Running head: TEACHING ACCEPTANCE IN THE CLASSROOM
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Teaching Acceptance in the Classroom
School of Education, Liberty University
EDUC 304: Classroom Management for Teachers
Classroom Challenge 2: Bullying in the Classroom
18 February 2021
TEACHING ACCEPTANCE IN THE CLASSROOM
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Teaching Acceptance in the Classroom
Bullying is a problem that all teachers will face more than they want to. It is a real
problem within all schools and classrooms from Elementary through Highschool; sadly, many
people have become immune to bullying due to its high frequency. Bullying has become a state
of fear that lives in most students in schools today. of fear that lives in most students in schools
today. Our job is to help reduce those instances, including the reduction of students living in fear
at school. Children should come to school and feel safe, and sadly that has decreased over the
years. It will be difficult as educators to stop bullying entirely, but we must exercise all options
and solutions to make school a safe environment for all. There are several types of bullying; this
paper will focus on social, verbal, and physical and discuss ways to eliminate it.
Social Bullying
The scenario displays that the first form of bullying is social. Social bullying is the most
subtle form of bullying and can usually go unnoticed when looking at bullying and the different
forms. Gender plays a big part in the roles of bullying and why it happens "girls perceive
themselves to socialize in smaller groups and that the urge to belong can make you do bad things
such as talk bad about someone or give mean gazes" (Hellstrom, 2020). Girls do the mainstream
of social bullying with hurtful words, looks, and words and alienating others from their social
groups.
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Examples
The scenario displays that the first form of bullying is in a social aspect.
The bullying occurs in the lunchroom where Keisha and Emily tell Tasha that she cannot sit with
them. Tasha is new to the school and has befriended Keisha and Emily, and things have been
fine until recently. The public rejection was on display for all the classmates to witness, making
Tasha humiliated in front of them. Keisha and Emily were asserting their dominance due to both
of them being able to control Tasha in front of others.
Rationale
The lunchroom is where Tasha was told that she could no longer sit with Keisha and
Emily during lunch. Keisha and Emily were purposely removing her from their lunch table in a
verbally malicious manner. That manner was to raise the rumors of why Tasha is sitting alone,
thus creating "judgments of multiple peers who are present in the social environment
(Steenkamp, 2021). With Tasha being the new girl to the school, rejecting her presence at the
lunch table when it has never been an issue prior can create questions of self-worth within
herself. The exclusion from the lunch table seems harmless, and it doesn't physically show a
wound on Tasha, but the "inherent in bullying situations suggests that rather than necessarily
involving an intention to do harm, bullying may be understood more broadly as goal-directed
behavior" (Horton, 2019). That the bullying was more a dominance of power from Emily and
Keisha due to Tasha being the new girl making her a target for their entertainment.
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Solutions
When looking at both these situations, there are several ways a teacher can handle them
both. The lunchroom incident could be reprimanded in several ways, however not allowing the
kids to sit with their friends but in alphabetical order is a quick solution. With the poem incident,
an immediate reprimand in the form of separating Emily and Keisha. Getting the facts later from
each girl individually and "base your decision on the circumstances, the severity and history of
the incident, and the students involved" (Burden, 2020). Making these two incidents a teaching
matter showing all the students that there is no tolerance for hate in your classroom and the
school.
Evaluation
By taking immediate action on those incidents, the students will witness that the
classroom is a safe environment. Tasha will have a sense of trust with the teacher and know that
she can go to the teacher with any future problem. Emily and Keisha, after being spoken to about
the situation, will change their attitude toward not only Tasha but the rest of their peers.
Displaying and showcasing a respectful and loving environment by the teacher will impact the
classroom as a whole toward one another.
Verbal Bullying
The second type of bullying is verbal bullying, where one uses hurtful words projected
toward someone else with the intent to inflict emotional harm. Verbal bullying can be spoken,
written in a letter, text, email, post on social media, and the scenario's case in a poem.
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Examples
After the lunchroom incident, Keisha and Emily took no time finding something else to
outcast Tasha from them. They were quick to write a poem about the yellow stains on Tasha's
clothing to share with the group.
Rationale
After lunch, Keisha and Emily took the bullying further by picking apart Tasha's clothing
and writing a poem about her shirt's yellow stains. Bullying can happen by just a child's
appearance and how they are dressed, "making it about another dimesion of power" (Smokowski,
2019). Tasha has been "designated 'misfit' is cast out, othered, and stripped of the rights enjoyed
by group members" (Horton, 2019). With being the misfit since she is new to the school, she has
become a sudden target by Keisha and Emily. By excluding her and making her appearance the
topic of a poem, they hope their actions will recruit others to their side of excluding Tasha.
Solutions
Once words are said, you cannot unsay them or unhear them. Keisha and Emily did a very
hurtful thing when they wrote that poem for all to hear. It is best to pull the girls out of the
situation and separate them, along with speaking to them about what they did. Understanding
their reasons for treating a friend and classmate in such a hurtful manner will take a lot of
listening and patience. A note home about the incident will take place and separate the girls for a
while in class. The note home will hopefully serve a positive outcome as having parents aware
of the situation will inform the students about their unbecoming behavior toward others. Having
Emily and Keisha write letters to themselves as if they were the ones being bullied to reflect
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what they would want to be said to them if they were the targets of the nasty, hurtful words
would hopefully change their way of thinking the poem entirely affected Tasha. The girls' most
sincere apologies will never erase the emotional hurt that Tasha will always recall from them that
day. Incorporating how we speak to others in an email or letter into an English Language Arts
lesson will serve as a life skill as we advance from that incident and encouraging thought-out
responses to all in the future.
Evaluation
Changes in the classroom moving forward from this will be a more respectful
environment overall. All the students will be more careful with their choice of words to one
another and be courteous, good citizens overall. Keisha and Emily will see all being good
stewards toward one another; reflecting on their inappropriate actions toward Tasha will lead to
acceptance instead of hate.
Physical Bullying
Physical bullying is what is being depicted in the final scenario between all three girls.
When bullying becomes physical, it is quite evident to everyone around what is going on. Laying
Hands on another student to purposefully hurting the other is when it becomes physical bullying.
Physical bullying can take several shapes and doesn't always have to be hurting another; it can be
seen in breaking property of another intentionally.
Examples
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The scenario displays two types of physical bullying toward Tasha.
The first being that while retrieving her water bottle from the bus that she had left, Emily
purposefully tripped her. That is a physical act of bullying due to its intent to harm Tasha,
resulting in her falling flat on her face. The second form of physical bullying was the cracked
phone Tasha's that was a direct result of the trip. The intent of the trip was for Tasha to fall.
Unfortunately, the cracked cell phone was a product of the physical bullying, even if the
intention was not to break Tasha's phone.
Rationale
Emily and Keisha have now escalated the bullying toward Tasha to be physical. With the
action taken against Tasha, even "negative action, whether it be a glare, sigh, negative comment,
laugh, threat, push, kick or punch, constitutes 'a symbolic gesture of domination" (Horton, 2019),
which is what is happening when Emily stuck her foot with intent. While the intent was only to
trip Tasha, it was ultimately taken further with bodily harm and the domino effect of falling and
dropping the phone and the water bottle. This physical bullying was taken outside of the
classroom and now seen on the bus at a basketball game, "bullying is commonly a public event,
quickly disseminating the perpetrators reputation for dominance and the victim's humiliation"
(Smokowski, 2019). All of these things took place between the girls.
Solutions
For the teacher to have a sense of control over the situation, it is best to speak to each
child and hear their side. Coming to a consensus on the bigger picture after getting all the details
will help layout the root of the problem. Administrator and parent contact in this situation is
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imperative, and a meeting with all involved to control the situation needs to occur. Once
everyone is aware of what is going on, all involved can stay abreast of the children and monitor
what they do and see where the bullying is going on. Wanting the bullied student to feel safe at
school and after school, hours are just as important. After school and on the home-front, the
parent's help can come into play to entirely end the behavior. Having time to go over the
classroom and even school rules again are great reminders to show that everyone cares for the
students, and by following the rules, it reveals love and acceptance for everyone. Giving the
classroom a motto to stand by like the "Golden Rule" is an excellent reminder to the class as well
that we will "Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Luke 6:13, NIV). Something as
profound as that statement can resonate with throughout the years moving forward.
Evaluation
The students' overall attitude and stature in the class will change as a result of the bullying
coming to light. It does not matter if the class sees the punishment for the bullying, but it will be
felt between all the students. That feeling will drive the class to be united with acceptance in a
loving silence within. Not everyone will always get along, but through this experience, the
students and the teacher will learn ways to overcome differences and bridge the gap from hate to
love.
Fruit of the Spirit
As Educators, we must teach lessons academically and instill valuable life skills and
morals. That can be done without speaking a single word about religion. "The Fruit of the Spirit
is love, peace, joy, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness" (Galatians 5:22, New
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International Version), shown in the classrooms every day with rules and habits the teacher
displays to the students. When all of these things are shown in the classroom by example, it is
absorbs in the children, and they take all those lessons with them outside of the classroom and
beyond.
Conclusion
Bullying in schools has escalated throughout the years, it has always been present, but the
uptick has become tragic in recent years. The negative consequences that bullying in schools is
having on our children are catastrophic, and as teachers, we are their role models for a majority
of their days. We must use our platform to be those positive role models for the students showing
that there are other outlets other than bullying to channel all the emotions that life throws at us.
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References
Burden, P. (2020). Classroom Management: Creating a Successful k-12 Learning Community (7th
ed.) Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Hellström, L. & Beckman, L. (2020). Adolescents’ perception of gender differences in
Bullying. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 61, 90-96.
Horton, Paul (2019) School bullying and bare life: Challenging the state of
exception, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 51:14, 1444-
1453, DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2018.1557043
Smokowski, P. R., & Evans, C. B. (2019). Bullying and Victimization across the Lifespan.
Springer International Publishing.
Steenkamp, L. R., Tiemeier, H., Bolhuis, K., Hillegers, M. H., Kushner, S. A., & Blanken, L. M.
(2021). Peer‐reported bullying, rejection and hallucinatory experiences in childhood. Acta
psychiatrica Scandinavica.
Gökkaya, F. (2017). Peer bullying in schools: A cognitive behavioral intervention
program. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 9.
