I had the pleasure of speaking with a parent about a situation that occurred with their 6 year old daughter at school. The young girl's teacher noticed that she wasn't playing with anyone during recess time for a long period of time and became concerned. So, the teacher asked the 6 year old why she wasn't playing with anyone? The young girl responded," There's a girl named (girl's name) who tells the other girls not to play with me because she think I'm always getting them in trouble. So, the teacher scheduled a conference with the girls mother and enlightened her on the situation. Over a period of weeks, the young girl had been getting in trouble for talking in the class and continuously raising her hand out of turn; therefore, another student in the class was trying to remain from getting in trouble also by being anti-social with the 6 year old. I personally believe the teacher should have spoken with the little girl and explained to her that it is not a good thing to isolate someone because of a mistake they made. Maybe an intervention should have taken place such as arranging group activities that involved all girls and having them to work in pairs. Now, my concern is what are some other strategies that could have been taken to solve this issue?
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Early Childhood Bullying
I had the pleasure of speaking with a parent about a situation that occurred with their 6 year old daughter at school. The young girl's teacher noticed that she wasn't playing with anyone during recess time for a long period of time and became concerned. So, the teacher asked the 6 year old why she wasn't playing with anyone? The young girl responded," There's a girl named (girl's name) who tells the other girls not to play with me because she think I'm always getting them in trouble. So, the teacher scheduled a conference with the girls mother and enlightened her on the situation. Over a period of weeks, the young girl had been getting in trouble for talking in the class and continuously raising her hand out of turn; therefore, another student in the class was trying to remain from getting in trouble also by being anti-social with the 6 year old. I personally believe the teacher should have spoken with the little girl and explained to her that it is not a good thing to isolate someone because of a mistake they made. Maybe an intervention should have taken place such as arranging group activities that involved all girls and having them to work in pairs. Now, my concern is what are some other strategies that could have been taken to solve this issue?
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I believe like you that there should have been a conversation between the teacher and the child that was isolating the girl. She could have asked her why she was doing that to the little girl? How did she think it made the other little girl feel? It could definitely have been used as a teachable moment for both the "bully" and the "victim". I also believe that someone should have talked to the victim about asking for help and standing up for herself.
ReplyDeleteBullying begins when the adults do not address a social concern between children. Although I do not necessarily see this as direct bullying; I see it as a form of unconscious bullying. A conversation definitely needs to occur between the child ignoring the first child and the teacher. It would also probably be pertinent to include the girl being excluded. At 6, children are still learning the skills necessary to develop relationships. As adults, we must model, facilitate and sometimes intervene. In this case a "gental" intervention is definitely needed.
ReplyDeletea great website for teachers, parents and the community is http://stopbullying.gov/
ReplyDeleteI agree that the teacher should have talked to both of the girls to see what was going on. It seems a bit rushed to call in the parent without having some more follow up within the classroom. It sounds like a teachable moment for both of the girls.
ReplyDelete