Sandburg program teaches discipline, impact of bullying

Members of the Student Leadership Corps at Carl Sandburg Middle School conduct a dramatization on how bystanders perpetuate the bullying cycle on Oct. 1. Carl Sandburg Middle School’s eighthgrade peer leaders and Student Leadership Corps members demonstrated the impact that bullying can have on victimized students at a recent assembly. The “Bystander: A Portrait in Apathy” program, created by Jillian Palmieri, a former teacher in Monroe, was a vehicle for Sandburg’s peer leaders to get out the message to fellow students that bystanders can no longer be silent witnesses to bullying, nor should they laugh at the hurtful jokes bullies direct at victims.

Through a PowerPoint presentation and a dramatization by SLC students, sixth-, seventh and eighth-graders were sensitized to how bystanders perpetuate the bullying cycle. Rather than being part of the problem by watching other students be tormented, bystanderswere encouraged to speak up by saying kind words to the insulted student, to tell a bully to stop tormenting a peer, or to simply report the problem to an authority figure.

Students were motivated to recognize that they can help to solidify a positive school culture where disrespect is not considered acceptable behavior and “speak up” on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves.

The goal of the Oct. 1 assemblies was for students to think of this presentation and the debriefing sessions that followed the next time they witness bullying behaviors.

“Issuing discipline and consequences for bullying, teasing and harassment is effective and essential,” school Vice Principal Thomas Ferry told students at an assembly following the performances. “However, disciplining offenders is only one part of the solution. When a growing number of student bystanders pledge to consistently act respectfully toward others and vow not to be silent witnesses to harassment, a school can make profound progress in reducing incidents of bullying.

“Students at Sandburg are fully aware that we do not tolerate any form of disrespect, and our school and district will continue to build and shape a positive school culture where respect is the norm and expectation,” Ferry said.