Combat Bullying Through Literature
I will be researching how
bullying affects students. Because this has become
a prevalent problem in all school systems, it is important to me, as
a future educator, to be aware of this issue and to have a game plan to attempt
to stop bullying. According to StopBullying.gov, "Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged
children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is
repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes
actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically
or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose." I am
passionate about this topic because too many children have taken their lives
because they were bullied to an extreme. It is extremely important to
educate students about bullying, what it is, the forms of it, and most
importantly, how the victim feels about the behavior the bully exhibits.
As a future
English teacher, I have the unique position to be able to educate students
through literature. For this project, I will be researching how
introducing students to literature about bullying opens up conversation about
their own bullying, and hopefully, encourages students to think twice before
bullying another student. According to the website Kids' Wings, “literature
can build a door in the wall. By experiencing problems of fictional characters,
these problem kids are better able to understand the consequences of their own
actions and look for positive ways to change." I plan to continue
searching for academic articles and news articles about bullying. To present my research, I will submit lesson
plans based on literature that could be implemented into a classroom to educate
students about the effects of bullying. By reading literature with a
protagonist that deals with bullies, students will most likely be able to
relate and discuss their experiences with classmates and in formal writing
assignments. The key goal for all lesson plans will be to encourage
students to think about how their words and actions are affecting their victims
when bullying.
Works Cited
Lowe, Danielle F. "Helping Children
Cope Through Literature." Forum
on Public Policy Online 2009.1
(2009) Web. Eric. 22 Apr. 2012.
Mosley, Melissa. "'That Really Hit Me
Hard': Moving Beyond Passive Anti-Racism to Engage with Critical Race Literacy
Pedagogy." Race,
Ethnicity & Education 13.4
(2010): 449-71. Web. Education Research
Complete. 22 Apr. 2012.
Sharp, Kelly. "Breaking Down the
Barriers: Using Critical Literacy to Improve Educational Outcomes for Students
in 21st-Century Australian Classrooms." Literacy
Learning: The Middle Years 20.1
(2012): 9-15. Web. Education Research
Complete. 22 Apr. 2012.
“Using
Literature to Stop Bullying.” Kids Wings (2006). 22 Apr. 2012. <http://suzyred.com/bullying.html>
