Throughout Fall Break, Norwood will share a five-day Bullying Awareness Series on our Facebook page. Each day will focus on a different side of bullying—some obvious and others that can be much easier to overlook.
Because bullying doesn't always look the way we expect it to.
It isn't always a physical confrontation on the playground or in the hallway.
Sometimes it's a joke that stopped being funny a long time ago.
Sometimes it's a nickname someone has repeatedly asked others to stop using.
Sometimes it's a group chat, screenshot, embarrassing picture, social media post, gaming chat, or intentionally excluding someone.
And sometimes bullying happens in front of a crowd of people who never say a word.
“It Was Just a Joke.”
Our series begins with a phrase almost every parent and educator has heard: “I was just joking.”
Kids joke with each other. Friends tease each other. That's part of growing up.
But there is an important question we want students to learn to ask:
Was the other person laughing too?
Words that one student forgets five minutes later may stay with another child for years.
We encourage families to use Fall Break to have conversations about the difference between joking with someone and making a joke at someone's expense.
Bullying Doesn't End When School Ends
Today's students live in a world where their social lives don't necessarily stop when they walk through their front door.
Phones, social media, group messages, gaming platforms and other online spaces mean problems at school can follow a child home.
A screen doesn't make the hurt less real.
Before posting, sending, sharing or liking something at another person's expense, we want our students to learn to stop and ask themselves whether they would say the same thing if that person—and the people who love them—were standing directly in front of them.
Parents also play an important role. Talk to your children about their online lives. Ask about the group chats. Ask about social media. Ask what's happening when adults aren't watching.
Not because we want to invade their world, but because their online world is part of their real world.
The Bystanders Matter, Too
One of the most important messages of our series is directed at the students who aren't necessarily bullying someone but are there when it happens.
Laughing matters.
Sharing the video matters.
Forwarding the screenshot matters.
Joining in matters.
And sometimes, remaining silent can make a child who is being targeted feel completely alone.
Standing up doesn't always require a confrontation.
Sometimes it is as simple as saying, “That's not cool.”
Sometimes it's inviting someone to sit with you.
Sometimes it's getting an adult.
Sometimes it's refusing to share the screenshot everyone else is passing around.
And sometimes it's sending a message later that simply says:
“I saw what happened. Are you okay?”
We want our students to understand that they have more power than they may realize.
Don't give cruelty an audience.
Sometimes “I'm Fine” Means Something Else
We also want to remind families that children don't always tell adults when they're struggling.
Instead, parents may notice changes.
A child suddenly doesn't want to go to school. They stop participating in something they once loved. Their friend group changes. They become unusually quiet. Their grades change. They spend more time alone or suddenly delete their social media accounts.
Or they simply say:
“I'm fine.”
During Fall Break, we encourage parents and guardians to find a quiet moment and ask their children how things are really going.
Then give them time to answer.
We also encourage our students to check on each other.
Check on the quiet friend.
Check on the loud friend.
Check on the funny friend.
Check on the friend who always seems perfectly fine.
You never know what someone else may be carrying.
When We Come Back Monday, We Get a Fresh Start
Our five-day series will end with a challenge for every Norwood student as we prepare to return from Fall Break.
Notice the student who gets overlooked.
Invite someone in.
Sit beside someone who is alone.
Stop the rumor instead of spreading it.
Give someone a genuine compliment.
Don't laugh when someone is being embarrassed.
Don't share the screenshot.
Don't record someone's worst moment for entertainment.
And when someone is being treated badly, have the courage to be the person who changes the situation.
Our students don't have to be best friends with everyone. They don't even have to like everyone.
But they can treat everyone like they matter.
Because they do.
Bullying prevention isn't accomplished with one poster, one assembly, one Facebook post or even one week of awareness.
It happens when families, students, teachers, staff members and our community decide together what kind of culture we want for our children.
When our students return to Norwood after Fall Break, we hope they'll carry one message with them:
Be the reason someone isn't afraid to come to school Monday.
Every child deserves to walk through our doors knowing they are safe, they belong, and they matter.
That's the kind of school we want.
That's the kind of community we want.
And that's what it means to be a Norwood Hornet. 💚🐝
This would work especially well as the main website story published before the five-day series begins, with the daily Facebook posts pointing families back to it.