Bullying has always been a burning issue in the society. In most cases, children who are bullying others do not understand their wrongdoings and do not want to change their way of conduct. Bullying becomes an integral and inseparable part of their lives. However, there are occurrences when children reinterpret their unacceptable behavior and want to change it. This paper focuses on the case of a 4th grader Antonio, who wants to become a good person, and steps that should be taken to help him become better.
The very fact that Antonio showed his piece of writing about his desire to change to his teacher indicates the fact that his teacher is trustworthy, and Antonio views her as a person who can help. If I were his teacher, I would help him to change, and I would definitely go with him through this complicated process of transformation. It is clear that the changing process would involve not only Antonio, but his classmates as well, since they have always viewed him as a bully and their tormentor. Undoubtedly, his looking glass self has been influenced by his agents of socialization, in particular parents and schoolmates. In my opinion, Antonio has entirely changed his viewpoint of being cool and popular. Most probably, he noticed that he is not considered cool by his classmates or peers, and they do not respect him for who he is. In addition, the fact that he does not have friends is no good for a boy of his age. He must be feeling lonely, as he does not have any true friends who he can spend quality time with. Moreover, his parents must find it strange that their son does not bring friends home and does not spend time with other children. Maybe, their questions made Antonio reflect on his behavior.
Obviously, his looking glass self is related to his answerability, which is used to describe expectation-driven performances predicated upon motivational clusters that are too often overlooked in environments that treat human actions as ethically driven. One person cannot live and function beyond the society. Thus, this person holds answerability from his/her agents of socialization. At home, for example, he is expected to be a well-behaved child, friendly, sociable, ready to help, etc. At school teachers expect him to be a diligent, hard-working, well-behaved, and helpful student. Antonios classmates probably expect him to be friendly, sociable, helpful, and kind. Antonios looking glass self is associated with answerability, since he can imagine how other people perceive his behavior and appearance, how they can judge it, and, as a result, he may feel pride or mortification. In Antonios case, he feels mortification for his misbehavior.
In order to eliminate bullying, a teacher should perform lesson activities that focus on the importance of bully awareness and prevention. It is important for the whole class to take part in such activities. It is crucial for a teacher to base the class not only on telling the difference between right and wrong, but also to focus on character education and let the children judge the consequences. If I were Antonios teacher, I would conduct a collaborative class activity . I would begin the lesson with an icebreaker. It is really important for better group work, even though the children already know each other well. For an icebreaker, I would choose the activity which is called Three Words. Each student should think of three words to describe him-/herself, for example, I am Rebecca and I am friendly, happy, and polite. After that, students will start discussing what bullying is. Everyone will write on a sticker how he/she defines bullying. Children will stick them to the blackboard, and after a collaborative definition of bullying will be created. Afterwards, we will start with the Prevention Awareness Activity. As such, I suggest the one which is called A Bullying Thermometer. Students will be given handouts with the names of different types of bullying and a picture of a thermometer. Thus, they will be supposed to mark a bullying activity from the coolest (the least harmful) to the hottest (the most harmful). Then students will present their thermometers and express their opinions on what to do to prevent bullying. My role as a teacher in this activity is to carefully listen to the students opinions and help them reach a conclusion on how to prevent bullying. At the end of the class, it will be beneficial to ask students what they have learned and understood.
In the process of Antonios transformation, it is important for the class to support his change. I would have to talk with other students about helping Antonio to become a good person. It is essential to explain to the students that they should not be afraid of him and they should no longer view him as an aggressor. I would suggest that students help him with his homework, ask him to play some games outside, offer him some help in case he needs it, go home together with him after school, etc.
As a teacher, I would also help Antonio stay on the right path. I would suggest that he writes a list of ten values he considers important, for example, helpfulness, courage, fairness, etc. It is important for him to be able to explain why he chose those particular values and why they are significant to him. Then I would ask Antonio to take a copybook and write each value on a separate page, and then incorporate these values in his everyday life, and make notes on how he manages to do it. For example, on the page helpfulness he may write, I helped my classmate to clean the blackboard, etc. In such a way, he will be able to analyze his behavior and his way of becoming a better person.
Without a doubt, parents should also be involved in the process of Antonios transformation. I would talk to his parents about this problem, since in most cases parents are unaware of the fact that their child may be a bully. I would explain the situation and ask them to pay more attention to Antonios mood and behavior at home. Maybe they will have to devote more time to talking to him on different matters, such as good and bad behavior. I would encourage parents not to be strict with Antonio and not to criticize him for his actions, but mildly explain why some kind of behavior may be considered inappropriate.
In conclusion, it is important to remark that the success of childs transformation into a better person after being a bully mainly depends not only on the child, but also involves his/her agents of socialization, namely parents, teachers, classmates, and peers. It is essential that a child gets the needed amount of support and help in order not to be faced with criticism. Only under such circumstances can a child forget his former lifestyle and become a sociable and friendly person.
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