Bullying

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Harassment/ bullying persists in one form or the other across the globe. Some Students face bullying physically or mentally frequently. Recently I dealt one such incident. I am class teacher for Grade 9 and its been less than a month that new academic year has started. A male student, out of nowhere, said he wanted to say something as we were practicing grammar, I asked him to say so, than he shared all his frustration, anger and disappointment in that moment and complained that he had been facing bullying since his admission in Grade 6 (over 3 years now in this school). I never have had any subject in his class before this, So this was my first detailed interaction. The boy said he continuously faced social, verbal as well gesture abuse by most students including girls and he spoke for about 7-9 minutes uninterrupted detailing most things. I must admit that for a moment, I was surprised and shocked since I had not heard an issue of this magnitude and time before, yet unnoticed and not reported by any other teacher. Though, We have heard situational bullying or harrasment cases and have dealt them accordingly. Regrettably, some in the class were still laughing, making fun of him for speaking as such, to the extent, that I had to step in and take control of the class. I request you to share from your valuable experience the answers and strategies to deal with such issues of bullying/ harrasment in general. How would you deal with such issues and can we prevent this all together from happening? How? Share your answers
My answer/strategy is in given the comment post.

Creating a safe, empathetic classroom begins with listening when students feel heard and supported, we can start addressing bullying at its roots, not just its symptoms.

@GULZAR-ALI
Aslam o Alaikum Sir,
Thank you for sharing your experience, It was truly powerful. I haven’t faced something quite like this myself, but I felt it was important to respond wisely, so I asked AI for help. The strategies I learned are new for me too, but I believe they can really help in situations like this.

1. Focus on creating a safe classroom environment
2. Helping students speak up
3. Guiding both victims and bullies with care and support.

My question is:
What simple steps can we take daily in our classrooms to make students feel safe and respected?
Regards

I will share my experience as I dealt it. Feel free to comment critically.
Now as I have already mentioned I was shocked with such serious allegations from a boy who likes to keep a low profile but always looks smiling. After he finished his point, I told everyone in the class that I would need to know their response to his claims and allegations in the class after his view. Since I wanted to solve this matter once and for all, I stressed that as most of you have been accused, it is your responsibility to answer honestly and openly about your role, if any, in this and reason for it. While the boy did not name anyone. I asked him to tell me the names in private right away so that he does not get offended by anyone not to disclose later. Afterwards, I told students that I have the names of almost half the class so you must prepare answers carefully and honestly. But some observations that I noticed in that situation are worth mentioning. Awareness about bullying is essential. As I figured out that some of the students still had not realized that they were abusing or harrasing. To them it was just a laughter or making a fun and had no consequences. So they had to be told that having fun and making fun of someone are entirely different. Besides, continuously doing this act to someone or few can have serious repercussions for all if someone would retaliate in anger/ frustration at some point. So, bullying and it's dealing mechanism need to be and must be part of curriculum and practice in educational environment.
Some of the students openly confessed to their role and sought unconditional apology in the classroom, While some did it in private and apologized. Most of them committed not to indulge in such acts in future. I reiterate awareness regarding bullying/harassment is key along with its consequences. It felt good that some students admitted their mistakes and were open to making improvements. So sensitivity among teachers as well as students becomes a prerequisite if we have to overcome bullying in classroom. Finally making responsible and smart decisions and not targeting individuals can also help. We must not stigmatize individuals doing such acts as it may affect their personality adversely. However, communicating with the alleged and making them responsible for their acts (privately or publicly, if they agree to it ) can help others to restrain from such acts in future.