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Program addresses bullying
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Rosalind Wiseman, an author and speaker, talks to sixth- and seventh-graders at Woodrow Wilson Middle School on Monday about bullying. Wiseman wrote the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” which became the inspiration for the movie “Mean Girls.”
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
Conflict with other students is inevitable, but there are ways to address those conflicts and deal with bullies in a positive way, a nationally recognized speaker and author told Wilson Middle School students.
Rosalind Wiseman spoke to the school’s sixth- and seventh-graders in separate assemblies Monday.
Wiseman of Washington, D.C., is the author of the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” which became the inspiration for the movie, “Mean Girls.” She has appeared on CNN and the Today Show and been interviewed in numerous magazine and newspaper articles.
She asked students and teachers divided into groups to list things that happen in their lives that make them or someone they know feel bad and that someone in authority should know about.
“People on the bus are mean to me,” “People call me fat, the b-word or ugly,” and “Rumors” were among the issues students listed.
There’s good teasing, something friends may do good-naturedly that doesn’t make you feel bad. There’s unintentional bad teasing, the speaker said, which makes someone feel bad; and there’s bad teasing, which also may be called bullying.
Bad teasing makes the victim feel bad, and when he or she complains about it, the perpetrator says they can’t take a joke or puts them down even more, she said.
Wiseman urged students to follow a four-step process to deal positively with conflicts: Stop, Explain, Affirm and acknowledge and Lock.
Stop to determine who the conflict is with and what it’s about.
Explain how you’re feeling and what you want to happen.
Affirm and acknowledge what rights you and the other person have in the situation and be honest about what role, if any, you have in the conflict.
Lock. Determine what you want the relationship to be and whether you want to lock in the friendship, lock it out or take a break from it.
Seventh-grader Destiny Butler, 13, said she hasn’t seen bullying at school, but if she does, she’ll report it to the school principal.
Wiseman’s appearance was part of the school’s character-education program, said Maria Vamvakis, guidance counselor.
Each month the school focuses on a different character trait such as responsibility and trustworthiness.
“We want to create a positive school community,” Vamvakis said.