"There
is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no
duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their
welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want, and that
they can grow up in peace.’ ~ Kofi Annan
IMAGE: KESTONE CREATIONS
~ Educational Songs PICTURE: Paul Pearson
Have
you ever been bullied?
Bullying
is nothing new - it has certainly been going on for as long as I can remember.
My
first experience of this type of behaviour was back in the ‘olden days’ when,
as a 10 year old, I became what is known as an ‘immigrant’.
My
family (Mum, Dad, three sisters, brother, and I) had farewelled all of our
family, friends and neighbours in Ireland and England, and set sail for our new
life in Australia, where Dad was to take up a teaching post as Head of English Department in a country high school.
Migrants
were still rather a novelty in country NSW in those days, and certain students
in my new school saw my minority status as an open invitation to tease,
ridicule, and humiliate the ‘new kid on the block’.
They
repeatedly mimicked my accent, made fun of my English clothing and whatever Mum
had put in my lunchbox for the day. I began to hate going to school.
It
was a very lonely, distressing, and unhappy time (until they got to know me and we became friends)
and to this day, I still cringe, whenever I recall the time that the nun on
duty at playtime, rang the bell to command the other children to include me in
their games!
IMAGE: coolcarl.com
Bullying
then, is nothing new, however, what IS new is the frequency with which we are
hearing about this behaviour, and the alarming rate at which it appears to be
escalating, in our schools and wider society.
Bullying
occurs in many different forms - from verbal, emotional, and racist bullying,
to psychological, physical, and the now, all-too-prevalent, modern day
phenomenon, cyber bullying – but one thing is for certain, whatever form it
takes, it is NEVER OK!
IMAGE:
hispanicallyspeakingnews.com
Mahatma
Gandhi once stated that ‘If we want to create lasting peace, we must begin with
the children.’
There is great wisdom in this, and education
is KEY.
Parents, schools and wider communities have major roles to play in helping to achieve this. We
do it by:
- Creating and promoting peaceful, safe, and secure environments for children
- Modelling positive behaviours built on mutual respect, trust, and empathy
- Setting very clear behaviour expectations and guidelines
- Helping children to understand and take responsibility for their own behaviour and consequences of their own actions
- Providing children with coping strategies for dealing with distressing behaviours, if and when they arise.
Looking
back with adult eyes, I’m sure the behaviour of that handful of students from
my school stemmed more from a lack of understanding than from any conscious
malice on their part.
This belief prompted me to tackle the issue of bullying head-on, in a way that would make it easy for children to understand - the non-threatening medium of song.
Drawing on my childhood and teaching experiences, I set about writing lyrics to address various types of bullying behaviours, including the ever-increasing cyber bullying - with an emphasis on the right of every child to feel safe and protected.
My
colleague, Kathryn (Radloff) worked her usual magic with the music, and the result is 'BULLY-FREE ZONE!' - a whole school positive behaviours approach to
addressing unacceptable behaviours in primary schools.
We
are very grateful for the support of a wonderful local primary school principal, Mrs Terri
Paterson who, together with the parent body, graciously allowed us to work with and record
some of their children on the song’s chorus:
~
CHORUS:
Bullying
is not OK - NO WAY! It’s never a solution,
Deal with problems as they rise with conflict
resolution.
Caring isn’t optional, it’s what we all expect;
Everyone is welcome here, but bullying we reject!
©Lyrics,
Nuala O’Hanlon/Music, Kathryn Radloff.
All rights reserved.
~
IMAGE: Facebook: Live
Well Laugh Often Love Always
We
are very proud of the students, who have now taken ownership of the message,
some even going
as far as writing to a local newspaper to urge other schools to
become bully-free zones!
This
is the video we recorded
on the day – I hope you enjoy it!
♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥♫ ♥ ♫
Yours
in Singing To Learn,
Nuala
♫
LINKS:
VIDEOS:
BULLY-FREE
ZONE! Song:
‘Bullying is a problem borne of dysfunction
whereby the perpetrator and the victim are caught in a negative cycle of fear
and control. We, as caretakers and educators have a duty to interrupt this
cycle and facilitate change through early education and intervention. This
song, 'BULLY-FREE ZONE!' addresses the issues in a positive, child-friendly
way. It not only provides strategies to help empower the victim, but also
raises awareness and accountability in the perpetrator.’ ~ Eileen
Condell,
Psychotherapist
♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♥♫ ♥ ♫
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