Brockway Seventh Graders Learn About Bullying

BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT) – A student had his cell phone smashed. A girl was tripped in the hallway and mocked. Another girl had rumors spread about her. These events would be traumatic if they happened to anyone in high school, but these particular incidents were skits helping seventh graders learn how to handle bullying.

Dr. Sharon Dippold led students at Brockway Area Junior-Senior High School in what is called an INAM Assembly. INAM sands for “It’s Not About Me,” and is a mantra that bullied students can repeat to remind themselves that a bully’s behavior is often more related to the bully than it is the victim.

“I think the approach to stopping bullying is the wrong idea,” Dippold said to teachers. “We need to give kids the ability to get through what is happening to them.”

Dippold handed out a flyer to teachers that had the words, “You can’t stop bullying, but you can stop it from hurting you.”

Brockway’s INAM team is made up of peer mediators from the high school. The juniors and seniors held the assembly, acting out bullying situations. The first part of the skit depicted a bullying situation where no one stood up to stop it. The next part was the same situation, but someone stood up for the victim. The skit ended as the victim said, “It’s not about me.”

“We’re a group that wants to help kids who are being bullied,” said INAM member Matthew Clark. “There’s nothing wrong with you, there’s a problem with the bully.”

Doing the assembly for seventh graders was a strategic decision. At Brockway, the elementary school runs from kindergarten to sixth grade. Seventh graders move to the junior-senior high school.

“Seventh grade is the starting point in the high school,” INAM member Jenna Ceriani said. “They don’t know what to expect when they come in here.”

Jenna Ceriani (right) participates in an INAM skit to help seventh graders learn about bullying.

The INAM team had some trainings to help them remember what Dippold said causes bullying. She gave the kids an acronym – PHUDJ, pronounced “Fudge.”

“PHUDJ stands for Power, Hurting, Unhappy, Dating, or Judging,” Clark said. “The bully could be wanting power, or feeling hurt inside, or unhappy about their lives. They could also be judging someone because they’re different. Another one is some younger kids may bully another person because they want to date them.”

Dippold’s approach to bullying focuses on helping the victim cope with what is happening to them. To help the seventh graders internalize this, Dippold had each homeroom yell when one of the INAM members said, “It’s not about me.”

“You earned points for the class who screamed the loudest,” Clark said. “Each skit was a different type of bullying – physical, verbal, and cyber.”

“Bullying can lead to death,” Ceriani said. “Our school is trying to lower the types of bullying and the impact it has.”

Clark said that Dippold showed them stats that stuck with him.

“Every 30 minutes, a child in the United States attempts suicide,” Clark said. “43% of kids admit to being bullied. 1 out of 5 kids admit to being bullies! So, we know it’s a problem.”

The INAM group may act as peer mediators, but they are also trained to help bullied kids talk to the right adults.

“If they don’t feel comfortable talking to their parents, they can talk to a teacher or a guidance counselor,” Clark said. “If you talk to a teacher or a guidance counselor, they know both sides of the people and can try to help. And they can help you talk to your parents.”

“The teachers really care here, too,” Ceriani added.

Dippold’s flyer helps students identify types of bullying. She also provides ways of coping. Ceriani said that the goal is for everyone to learn to be friendly and help each other out.

“We’re all just trying to find our path in life,” she said. “We just need to be a friend and boost everyone else’s confidence. Victims need to remember, ‘It’s not about me.’”


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