In an effort to curtail bullying and promote friendships amongst the student body, student members of the Social Emotional Literacy Committee at Woodland Middle School participated in “A Classroom of Difference” workshop, which was sponsored through a grant from the Anti-Defamation League. Having been previously named as a “Gold Star No Place for Hatred Award” recipient, Woodland Middle School was honored by receiving the opportunity to host this workshop. Under the direction of teacher facilitators Tolanda Tolbert and Denise Ham, students and school staff worked together in this full-day program, where they learned how to promote respect, inclusiveness and civility by addressing issues of bullying and cyberbullying.
The workshop focused on the students’ ability to become “allies” to one another by reacting to name-calling or bullying. In addition, the group developed an understanding of how to address cyber-bullying. “Now that you are older, you have a moral responsibility to do something and not just place yourself in the role of a bystander,” Ms. Tolbert stated.
The second session of the workshop concentrated on the online and cellphone cyber-bullying component. Ms. Tolbert explained that the way to stop this form of bullying is to not forward a message. “The rule of thumb for how to live our lives is the same rule for our online behavior,” she advised.
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