Students seek end to bullying

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Thursday, April 3, 2008

Photo by Lauren Radomski

Third and fourth graders received “Let’s be bully-free” bracelets Thursday as reminders of how to treat each other.

Fergus Falls elementary schoolers came together this morning to make one message very clear: They want their schools to be bully-free.

Third and fourth graders met in the Cleveland gymnasium to kick-off an effort to be nicer to each other and hold one another accountable for treatment of classmates. The district has a tradition of holding a respect-themed event each year to be proactive about bullying.

The no-bullying project is part of Second Step character education, a violence prevention program that integrates social skills like empathy, emotion management and cooperation into academic settings. In Fergus Falls, Second Step is headed by Shelley Schoeneck, who visits elementary classrooms and small groups weekly to talk with students on these topics.

“As I was doing Second Step, bullying was going on and kids were really responsive and had a lot to share,” she said.

That bullying was sometimes taking place during recess at both Cleveland and McKinley, Schoeneck said, where student-organized football games sometimes included poor sportsmanship, exclusivity and hurt feelings.

“It may sound silly,” Schoeneck said, “but to these kids it’s a big deal.”

Photo by Lauren Radomski

Haley Berger sings about the Golden Rule.

The anti-bullying effort aims to combat bullying both outdoors and inside by giving students responsibility for each other. One component consists of a “Peace Patrol” — students nominated by teachers and classmates to cover the halls in the morning and during lunch. Members of the Peace Patrol will be on the look-out for what staff call “below-the-line behaviors” — teasing, pushing, namecalling, gossip and other ways students may disrespect each other.

If a member of the Peace Patrol sees a fellow student behaving below-the-line, that patroller will give the student a warning. If the student does not comply with the request, he or she will be written up by the Peace Patrol and spend one day’s recess in “The Zone,” a restricted area within the playground.

Principal Scott Colbeck told students Thursday he hopes no student will ever visit “The Zone,” but it’s there just in case.

“The goal truly is making the playground nicer for our children,” Schoeneck said.

Schoeneck said both Cleveland and McKinley could use additional help from parents, grandparents and community members during lunchtime. These volunteers would add extra sets of eyes as paras monitor the playground. Anyone interested should contact Peg Kalar, the district’s volunteer coordinator, at 998-0544 ext. 1015.