Schools work to instill self-esteem
Written by Michael Martinez
Article from RGJ.com
Building self-esteem, confidence and a sense of empowerment in preschoolers is a preventive strategy against being bullied or becoming a bully, some pre-K educators say.
It’s the adage of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and educators are offering remedies meant to involve parents. Toward that end, preschools, such as the Goddard School in Sparks, and early-education classes in Washoe County School District are taking an active role.
“From the beginning of the school year, we work towards building a classroom community where all members feel safe, comfortable and where everyone has an equal voice,” said Kelly Carr, an early-childhood teacher at Kate Smith Elementary School in Sparks.
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Helping Preschoolers Cope With BullyingWatch for signs that a child is being bullied at preschool:
1 Listen to how your child describes interactions with other children in the class. Ask questions if your child tells you a child is “bothering” or “bugging” him or her.
2 Used to love preschool but doesn’t want to go anymore.
3 Makes statements such as “No one likes me” or “I’m stupid.”
4 No longer wants to play with a child he or she used to like.
5 Complaints of feeling ill just before being dropped off.
Bullying behavior in preschool may be:
1 Name calling or taunting
2 Pushing, shoving, kicking
3 Exclusion of one child from group or activity
Role play to help children learn how to handle a bully. Roles to practice include:
1 Stand up to the bully and say stop
2 Ignore the bullying behavior
3 Stay with or rejoin a group of friends
4 Leave and tell an adult
Source: EducationalFirstSteps.com
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“Bullying is really about power, so we make it a point to have all students feel equally empowered.”
Carr said the students are made aware of class expectations.
She said that they use the term “expectations” rather than “rules” because students rise to meet high expectations.
The word rules implies one person has power over another, “and that is not the message I wish to convey to them,” Carr said.
Conflicts are managed beyond demanding one student apologize to another.
“Saying you’re sorry is often meaningless to students, and an easy out in which no closure really occurs for students,” Carr said.
Instead, each student involved must explain what happened and how the encounter made them feel. Then, the teacher gives the student that was the victim a chance to voice what the other student can do to make him or her feel better, or fix the problem.
Parents of Kate Smith students are encouraged to spend time in the classroom to observe their children interacting with others, Carr said.
“We also make it a point to educate parents on the possible impacts of media through a workshop called MediaWise,” Carr said.
The workshop shows parents how children mimic behavior they see on television .
“A child that watches ‘Barney’ and kids that watch ‘Power Rangers’ will act differently to what they see,” she said.
Doug Benavides, a frequent volunteer at the school, has four children at Kate Smith, including one in Carr’s class. He said the culture at the school has a no tolerance for bullying.
He believes parents play a vital role in this type of education.
“First, I just let my kids know they don’t have to tolerate that,” Benavides said. “And I let them know this type of behavior is not good.”
He said he has watched his children participate in homework that helps them celebrate and understand differences.
“We talk about not making fun of people because they’re different or because of race or if they are disabled,” Benavides said.
The Goddard School recently held what they call the Community Games to focus on bullying in the classroom.
“We try to help children build self-esteem, children learning to trust with responsibility,” said Heather Premo, education director at Goddard School in Sparks.
Each day of the games had a theme: Monday was friendship day; Tuesday was play along day; Wednesday was Goddard good deed day; Thursday was Goddard cares day; and Friday was community heroes, when the Sparks Fire Department visited the school.
“We’ve had activities and plans to go along with the daily themes,” Premo said.
The school did an outreach to parents inviting them to participate .
About 120 children engaged in age-appropriate activities design to build self-respect.
“Teachers adjusted the activities in each classroom to the age of the children,” Premo said.
Goddard schools around the country are participating in Community Games, said Linda Fisher, Goddard System’s director of marketing.
“What we’ve learned and what studies have shown is that children that have confidence and have self-esteem are less often bullied and very seldom bullies themselves,” Fisher said.
Past Community Games themes have been the UltimateBlock Party, meant to build a sense of community, and an upcoming theme will be Stepping Up for the Environment, when the school’s kindergarteners will do a recycled fashion show where the children try on different clothes made from recycled material.
The goal is to guide children to healthy behavior choices at an early age.
“I came into early education because I think kids are really genuine and innocent, and I think we can still guide that good spirit,” Carr said.
Article from RGJ.com