SEE a Video about us and our Bullying Show.

A Few Facts

• Between one in five to one in seven children is either a bully or victim.
• Nearly 60 percent of boys classified as bullies in grades 6-9 were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24.
  
• Every day 160,000 children miss school due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. (National Education Association)
• Children who experience persistent bullying may become depressed or fearful. They may even lose interest in school. (Bullies and Their Victims)
• Bullying and aggression are commonly seen in elementary schools.
  
• The most common types of behaviors in elementary schools are name-calling, teasing, socially isolating students, and hitting.
  
• The frequency of these behaviors increases from grades 1 through 5.
  
• More than 60 percent of teachers devote fewer than ten classroom periods per year to teaching violence prevention curricula (i.e., conflict resolution, problem solving, and stress management).
  
• Most elementary schools have not conducted a recent evaluation of the prevalence of aggression and bullying or the effectiveness of implemented programs to deal with these issues. (Connecticut survey conducted by Michele Beaulieu with support from the Safe Schools and Communities Coalition of the Governor's Prevention Partnership)

Recommended scenes for a show about teasing and bullying include:

• If You Say So: The audience will see a funny, fast-paced look at stereotypical gender roles children might learn from adults. We remind students that the rules regarding harassment / bullying / teasing apply the same to young men as to young women.
  
  
• Tableaus: Examples of the problems - including verbal and nonverbal harassment, put downs, physical threats and discrimination. We work with every school to make sure our examples are targeted to the audience.
  
  
• What's in a word?: A scene about how negative comments and name-calling regarding gay and lesbians can make schools less safe for all students. (recommended for Middle/High/College)
  
  
• Let's Fix It: We show a scene of harassment and let the audience give us suggestions how to fix the situation. Then we act out their solutions.
  
  
• Conflict Resolution: Everyone is going to run into situations that make him or her angry. That's OK. It's how we respond to those situations that count. We play out several scenes that illustrate how resorting to violence, name-calling, and failing to communicate only makes matters worse. We fix the scenes following smart rules of conflict resolution.
  
  
• Big Bad Bully: We have four students from the audience come on stage and act out four different techniques of dealing with the actor educator playing a bully: ignore, avoid, stay with friends, confront. We always remind students that if the bully is physically hurting you or anyone else to be sure to tell a parent, teacher, or administrator. (recommended for Elementary/Middle)
  
  
• Internet Safety: One actor educator plays a human, another plays a computer. As the human makes internet safety mistakes; giving out personal information, spending WAY too much time online, trying to visit adult sites, the computer corrects him or her. (recommended for Elementary/Middle)
  
  
• Peer Mediation: If your school has a peer mediation program or adult run mediation, the actor educators will play the roles of two students with a conflict. The audience will see how the process works with their very own mediators playing their roles.
  
  
• Relationship Situations: The actor educators step into the roles of two people in problematic relationships. We hold a mirror up to relationships fraught verbal abuse, control and mistrust issues, and physical violence. We show how people can feel trapped in these couplings. We encourage audience members who find themselves or friends in these situations to seek help from available resources. (recommended for High/College)
  
  
• Date Rape Scene: A serious look at an all to prevalent and frequently ignored problem. We start by showing scenes that illustrate poor communication. The audience will see how mixed signals can lead to dangerous situations but are no excuse for illegal or unwelcome conduct. We also drive home the irrefutable link between alcohol and poor decision making regarding relationship or sexual activity. (recommended for High/College)

Recommended Links

National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center

CT PTA Bullying