"Let's Get Real"Our 6th grade students will begin a unit on name-calling, bullying, teasing and harassment. We will show the video, Let’s Get Real, where middle and junior high school students speak frankly about their experiences as people who bully, people who are victims of bullying, and people who intervene in the bullying process to become allies for others.
As we spotlight this topic which is not often openly discussed in school, we expect students may have strong emotional responses. This film may remind them of their own personal experiences with name-calling or harassment. The students in the film use their own colloquial language to describe their experiences, which sometimes includes words that would otherwise be inappropriate in the classroom. The inclusion of these words in the film will facilitate discussion about why those words exist, their impact and how to minimize their use on our campus in the future. Students in the film also bring up issues of teen suicide and using violence or a weapon to harm their harassers. We will discuss these topics and students will know where they can turn – including to you – if they are dealing with similar feelings in their own lives. If you have any concerns, you are invited to come to school to preview the film prior to the unit start date which is Tuesday, September 22nd, please contact Rachel Koles at 582-2754 to set up a time to preview the documentary. Our unit will include strategies for students as well as parents, guardians, and other family members on how to deal with name-calling and bullying. Your child will have a small amount of homework in this unit. At home, we encourage you to reinforce the idea that all people should be treated with respect. |