TAKE ACTION

Take Action Program

Vision

To deal with the bullying epidemic through the empowerment of the individual by making them aware of the evil of inaction.

Program – Including class stages

Begin any session by announcing to the group and/or parents that it is a day where you are trying to create awareness of bullying, so you and the kids are going have a chat about it. After the bow start by getting all the kids into a circle put yourself into the circle so you are a part of the group. I think it’s a good idea to have a ball and inform all the kids that only the person with the ball can talk except you of course. If they want the ball they must raise their hand and wait till you give them the ball.

Stage 1. Firstly your goal should be to raise awareness of what is bullying? Areas and ways they could be affected by it? I would start this through a Q&A that you control. Always clarify the student’s answers to give added weight to the point.

Example. What is bullying? Student answers, “Somebody trying to hurt me or tease me.” This would be your turn to clarify “yes this is a good point, often bully’s try to make themselves look better or make themselves feel better by being mean or making fun of other people. When this happens this is bullying (Evil is about power and ownership of it) As you can imagine there are lots of questions with lots of possible answers remember we are trying to create awareness of Bullying, so there are no silly questions as long as it’s relevant to the topic. Who can be a bully? If someone disagrees with you are they bullying you? If you watch someone being bullied are you a bully?

Check out the topics and their explanations to give you ideas for your stage 1 Q&A’s!

Remember the main goal is to create awareness so participation is the key to success.

Topic 1. What is Bullying?

Bullying is the ongoing abuse of power through verbal, physical behaviour that causes physical and/or psychological harm. An individual or a group can cause it. Bullying can also occur online, it can be open and obvious or it can be carried out in secret. Online bullying refers to bullying through that medium, e.g. the internet or mobile devices. Bullying of any form or for any reason can have long-term effects on those involved, including onlookers. Just because you have a disagreement with somebody or a single incident or fight with an equal does not mean you are being bullied.

Why is the definition of bullying important?

A clear, definition is important so that students and parents can recognise bullying when it is happening and not confuse it with other types of disagreement and violence. With out this knowledge we may be trying to fix a problem using the wrong strategy.

Is every disagreement or incident of violence bullying?

Not all acts of negative behaviour between people are bullying. While disagreements and aggressive behaviour need to be addressed, it is important to point out to our students and parents when these behaviours are not actually bullying.

Bullying can be identified through:

A repeated pattern
Abuse of power within relationships
Actions which cause harm

What does the ‘abuse of power’ mean?

In a situation where there is a power imbalance, one person or group has a large advantage over another, and if this power is abused, it becomes easier to hurt another. Most of your students will see this abuse of power when they are attacked verbally or physically by someone who has a large group to back them up.

What are the different types of bullying?

Physical Verbal Social

What is social bullying?

Social bullying includes social exclusion and intimidation. Not all bullying is physical or obvious in nature. But never the less it can be more isolating, can go on for longer before other people become aware of it, and can be more easily denied by the other person. This type of bullying mostly inflicts harm by damaging another’s social reputation, peer relationships and self-esteem. Typical ways this type of bullying is carried out are spreading rumours, conducting a malicious social exclusion campaign and/or through the use of Internet or mobile phone technologies

Activity 1.1

Their challenge is to put the cards provided into the correct category of types of bullying and the way they will affect us.

Answers we are looking for:

Physical – Hitting, Kicking, Tripping, Pinching and pushing or damaging property

Verbal – Name-calling, Insults, teasing, intimidation, racist remarks, or verbal abuse

Social – Lying and spreading rumours, negative facial or physical gestures, menacing and contemptuous looks, playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate, mimicking unkindly, encouraging others to socially exclude someone, damaging someone’s social reputation or social acceptance, Abusive or hurtful texts, emails, posts and images or videos.

IMPORTANT – Once you have divided everyone into groups prior to the start of the activity I would run a ice breaker activity using the circle time format so everyone in the group knows each others name and feel comfortable speaking within the group.

Topic 2. Why Do People Bully?

Stage 2. Identify/Discuss why do people bully?

Ask the question – Are you a bully if you are inactive when you witness bullying?

Check out the topics below and their explanations to give you ideas for your stage 2 Q&A’s!

Why do people bully?

People who bully others are often motivated by the status and social power they can achieve through bullying. Some may bully others to compensate for what is happening to them and their own feelings of powerlessness. Bullying behaviours can also be copied by others.

Who bullies others?

All individuals have the potential to bully others or to be bullied.

Why are other people (bystanders) important in dealing with bullying?

Everyone plays a part in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of others. It is important that everyone knows how to deal with incidents of bullying effectively and safely. Those who bully others often aim to impress or intimidate bystanders. The reaction of bystanders can either support or discourage bullying from happening. If bystanders do nothing, this can be seen as a form of silent approval (you are potentially a bully your self). Supportive bystander behaviours are actions and/or words that are intended to support someone who is being bullied. The actions of a supportive bystander can stop or diminish a specific bullying incident or help the bullied student to recover from it. Disapproval of bullying behaviour can prevent bullying from occurring and help to stop it when it is happening.

Having discussed why people bully? Who bullies others? And why are others important in dealing with school bullying? Move on to Stage 3 what deals with what we should do if we witness bullying and what we should do if we are bullied?

Topic 3. Who Is There To Help?

Stage 3.

If we are being bullied or if we witness somebody being bullied what should we do? The Goal is to establish that there are people out there that will help you and that you should approach them immediately, a problem shared is a problem halved. Check out the topics below and their explanations to give you ideas for your stage 3 Q&A’s!

Topics

Who is there to help you if you are being bullied? What can I do if I see someone else being bullied?

If you see someone else being bullied, and feel safe to do so, you can:

Refuse to join in
Not watch
Tell the person doing the bullying to stop
Tell the person doing the bullying that you will talk to a teacher or parent
Say something supportive to the person who is being bullied or invite them to join your group
Say to the person being bullied that the other person’s behaviour is not okay.

Activity 1.3

This activity is all about action when you witness bullying – who should we talk too? What action should we take? Who can we trust?

Questions should be written out on this subject with 4 different answers below the question and a space at the side the challenge is to cut out the correct answer and then stick into the space provided.

Topic 3. Who Is There To Help (Continued)

Action steps for dealing with Bullies face to face and handling the fall out after any incident.

Our 3 basic steps

Deflect & walk
Tell some one
Take action

Talk, deflect & walk

Respectfully and confidently ask the bully to stop
Deflect the bully with off hand agreements – e.g. pretending to agree in a off hand way e.g. okay,yeah,maybe.
Walk away

Tell some one

If the bully persists tell a teacher or parent

This outside assistance should stop the problem

Take action

If the grown ups cannot solve it you have to take action, confront the bully verbally
Ask the bully what are trying do?
Are you challenging me to a fight?
Pass the responsibility on to the bully, what are you doing?
What are you trying to achieve?
Remember why do people bully? Most cases not to fight it’s about making themselves feel bigger, control, Power etc.
If they avoid the question reiterate that if a fight is their goal you are not scared of them and if not leave me alone.

What should I do if attacked physically

Avoid the fight at all costs
If attacked defend yourself
Try to avoid punches and kicks establish control and negotiate
Use minimal force
After any incident let your parents or teaches know straight away (your explanation will be better)
Explain all steps taken ie. The ones above
Make everyone aware that you tried to prevent injury

Violation – There must be a consequence for abuse of power

Stop them from training

Belt demotion

Topic 4. How To Avoid Being Bullied

Stage 4. Discuss how we can avoid being bullied?

Again Lead this asking questions is good for this, the questions should push the kids to understand that they are the ones that can prevent themselves from being bullied.

Check out the topics below and their explanations to give you ideas for your stage 4 Q&A’s! the other person’s behaviour is not okay.

Activity 1.4

Role play – Again split into groups giving each group a different scenario/topic to create a role play about.

Topic 5. Heroes In Waiting

Stage 5. Discuss not becoming a Bully or allowing bullying to exist and why they are the same thing.

You need to discuss Inaction and encourage the children to be hero’s, Let them know that Good and Evil is a decision that one day they will have to make, Remind them that they are all hero’s in waiting and that they will be good or evil by choosing to act or ignore situations (Humanity is everyone’s business)

Check out the topics below and their explanations to give you ideas for your stage 4 Q&A’s!

Topics

“I am a hero in waiting, Hero’s are ordinary people who’s social actions are extraordinary”

And/or

“I will not watch or I will not be bullied, I will take action”

Activity 1.5

This will be a colouring exercise. (To be Created)

Topic 5. Heroes In Waiting (Cont.)

Remember… CONFIDENCE IS ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WE CAN GIVE TO CHILDREN, IF THEY FEEL EMPOWERED THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO SAY NO AND STAND UP FOR THEMSELVES AS WELL AS TALK TO AN ADULT ETC.

A good Example of this is when you do grip breaks with juniors, of course you don’t believe a small child is going to break the grip of a grown adult trying to drag them away, but by doing it they feel empowered so they can fight back this means they are more likely to scream shout etc. This is what may save them.

You would finish all Q&A sessions by involving the parents, let them know that confidence is going to be one of their child’s biggest defences against being bullied and confidence will only come through being good at stuff and interacting with other people, so it is very important that they encourage their kids to take part in activities and follow through with goals set, this will ultimately result in their children standing taller and being more confident.

Topic 6. Personal Safety

Stage 6.

In this section we are running classes with the goal of increasing awareness of protecting our personal safety in the areas where our students spend the most time.

Action steps for School/Club safety

Overview – making the kids aware that even in familiar surroundings we have to consider our own safety.

Our areas of concern

Stranger danger
False familiarity
Safe areas
Collection

Things to consider: Strangers

What is a stranger/who is a stranger?
Who can be a stranger? Man, women, teenager etc.
Good strangers/bad strangers?

Things to consider: False Familiarity

Reduce number of identifiable items to prevent stranger/abductor knowledge base
Can someone use knowledge of you against you?

Things to consider: Safe areas

Because the place you are in is familiar does that mean it is safe
Complacency regards safe areas the need to travel in pairs

Things to consider: Collection

How do we know if something is true?
Code words can be selected by the family to establish stranger validity

Teaching methods

Question and answer

Personal Safety - Street Smarts

Personal Safety – Street Smarts

Action steps for Street smarts

Overview – making the kids aware of street smarts and the procedures to follow when lost

Our areas of concern

Contact with strangers
Safe areas
Who to trust
When we are lost

Things to consider: contact with strangers

Should we approach strangers and answer their questions?

It is not a crime to be unhelpful, protect yourself first
If we choose to run away where should we run?
If need be answer and run look for lit up areas (homes etc.), if running from a car always run so they have to turn

Things to consider: safe areas

Are short cuts a good idea?
Get some exercise, no short cuts, keep to paths, follow street and house lights

Things to consider: who to trust

Can we only trust if they are not a stranger?
Trust only when not a stranger, parents allow, or code word dictates

Things to consider: when we are lost

What do we need to know?
Always memorize phone number/address etc.
When lost what is our procedure?
Seek out employees, no panic, find good strangers we must never make strangers aware of our circumstances

Teaching methods

Question and answer

Personal Safety - Home Safety

Personal Safety – Home Safety

Action steps for Home safety

Overview – making the kids aware of dangers whilst at home and online

Our areas of concern

Home security
Internet safety

Things to consider: home security

What should we not do when home alone?
Never open the front door, or answer the phone
What should we never give out?
We must always protect our personal details

Things to consider: internet safety

Who should we talk to prior to using the internet?
Always get permission from your parents to use the web and most importantly gain permission for what sites you wish to go on
What if something makes me feel uncomfortable?
If you have any doubts or feel uncomfortable get it approved, also speak when you find something uncomfortable
What should I do regards people I meet online?
Protect your personal details, no photos etc. and absolutely no meeting

What can I do if I am being bullied online?

Don’t respond to the message or image
Save the evidence as a screen shot
Block the sender and delete the message
Report the situation to parents, website or Internet service provider
Talk to trusted friends, parents or good strangers

Teaching methods

Question and answer

Personal Safety - Hidden Dangers

Personal Safety – Hidden Dangers

Action steps for their biggest danger

Overview – making the kids aware of hidden dangers and temptations

Our areas of concern

Temptation
Consequence
Who to trust

Things to consider: temptation

What is temptation?
Explain temptation

Things to consider: consequence

Are all temptations bad?
Bad temptations will steal your future, combat this by developing your own drug temptation this will improve your future

Things to consider: who to trust

Will the danger come from a stranger?
Remember the danger will probably come from a friend, prepare your response

Teaching methods

Question and answer

Personal Safety - Emergency Action Steps

Personal Safety – Emergency Action Steps

Action steps for an Emergency

Overview – last resort options, this is the easy part for martial arts instructors the part where we build the confidence to act through the techniques we teach.

Our areas of concern

Escapes
Trapped

Things to consider: escapes

Should we yell?
Must talk about circumstance, yelling is good if there is someone to hear, could bring violence to a situation that has none
What should we yell?
Yelling could be the most important defence, don’t feel silly call out but be clear to avoid confusion. Example: how many times have you seen a mum or dad dragging a screaming kid away and assumed he or she was the child’s parent?
Can you fight back physically?
Probably not must make the kids aware that they are not going to beat them up and ride of into the sunset, having said that there are skills techniques that are taught within are curriculum that will help.

Things to consider: trapped

Where will I get trapped?
Make kids aware of the dangers in areas, cars, homes etc
What can I do if I am trapped?
Knowledge of surroundings is important. Example: new cars have handles in the trunk, pull wires, kick lights
Emergency techniques
Base battles
Grip breaks
Closed guard (good for attaching yourself to objects)
Open guard crazy legs (good for pushing of objects)
Concrete feet drill (for adrenalin dump)
Close the distance drill (for adrenalin dump)
Two on one sparring

Teaching methods

Question and answer
Abduction simulation