As an RA last year, I was required to program for my residence in fun and creative ways with the requirement of having some educational or empowering message behind them. When it comes to bullying, I have always had strong feelings about advocating for those who have been bullied. Two of my programs last year revolved around bullying. One program was called Put a POP to Bullying! I had students blow up a balloon and write hurtful words around the balloon. As the group held their balloons, I gave a presentation on bullying and how it can affect children in a school setting. Once I finished my presentation, I asked each person to pop their balloon to symbolize that they would become an advocate towards bully prevention. The other program was a month long program that promoted the campaign Spread the Word to End the Word. I created a bulletin board revolving around statistics about people who are affected by the R-word on a daily basis, and also included steps on how to pledge online. To go with this bulletin board, I had a program where I sat in front of the front desk of Marsh Hall with my laptop and a huge piece of paper and encouraged every student that walked through the door to pledge online. I had a total of 52 people pledge within 2 hours.
Even though this blog is about bullying, I still believe that pledging for this campaign still relates because the use of the word "retard" can be considered bullying. Many people can be offended by the word and take it to a point where it can be considered hurtful. After pledging over a year ago, I have been receiving emails about the campaign frequently, and I must say I do not regret pledging at all. I think it is a fantastic cause, because it really made me think about how some things that I say may offend someone even though I really don't mean to be offensive. This website reflects democratic values by displaying stories told by different people who have been affected by this issue. The website is welcoming and displays its information in a positive way; in other words, its not very 'in your face', it allows you to develop your own opinion.
As an educator, I think it is extremely important to teach about social justice issues. Instead of drilling basic facts into a student while they are at school, I think it is necessary to help students develop their own views on social justice issues. I feel as if students are somewhat blinded to what is going on in the real world, and if a teacher opens the door a little bit to expose students to different issues, it will benefit the student in the long run by helping them find ways to take a stance on an issue they are passionate about.
"Struggle for social justice is central to our nation's history..."Concerns about the common good and the rights of the individual, no matter how humble in social standing, transcends politics and holds a definitive place in the realms of morality, ethics and federal law, and therefore in the world of teaching social studies"
--After reading this quote, I believe that teaching social justice in social studies may be the only place a person will be able to develop their own ideas about the world.
I am really excited to be given this opportunity to blog about bullying. I have always been interested in this topic, and because of this blog I have been able to give this social justice issue a finer look. I believe that bullying is an issue in our society because more and more people are affected by it every day, and it can often become lethal. Some people may say that bullying is taken too seriously, and that freedom of speech can play a huge role in the situation. Even though I am a firm believer in freedom of speech, I do believe that everyone should respect each other's differences, because everyone is different in their own way. Teaching current events in the classroom is definitely important because it will expose students to what is happening outside of their small communities.
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