The motto of Anti-Bullying Week 2021 is ‘Excluding others? Excluded!’. Together, you can create a group climate where everyone belongs, has a place and feels welcome. Excluding others has no place in it! By taking part in Anti-Bullying Week, you can make a good start to the new school year, in which you work together to create a pleasant and safe school.
Excluding others is a serious form of bullying behaviour. Belonging to a group is one of the basic needs of human beings. If you are denied access to such a group, this can have major consequences for your self-image, regardless of how young or old you are. Not belonging to a group is an important stress factor that can eventually lead to developmental delays in the social and empathic domains.
“In a socially safe environment, every student has the right to participate and belong.” – Marijke van der Zalm – bullying adviser and project leader of Anti-Bullying Week
Yet it is not a given that everyone belongs. For example, students may be excluded because of their age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, beliefs, opinions, etc.
At the same time, all these kinds of ‘reasons’ can also be a way for the group to justify excluding someone. It suggests that if you meet the norm, you will belong again. But it is often not that simple. Suppose you are bullied because of your hair colour or choice of clothing and you change it; something new will then be found. So there is something else underlying it—in most cases, an unsafe group atmosphere.
“The reasons given for why someone is not allowed to participate are therefore reasons thought up afterwards. The real reason almost always lies in an unsafe group situation…” – Mieke van Stigt
What does this ask of you?
Achieving a positive group climate in which everyone naturally belongs requires leadership from you as a teacher. This means being clear about which behaviour is and is not acceptable. It requires continuous attention to guiding your students in treating one another with respect. Attention to clear agreements, connection, dealing with differences and being curious about one another. And it requires awareness of your own norms, values and prejudices. Unconsciously, these influence our own actions.
Join in!
Anti-Bullying Week is organised every year in September by Stichting School & Veiligheid. During this week, we support you as a teacher with inspiration, information and (teaching) materials to get started with your class. Preventing bullying is something you do actively all year round. By taking part in Anti-Bullying Week at the start of the school year, you set a positive tone for the school year ahead.
Taking part in Anti-Bullying Week is easy. On the Join in! page, you will find all the information.