Anti Bullying Campaign at DRS International school

ANTI BULLYING CAMPAIGN

“Bullying is strictly prohibited inside the school premises and no such act will go unnoticed or unpunished” (CBSE circular Acad-17/2015)

Anti bullying campaign started in DRS International School in the month of Jan 2017. As a part of value education it has always dealt in at the very beginning of the year however it was felt a need of the hour due to students becoming more familiar with each other and taking the liberty to bully their friends at fag end of academic year. As a part of value education this campaign included classes from grades VI to XI.

In the first week, an ‘Anti Bullying Agreement’ was signed by the students agreeing not to resort to various bullying activities as mentioned in the agreement.

In the second week student counsellors were elected from each class who would look into the related affairs of the class. Following which the buddy system was also introduced so that each child had a person to whom he/she could go and share the problems. The partnership was well balanced keeping one strong and one weak candidate together.

In the third week a poster making competition encouraged students to use their creativity in groups to address this social evil through a visual message. The best ones were selected and put up for public viewing. The posters also created much awareness.

In the fourth week a reflection of the campaign was taken from the students. Students were also asked to share their bullying experiences. Students wrote down their reflection in colour chits and shared their grievances or stories of their dealing with bullies. They shared present or past uncomfortable situation they faced or are currently facing with an idea to put the new system introduced into action.

The results were overwhelming. In the beginning students were a bit reluctant to come out in the open with their problems or reveal the names of the bullies, fearing dangerous reactions. With gentle coaxing and with the promise not to offend the bullies and making them understand that the bullies actually needed some counselling to develop a more positive personality, an outpour of grievances arrived. The grades VI and VII participated more in this activity.

At first each grievance was attended and sorted out amicably involving the concerned players privately. As they gained confidence in this activity, they started coming forward again with more concerns. At this point the buddies and counsellors were involved and were encouraged to address the issues. The class counsellors showed great enthusiasm in helping out their class mates.

It is encouraging to note that few students are able to sort out their issues well using the guide lines given earlier. A follow-up is done in class whenever possible so that it doesn’t die down.

The main gain from Anti Bullying Campaign was that children have opened up. They are able to address and solve the problem before it flares up. If it is beyond their ability they consider teachers eligible enough to share their problems.