Related Articles Bully Prevention Bath Middle School Bully Prevention Through Expressive Arts A Success
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By Maryam Mermey, M.Ed Arts Education
This story was used as a jumping off point to introduce the Bath Middle School students to the four major roles in the bullying cycle: the bully, the target, the witness, and the hero. The boys who knocked the books out of the arms of their fellow student acted as bullies in that their actions were part of a pattern of intentional, hurtful behavior directed against a particular person. The other boy was the target of the hurtful behavior. The student who watched the bullying and at first took no action acted as a witness. When this same boy was moved to reach out and offer his classmate a helping hand and heart, he transformed into a hero i.e. a person who saw bullying and chose to use his power to help another person. The goal of the "Bully Prevention thru Expressive Arts Program" is to give students an artistic forum to experience and demonstrate the power of the heroes and the witnesses to team up in order to safely take the targets out of the reach of the bullies by inviting them to participate in a positive activity. The visual and theatre arts allowed the students to safely explore the feelings of the bully, target, witness, and hero with the intention of empowering them to claim their authentic voice, and in so doing, strengthen their ability to act as heroes. The program offered seventh and eighth graders the opportunity to perform a student-written bully prevention play for other students. The performances were followed by discussion groups with the audiences to explore the bully prevention strategies shown in the play. The dramatizations were videoed and made into a DVD for each member of the play and for the school. Larry Dyer and the faculty and staff of the Bath Middle School were incredibly supportive throughout the entire 14-week program! The "Bully Prevention thru Expressive Arts Program" opened with a five-week component that focused on inviting the participants to make sculpture collages in small groups showing the feelings of a bully, a target, a witness, and/or a hero. The sculpture collages were integrated into the performance of the bully prevention play at the culmination of the program. The next five weeks were devoted to the theatre arts to develop the portrayal of the characters through the use of movement, music, and theatre games. We were very fortunate that Lauren Johnson, an eighth grade student at the Bath Middle School, was inspired to write a bully prevention play that evolved over the course of the program. The concluding four weeks of the program were taken up with play rehearsals, performances, and video exit interviews, which helped to evaluate the program's strengths and areas for growth. The following are quotes expressing the compassion, innovation, and dedication of these young people to make their world a place where everyone can thrive and reach their full potential: "After doing the play I can be more open - be more of myself with other people. I learned I'm strong within myself and I could work together with other people. The play made people think. I was always tucked into myself. Being in front of people gave me more confidence and I saw this improvement in myself at the dances in terms of being able to dance freely, act freely, people being able to be more of themselves. It was just fun!" - Middle School Student "I have a dream. If it's strong enough, I will follow it to the end and I won't stop until I do make a difference. If I'm a musician, I'll write songs about how bad bullying is for your health and that it makes people feel bad about themselves - If I'm a fashion designer, I'm going to host and fund an event to put like writing on T-shirts "Hugs Not Drugs" Don't Bully Be Friends. If I'm a writer, I'm going to become a journalist and write about bullying and important things that get to people" I want to take journalism to the next level!" - Middle School Student "I opened up to everyone in the group- I was a whole different person. I felt safe enough in this group to open up as a person and as an actor. In the beginning of the play, I didn't really go up to people and talk to them. I wouldn't go up to anyone & say, "Can I sit with you at lunch?" Kidding around with each other made me feel more confident and more comfortable. You laughed a lot in here & I laugh a lot in the cafeteria" - Middle School Student "Before performing the bully prevention play, I saw 2 girls bullying another girl and I was afraid that I would get bullied too, so I walked away. Now I would probably compliment her shoes and ask her if she would like to have lunch with me & my friends. You feel lonely & horrible when you get bullied & like unwanted." - Middle School Student "I feel good and I feel like I can do that play as many times as I have to! When I'm an adult, I'll probably remember I had a fun time and it was fun performing for all those schools. I probably will remember the script. This was the best play I've ever done!" - Middle School Student "Often times it is in helping others that we most truly become ourselves." - Maryam Mermey Original article: http://www.thecryeronline.com/newspaper.asp?ArticleID=106 |
During the fall of 2007, I had the privilege of working with an inspiring group of dedicated and talented Bath Middle School students in the "Bully Prevention thru Expressive Arts Program." The students were introduced to the meaning of bullying through a true story of a ninth grade student who was so ridiculed by his peers that on a Friday afternoon he walked home with the intention of taking his life that weekend. He had cleaned out his locker so that his Mom wouldn't have to do it after he had died, and was carrying home all of his books. On his way home, a group of boys pushed the books out of his arms sending them flying along with his glasses. Another boy who was on his way home to a weekend of social get-togethers saw the incident and was moved to walk over and give the boy a hand. As the boy picked up his classmate's glasses, their eyes met and he saw the pain in his eyes. He then not only helped to pick his books up off the ground but also walked the boy home. They discovered they were neighbors and became best friends throughout the rest of high school. It was not until the boy, now a young man, was giving his high school graduation speech that he shared how the kindness of a stranger had literally saved his life.