Growing up my school had a pretty good no bullying policy. It still happened, but for the most part it was a good environment to learn in. I would like to continue this anti bullying policy and the We Teachers Bullying Module is a good tool for doing exactly that. The module first goes over terms and statistics about bullying so that everyone can have the same understanding of what is being talked about. There are many types of bullying, like verbal, social, and physical, and then there are types of bullying that are more specific like cyberbullying, sexual harassment, and discriminatory bullying. Bullying is a major problem because it has negatively impacted everyone involved which is why it is important to stop it as soon as possible.

The module gives advice on preventing bullying like identifying bullying hot spots as a way to stop it from taking place. It could be a certain bathroom, hallway, or somewhere outside on school grounds. Monitoring these spaces makes sure that the perpetrator and the victim of bullying know they are being seen if something were to happen.

Some of the ways they suggest taking action is by updating the policies and procedures are bullying and talking to the parents. They also giving some insights on Zero Tolerance Policies and how some actions that can be taken to prevent bullying could make it worse. Something I thought was important that the module stressed was not labeling the bully. Giving labels to someone can cause them to act a certain way, instead it tells educators and facility members to tell students that are participating in bullying that “we don’t treat people that way” or that “this behavior is not acceptable.” This specific way of phrasing your message to the student makes it so their behavior is being addressed as the problem and not themselves.

For teachers, the module goes over ways to stop bullying before it starts. You can do this by establishing a culture of inclusion, setting a ton of respect, developing rules with the students, being a good role model, rewarding and acknowledging good behavior, and having meetings with the class. The module also gives advice to teachers on what to do when a student comes to you with an issue about bullying or if you witness bullying.

This module also comes with worksheets and activities so you can go over what you’ve taught your class about bullying. It also offers worksheets on different scenarios that might occur and had a perspective taking worksheet for educators. I think some of the best resources the module offers are discussions for understanding bullying, with questions to get conversations started, and a section on how to introduce the topic to teenagers and getting them to care about the issue.

I think that the WE Teacher Modules are incredible resources that can offer a lot of help. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher that could help prevent bullying, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to actually accomplish that goal. There were the obvious steps to take like talking to the class and telling them what is expected from them, and also stopping anything I saw by intervening, but other than that I was kind of lost. This module will really help me implement strategies in the classroom so that the learning environment is safe for everyone.