Bystander
vs, Upstander
The Bystander vs. Upstander lesson is designed to bring awareness
to situations about social injustice. This is where individuals make
critical comments about others’ personal attributes. The lesson goes on to
discuss the roles of those who witnessed the said situation and what power each
individual has to change how events are played out. The reason I chose this as
a starting point is because I hear and see many involved, by not actually being
involved. Also, because my homeroom knows since the beginning of the school
year, that we protect one another and are there for one another. (I tell
them this as I have told my birth children.)
The two articles I connected this lesson with are “Safe Spaces” by
Vaccaro,
August, Kennedy
and “Privilege, Power, and Difference” by A. Johnson.
Below are summaries of how I connected the articles to this particular lesson.
"Safe Spaces" - Vaccaro, August, Kennedy
“Safe Spaces,” discusses how classrooms consist
of students and teachers who bring their funds of knowledge with them each and
every day and then leave with hopefully, more knowledge and understanding than
what they arrived with. Though there are many factors that each
individual carries in their metaphorical backpacks, they may not be
compartmentalized. Instead, the lessons taught by many different people
blend into one another as the individual attempts to file and make sense of
them by linking them to one another. With these new lessons come a
responsibility of the teachers and the school to help students feel accepted
and appreciated, and offer guidance with new ways of thinking in how one should
behave when the status quo is no longer the status quo.
As the author suggests, “If our homes are
incubators, keeping our children safe as they grow into the patterns of family
life, schools are "outcubators" - places that introduce new ways of
thinking and behaving. Social and psychological development progress as young
people move through our educational system....." (p.84).
“Privilege, Power, and Difference” - A. Johnson
“Privilege, Power, and Difference” discusses the
importance of becoming aware of being a part of the “luxury class.’ In
order for society to change, we must look within ourselves, see how we are
contributing to the current situation, (of treating people differently) and
most importantly be honest with ourselves. For one to be mindful of
personal social status, there may be a better chance that there is a deeper
understanding, belief, and acceptance of others who are not. Changing our
thinking, our actions, and how we take action is how to create change in our
local communities. As the wheel of diversity defines what is privileged,
characteristics of one-self are what shape our lives. Regardless of what
we are on the inside, what we show to be on the exterior is what categorizes us
in society; therefore how we are viewed and treated. Although we did not
create the diversity in this world, we may be a part of it now.
Objectives for the lesson:
· Students will recall and discuss four roles an individual could
portray (victim, perpetrator, rescuer, bystander)
· Students will listen to the different examples of injustice
· Students will write down one instance that they have witnessed
· Students will be asked to generate strategies to intervene when
they witness such acts
· Students will listen to a selection of student generated examples
and discuss possible interventions
Day One:
· Teacher asked students to recall four different
roles an individual can represent in an incident of injustice. (victim,
perpetrator, rescuer, bystander) (Some students rolled their eyes at the start
of this conversation, a couple asked why we were going over this again, while
others jumped right into the conversation and shared their thoughts and
knowledge.)
· The class discussed how our school participated
in “Kindness” week, the introduction to the Holocaust unit, and how some
instances we observe may categorize us as one (or more) of the roles. (Students
discussed different activities the school carried out during this particular
week, such as creating one poster to represent their homeroom, to watch video
clips of students on displaying their talents on our school-wide TV broadcast,
such as sharing poetry and singing. The class discussed the meaning
of each role: victim, perpetrator, rescuer, bystander)
Day Two:
· Students and teacher reviewed the previous day’s
discussion including definitions of each role and why they believe they are
important to always keep in mind. (A couple of students shared that they the
four roles are not just in a story or movies. They portray are real people in all of
our lives.)
· Students were read the following scenarios: “One
of the students at your lunch table accidentally knocks over a bowl of food.
The student next to her snaps, “You’re such a retard.” You shrink at
the sound of this affront, especially since you are aware that another student
at the table has a brother with a mental disability, but you avert your eyes
and say nothing.” (Many students made uncomfortable looking faces when this
was read to them. Some looked at me and shook their head with a nod
as if to acknowledge that they too have been a witness to such harsh language.)
· Students were asked if they could relate to this
scenario and to think of a time when they have heard language used in a way
that made people or others feel uncomfortable, yet no one put a stop to
it. They were handed an index card and asked to write jus tone
incident and then collected. (Some students got to writing down their
thoughts immediately, while others sat and said they have never heard a peer
insult others. When this happened some in the students started
encouraging and reminding those who were just sitting there of specific
instances.)
Day Three:
· The class reviewed
the prior day’s activity to begin the lesson. Some of the students’ index cards
were read aloud (some I felt were too risky to share) after I asked the class
to remain quite until I was done sharing their real-life instances.
The following are
just a few examples of what was shared in class.
§ “One time at camp someone called me an idiot.
Later that day I purposely kicked a kickball at the back of his head.”
§ “Before getting released to homeroom, when of my
friends yield at someone and called them stupid. Everyone around was silent.”
§ “I was in literacy and someone called the other
kid a faggot.”
§ “When I was in the hall. Someone called me a
slut and dumb, and a hoe, and no one said anything until I brought it up to my
mom.”
§ There was one time when I was in a bathroom
stall in the mall and I saw this disabled girl. I smiled at her and
then went in the bathroom. Suddenly I hear someone say, “Ugly ass
bitch” and I was thinking of doing something but I didn’t cause I was scared
too.”
(While I was
reading their shared responses, I was keeping an eye on their facial
expressions. Some looked sad, others looked shocked, and even those
who first stated they did not have anything to share on their index cards had a
somber expression.)
· Students were then
asked, “What do you think would have been the right thing to do this these
situations?” Why do you think that no one put a stop to the negative behavior
in each situation?” (Students shared that they felt they didn’t know what to say.
They didn’t feel safe to say anything)
· Through the above
discussion, I began writing their responses on large post-IT
paper. The following is what the students generated. (There was
continuous conversation while the students were thinking out loud. When some
were sharing possible responses, others engaged in conversation about why or
why not.)
· I was a bystander
because:
o Scared
o Uncertain in the
moment
o Get in trouble
o Unsure what to say
Day
Four:
Our class reviewed what
we shared out the previous day. And I said to them, “It’s time to put some
come-backs in our pocket.” With this we, as a class, began to
generate ideas that allows them to stick up for others, yet that they feel safe
saying. (The students went back and forth with this piece of the
activity. They either agreed fully with an idea or fully
disagreed. There was no middle/ in between.)
· I can be an ALLY/ Upstander
o Standing up to
bully
o Support victim and
walk away with victim
o TELL
§ Say to the bully…..
· Unacceptable.
· So you think you
can dance?
· What do you mean by
that?
· Do you know what
that means?
· Really? That’s the
best you’ve got?
· That’s not okay.
· That’s unfortunate.
· That’s not cool.
As a class, we also came up with some Do’s
and Don’ts to shift from being a bystander to an upstander
· DON’T LAUGH
· DON’T get even
· Be INCLUSIVE
· Be Reflective
· SPEAK UP
· TAKE ACTION
Day 5 and beyond:
· Even though this
activity came to an end, our homeroom still discusses ideas that could be
implemented next year. They give me advice such as, “Mrs. Del, next
year you should start this activity in the beginning of the school
year. This way if there is a situation that comes up and someone
doesn’t know how to deal with it can be talked about.” We also
brought up the fact that students can be bullies to teachers. I
asked what they could do if this should happen. Many called out
responses and the general idea is that students shouldn’t laugh and go along
with that particular student, but instead, ignore their inappropriate behavior
and tell them to stop.”
· I may also consider
reading a book to my class, such as Linda Christensen’s activity
suggests. Although I would like to say I would use exactly what she
suggests, I am not familiar with the readings at this time.
· Take Away
o Sharing our
experiences may help others who have been in the same situation. Hopefully,
through discussion more students will find the strength and comfort to stick up
for what they know and believe what is right and just. By discussing real
issues that many are familiar with this may break the silence to recognize the
elephant in the room, so to speak. I believe we are in a hush-hush
society in that discussion may stir the pot, and when the pot is stirred it
gets people talking and may make some uncomfortable. Who likes to feel
uncomfortable? No one that I know of. This is why, I believe, many
schools may only allow to dip our toes in topics such as these. As a novice
teacher just beginning to get real with my students I am taking it slow.
I may have side-stepped some topics for fear of not knowing what course of
action, if any would be appropriate, but I am happy that I took a step. Just
this afternoon, a student in my homeroom, who happens to be bisexual, wrote on
the board, "Your mom is gay." I called her out on it by referring to
our several class discussions. She immediately made a public apology to
the class and then said, " I was only joking." About 10 minutes, after I took her aside and asked her if she realized why I called her out on what she wrote. She said she did and that she really felt bad for putting that on the
board. I'm not sure that incident would have gone the same route had we not had
touched upon social justice. The "reprimand" was quick, to the
point, and discussed within minutes. She definitely understood and
reflected on her behavior and quickly remedied it. (Proud moment
for me.)
Click here to
read more on social justice, lessons geared towards students and
examples. (Social Justice
Lesson for Kids: Definition, Issues & Examples).
References
GLSEN, Policies That Matter, Model Laws
& Policies, https://www.glsen.org/article/model-laws-policies
Rethinking Schools, Warriors Don’t Cry, https://www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/warriors-don-t-cry-acting-for-justice
Study.com, Social Justice Lesson for Kids: Definition,
Issues & Examples, https://study.com/academy/lesson/social-justice-lesson-for-kids-definition-issues-examples.html, Chapter 17 / Lesson 6 Transcript
Teaching Tolerance, Social Justice Standards https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/social-justice-standards
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