Girl Bullying and Relational Aggression:
Alexis Jones spoke of changing the way girls feel about themselves and how they relate to each other as a way to make bullying obsolete. Both Stacey and I agreed with this approach, as ‘one off’ anti-bullying days have proven ineffective and programs or systems to deal with bullying after the fact often feel like too little too late. Both Stacey and I purchased Alexis Jones’ book ‘I Am That Girl’ and read it for a ‘mini book club’. We had many informal discussions about what struck us as powerful or effective in the book and shared many of these conversations with our students.
The book is like a how to manual for girls to learn to develop confidence in themselves, and to work hard to be the best version of themselves. The book touches on so many key issues and themes that are affecting teenage girls in our society, and I think it would be a great read for any Jr. High and High School teacher. While the book does not offer a concrete ‘how to guide’ to fixing a bullying problem in your school it does effectively propose that maybe we are starting in the wrong place, after the bullying has occurred when we should be looking at how we can empower girls to change their context and culture, thus stopping the bullying before it even begins. Stacey and I look forward to continuing to talk to our students about the themes raised in the book and to work to embed some of the principals into our Cosmetology curriculum.
My name is Clare Haney and I have been teaching Cosmetology for the past 11 years with the CBE. I am passionate about all things CTS. I am a lifelong learner and completed my MEd in Educational Leadership. When I am not in the Cosmo Lab teaching you can find me helping out with the Student Council, encouraging student wellness, or playing hockey with the teachers after school.
|