Bullying is an issue almost all educators have to face with their students—and for many who are already strapped with other responsibilities and limited resources, it is an issue that can oftentimes be overlooked.
Last year, thanks to donors like you, we were able to fund several inspiring anti-bullying projects. Right now, we’re matching all donations made to NEA members on requests of up to $500 on DonorsChoose.org. That’s where you come in. Browse their requests for classroom materials by location, subject area, or grade level, and help fund a classroom project today!
We are proud to see so many NEA members trying to tackle this critical concern in various creative ways:
Start bully prevention as early as kindergarten
Books, dolls, and dollhouses. That’s how Mrs. Ontiveros planned to teach her students about cooperative play and a positive classroom environment.
Her students wrote about what steps they could take to promote a bully-free classroom and role-played potential scenarios involving bullying.
The dollhouses helped promote sharing, taking turns, and communication among classmates.
Provide English language learners with knowledge to combat bullying
Ms. Mazzetti’s kindergarten through fourth grade students in Wisconsin come from diverse backgrounds. We all know that nothing invites a bully more than being different. Among the challenges of learning a new language and culture, her students often lacked the knowledge of how to handle a bully. And knowledge is power!
Ms. Mazzetti received books, behavior management pocket charts, magnetic letters, counting puzzle sets, and more.
These materials helped her inform students about what bullying is and how to deal with a tough situation.
Make music together and stop bullies
The wrong chords being played in music creates chaos and dissonance. The same is true in the classroom, according to Mrs. Francis, a first-grade teacher in Utah. She wanted her students to tune their ears to the sounds of how bullying creates disharmony at school and at home.
Mrs. Francis shared picture books about bullying and making friends with students and provided copies of “Bullying in Schools” to parents who began the discussion of bullying at home.
Each student also got to try out a musical instrument and have their first attempts at playing recorded. Then, after some instruction, Mrs. Francis recorded them again and let them compare the two sounds.
Lesson learned: It takes a good amount of ingenuity to combat bullying. But with the support of donors like you and the DonorsChoose.org community, we can help to cultivate empathy and positive play in classrooms around the country.
