With the theme of their talent show “be a buddy, not a bully,” Glendon School has joined École des Beaux-Lacs in making anti-bullying a priority and it is a message that has never been more important.
École des Beaux-Lacs started an anti-bullying campaign at the beginning of the school year geared towards helping students develop a vocabulary for disagreeing and working out conflict rather than giving in to bullying and the talent show in Glendon passed on a similar message.
Social skills learned in school will stay with children for their rest of their lives, both the good and the bad. It's important to teach them the harm bullying can cause.
At Glendon School on Friday, the gym was full of students, teachers and parents who gathered to watch a talent show dedicated to anti-bullying, with themes that stretched beyond the classroom bullying many are familiar with.
In the skit Bad Mood Bullying, the bad mood of a parent transfers to a child who brings it to school, where the child's bad mood affects bus drivers, other students and the principal.
It's important to realize bullying is growing beyond the classroom, that it happens at home both within the family and in other ways. With more and more emphasis on social media in our daily lives, cyber bullying has become an increasingly harmful new social platform for children to navigate.
It's important to teach our children to be respectful of their peers, adults in their lives and of themselves. Teaching lessons about respecting those who are similar to us as well as those who are different gives children a toolbox of social skills they can draw on for the rest of their lives.
Teaching the bullies how to stop the bullying is important but so is teaching the bullies how to interact with other children in meaningful and positive ways is just as important, if not more so.
Good job to Glendon School for making such an important message a theme of their talent show and good job to the students for using their creativity in making passing on the message both meaningful and fun.
Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiac Dillon Currie said it well when he told the students, “Don't bully and do your best to prevent it whenever you see it happening. Tell an adult or anyone you trust. It's just important that you do your best to make sure it doesn't happen.”
But the students said it best: be a buddy, not a bully.
