everyone can join.

-Talk about what it means to be a good friend.

– Talk about ways to help everyone feel cared about and included.

-Do fun activities involving being a good friend and including others.

  • Discuss and plan activities to celebrate and honor all talents,  abilities and uniqueness.
  • Poster contests with an anti-bullying theme and display posters around school and community.
  • Door decorating contests.
  • Make a welcome video to give to new students when they first come to school.
  • Decorate t-shirts with anti-bullying/ be a friend theme and decide to wear them once a week or month.
  • Throughout the school year designate certain weeks with various themes surrounding bullying prevention/ being kind/ being a good friend/including others.
  • Sponsor art/music/ writing/drama projects in which the focus is on bullying prevention themes.
  • Write plays about bullying prevention themes to perform for younger students.

-Example ideas for plays:

http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/activities/stick-puppet.asp

  • Start a mentor or buddy program where older students mentor or befriend younger students.

http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/actionguide/start-a-peer-mentoring-program-your-school

https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/youthbulletin/9907-4/contents.html

http://www.dubuque.k12.ia.us/studentmentoring/Studentmentoringinformation.htm

  • Write articles/tips on bullying prevention themes for the school and/or local newspaper.
  • Create a flag as a symbol for kindness and respect in your school.
  • Discuss ways to show appreciation to school employees including custodians, bus drivers, kitchen workers, secretaries and teaching staff.
  • Talk about ways to show kindness.

http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/Kindness-Ideas

http://www.helpothers.org/ideas.php?op=theme#youth

http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/Educators/School-Activity-Ideas/

  • Explore and implement service learning  projects in your school.

http://www.uen.org/k12student/service_ideas.shtml – service learning ideas

http://www.servicelearning.org

http://www.learnandserve.gov/for_individuals/students/index.asp -great resource for students who want to start a service learning program/project in their school

http://www.servicelearning.org/youthsite

http://www.rootsandshoots.org

http://www.nylc.org –National Youth Leadership Council

  • Create a Peer Mentoring program in your school.  Learn more here.
  • Hold a community event in your community, church, girl/boy scouts, or other clubs and organizations.

-Sample agenda for community event:

http://www.pacer.org/bullying/pdf/Bullying-Community-Event.pdf

Events to raise awareness and educate: Consider holding some of these more than once a year.  Repetition is key to integrating new social norms of kindness and respect into the school culture.

http://www.bullyingawarenessweek.org   – click on each day on the left side of the page for lots of ideas to do anytime

http://www.actionwork.com/antibullyingweek – half way down the page there are lots of ideas

http://stompoutbullying.org

  • Bullying Awareness Month:

http://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm  – has lots of ideas

Websites with resources for starting a gay/straight alliance in your school:

http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/2226.html?state=tools&type=student

http://www.gsanetwork.org/resources/building-your-gsa

Websites with resources for starting a diversity club:

http://www.dosomething.org/clubs/starter-kit

http://www.cherrycreekdiversity.org/2012/resources.php?target=Activity+Ideas+for+Diversity+Clubs

Student Action Tool-kits:

http://stompoutbullying.org/student_participation_toolkit.php

Website pages specifically with ideas for student action:

http://www.angriesout.com/kids6.htm

http://www.nonamecallingweek.org/binary-data/NoNameCalling_ATTACHMENTS/file/37-1.pdf  -pages of ideas that can be used any time during the year, not just No Name Calling Week

http://www.adl.org/Prejudice/closethebook.pdf  -101 Ways to Combat Prejudice

Be creative and have fun!! 🙂

For further information or assistance please contact Ann Gettis at jeremiahshopefk@gmail.com and/or look around our website, www.jeremiahshopeforkindness.org and our facebook page,www.facebook.com/jeremiahshopeforkindness