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Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/25/07
BY GEORGE S. ANTHONY
The state Supreme Court ruling in a case involving the Toms River Regional School District provides an opportunity to seek sustainable solutions for our children at risk of bullying on a daily basis. ("Schools must stop student harassment," Feb. 22.) Bias crimes continue to rise in Monmouth and Ocean counties, yet school officials introduce statistics that point to a tolerant school district.
Recent assaults have inflicted immeasurable pain on families, schools and communities. These incidents offer an opportunity to get to the core of the issues at stake here. They also present an opportunity for positive action and change.
Where do you begin? The answer, or a good part of it, can be found in the students. Through their actions, they become the agents for change. Their actions are a result of their training. You cannot expect a student population to embrace the responsibility in recognizing the effect of discrimination, racism, tolerance and leadership unless they are exposed to lessons they can identify, internalize and effectively teach to their peers.
If you want to teach about the destructive force of racism on another teen, then expose students to the fate of 14-year-old Emmett Till, who was beaten to death in Mississippi because he was black. Or Yusef Hawkins, a 16-year-old black beaten to a bloody death by a group of racists in Brooklyn. The fatal beating of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay man in Wyoming, and how James Byrd, 49, a black man, was dragged to death behind a truck in Texas could be included in this discussion.
Demonstrate to the students the destructive significance of bias and its destructive path. Where there is bias there is potential for stereotyping, discrimination and division. When you discriminate you effectively separate, and separation creates an emotional void. When we no longer share connections and there is no emotional attachment, then violence becomes a casual choice. Where there is violence, there is always a potential for death.
The key is to find ways to connect students toward a common cause, a common goal. To create an environment where support comes from within the community and one another. Lapses in judgment will occur and students will make mistakes, but it is important for students to recognize when one student moves toward bias or violence, others need not support it. In effect, they have been trained to react in a proactive manner to support any student who has become a victim of bullying or bias behaviors. They respond because it has become their responsibility to respond. This is what they are trained to do.
Programs such as peer mediation and peer leadership have become an effective deterrent in preventing possible violent confrontations. The peer mediators need to move out of the office and into the classroom. The classroom provides an environment where dialogue and sharing can begin to build a community of trust and recognition. It becomes a place where peers can connect by sharing their concerns and fears.
School administrators and faculty members need to recognize these students for their positive behaviors. These peer educators should reflect the make-up of the student body. They also need to be reinforced with challenging and innovative lessons on leadership. They, in effect, become conditioned to succeed and become a proponent toward creating positive change.
You cannot expect to change this culture of ambivalence by bringing in a guest speaker, who in one visit will try to encourage students to be advocates for peace. To be effective, schools need to provide students with lessons, teamwork and trust-building group dynamics. Emphasize accountability that we all need to be on the same page supporting one another. Provide innovative programs that identify problems and provide solutions that students can buy into and effectively take ownership.
It will be through their actions and words that they will be heard and recognized. Reinforce their behaviors through school, parental and community recognition.
School districts need to identify the issues and incorporate the students as part of the solution. They then put them to work as the voice of reason and the voice of change. It is the role of the school district to provide students with the tools and the skills to build a better community.
George S. Anthony, Peace Dynamics Consultants Red Bank, is an educational consultant who has developed programs on anti-bully initiatives and conflict resolution skill training.
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