Bully Prevention Through Classroom Meetings

Did you ever wonder if a classroom's environment was truly warm and supportive to each and every student without exception? Most good educators have experienced that exact moment somewhere in their careers. My moment happened many years ago as I stood in the corner of my classroom contemplating that very question. I had just been exposed for the first time to the works of Dr. William Glasser.My eyes were scanning the classroom through a new lens. I found myself questioning whether I had truly taught my students about the importance of high quality performance in their learning. It seemed my focus had been on meaningless acts of compliance and regurgitation, rather than understanding and thinking.I frequently blamed the students’ failures on inappropriate behaviors. The concept of students ‘choosing to act in the way they do’ seemed counter to all my educational training and background.Did all my students have a sense of belonging and connection in my room? No. Some of my students were disconnected from the rest of the classroom and even me.Did my students have a sense of personal safety in the room? I thought they did, but I was wrong. Later, I learned about the things, which were frightening them and the lack of trust in adults.Did my students have a sense of power and freedom? No. They did exactly what I told them to do or so I thought.Did my students enjoy learning? My perception was far from the truth. It is a worry that I have even today, ‘What happens to our children if we create an environment where they hate to learn?’I began a process of looking more closely at my own behavior in relationship to Glasser’s ‘Seven Caring Habits and the Seven Deadly Habits’. This internal process made me confront a number of critical issues, which I needed to think about. Was I truly supportive and encouraging of all people at all times? Did I listen intently to what other people were saying and accepting of their positions from the point of understanding? Did I demonstrate acts of trust? Did I practice treating all people at all times with respect? Was I willing to negotiate differences in beliefs? These and many more questions raced through my mind.My faults were many. There were times when I was too quick to criticize and blame others. Sometimes I found myself to be complaining and threatening in nature. I even found myself willing to punish or bribe in order to gain control of a situation. All in all, these strategies rarely worked and I knew my personal and professional life needed some changes.This early examination of my classroom led to significant changes in my approach to education for the remainder of my career. My starting point was the development and implementation of classroom meetings based upon these beliefs.A number of years later, I was reminded of these early days when Glasser published the ‘Ten Axioms of Choice Theory’:

The only person whose behavior we can control is our own. All we can give another person is information. All long lasting psychological problems are relationship problems. The problem relationship is always part of our present life. What happened in the past has everything to do with who we are today, but we can only satisfy our basic needs right now and plan to continue satisfying them in the future.We can only satisfy our needs by satisfying the pictures in our Quality World.All we do is behave. All behavior is Total Behavior and is made up of four components: acting, thinking, feeling, and physiology. All total behavior is chosen, but we only have direct control over the acting and thinking components. We can only control our feeling and physiology indirectly through how we choose to act and think. All Total Behavior is designated by verbs and named by the part that is most recognizable[i].

I never looked back from that day on. I was determined that my support and encouragement of others would no longer be limited; I would learn to listen and understand others with passion; and that I would demonstrate my trust and respect for all people at all times despite differences in beliefs and opinions.I upheld this commitment throughout the remainder of my career as both a teacher and administrator. I was not perfect, but I always tried my best to remain true to these statements.In the early 2000’s, I had the most wonderful opportunity to spend time with Dr. Glasser over a couple of days. We discussed the impact of his work on my core beliefs and the positive effects these things had upon my schools. We discussed the use of classroom meetings in order to help students make better choices and a sense of belonging. It was a true moment of pride for the student (me) to share my knowledge and skill with Glasser. He quickly acknowledged my efforts and even suggested things to think about. It was a very special moment in my life.I highly recommend everyone to revisit Choice Theory by Dr. William Glasser as you begin to design and implement classroom meeting strategies. This information will serve as a great foundation of information to build upon.The Purpose of Classroom MeetingsA teacher sat at her desk staring at her lesson plan book. Every minute of the day was packed with tightly compacted instructional compartments. The teacher thought quietly to herself, “Where am I going to find 15 minutes?” The teacher’s eyes looked at the schedule of the morning block. There was no room with all the reading and writing components. “That takes me up to recess.” Her eyes continued to look carefully at the schedule between recess and lunch. “There wasn’t time there.” She had both music and physical education. The teacher began to look at the afternoon part of the schedule. Discouragement started to show on the face of the teacher. “Each and every minute of the day is so tight with instruction, I can’t even find fifteen minutes”. The teacher gently placed the plan book back down on the desk. She sat back in her chair and stared out the windows.This is a common scenario of where education has gone in recent years. The ability to find minutes here and there in the daily schedule has virtually disappeared.I listened to a teacher a year or two ago say, “I don’t have time for music, art, and things like that.”I was appalled to think a good teacher would make such a statement. I asked her, “How do you feel about it?”She shook her head, “I hate it! It’s not right for students.”This is a dilemma facing educators more and more in our world today. Our teaching has become a process of tightly filled compartments of prioritized instruction. These compartments often take away from other strategies, which support the overall learning of the student.This should not be a conversation of ‘either’ ‘or’. You must always do what is right, no matter how difficult the problem may seem. Classroom meeting are so important that we must find the time for the use of this strategy.I recommend the use of classroom meetings without reservation provided the classroom facilitator is skilled in the basic understanding of this strategy and the proper use of techniques.Why is this strategy so important? Classroom meetings help students make better choices. These meetings can have a positive impact upon the participant’s sense of belonging, power, freedom, and enjoyment. The teacher (classroom facilitator) must understand that the classroom meeting is not a forum used for their discipline purposes. It is truly an opportunity to observe the practice of ‘dignity, respect, and understanding’.Designing and Implementing Classroom MeetingsMy personal preference is to train teachers under the guidance and mentorship of an experienced educator in the use of classroom meetings before allowing the teacher to be on their own. This person is known as a building facilitator. I understand that this is not always practical in every situation, and yet, I want people to understand the importance of implementing this strategy correctly.The first stage in the development and implementation of classroom meetings at a site is to coordinate the training schedules for the building and classroom facilitators.The Training of Building FacilitatorsThe process begins in the month of June. All potential building facilitators are brought together for a brief meeting. The facilitators are presented with a seven month timeline, which includes their personal training and implementation strategy. The facilitators are presented with reading materials relating to the strategy and techniques of classroom meetings. Their goal is to review the material as individuals during the months of June, July, and part of August.In August, the facilitators come together for a day of intense and concentrated training in relationship to the strategy of classroom meetings. The first session begins with the facilitators participating in open discussion concerning their readings. Each discussion group is facilitated by an experienced individual modeling techniques of classroom meetings.The second session of the training focuses on the actual skills of the potential facilitators. These individuals are now regrouped with fellow facilitators-in-training to practice leading classroom meetings. Each attempt at facilitation is followed by a brief reflection of the group to improve the individual skills of the facilitator.The third session of training is the observation of actual filmed classroom meetings. Each observation is followed by an open discussion modeling classroom meeting strategies. Participants are looking for both positive and negative strategies used by the facilitators. Close attention is paid to the students in both their verbal answers and body language.The fourth and final session is an open discussion of the newly trained facilitators. Their discussion will focus on the question, "Where can these skills be used other than in a classroom setting? What have I learned?"The newly trained building facilitators will have a deep understanding in the purpose and techniques of classroom meeting strategies. It is important these individuals realize these techniques are not just about students in the classrooms. This is a tremendous strategy, which can be used with members of the organization, the community, and families.The Training of Classroom TeachersThe first step is to decide if the entire school will begin the use of classroom meetings all at once or in a ‘phase-in’ approach. Either approach will work as there are several pluses and minuses for the use of each.I recommend the 'phase-in' approach due to one single point. It is better to allow the building facilitator to focus on smaller numbers of trainees rather than everyone all at once. In this case, we want the building facilitator to create training and mentorship in their building, which is a ‘mile deep and an inch wide’ over approximately a three year period of time.As an example, a middle school of grades 6-8 would want to begin year 1 with the sixth grade, year 2 with the seventh grade, and year 3 with the eighth grade. This would also allow students trained in the methods to progress forward each year until the strategy was fully implemented.Second, the trainees of year one in the building would begin with a review of research and information during the summer to set a good foundation.Third, the first meeting of the building facilitator would be in late August or early September. I recommend the use of the same format designed for building facilitators.At the conclusion of the all-day training, the classroom teachers/facilitators would plan for their first meeting with students during the second week of school. The building facilitator would assist classroom facilitators in their planning and implementation of meetings for the first three weeks. This would include observation and participation in meetings. During the second month of classroom meetings, the building facilitator would only observe and participate in meetings every other week. In the third month, the building facilitator would only visit the classroom meeting one time. This would continue until the remainder of the year.I recommend a time be sent aside every other week for the building facilitators to meet with all classroom facilitators. This would be a time for discussion and improvement of skills.Guidelines for Classroom MeetingsClassroom meetings should take place in a circular pattern to allow each other an un-obstructed view of all members of the group. Students and adults participating in the meeting sit in chairs or on the floor in this pattern. Students must learn to move desks and other objects out of the way safely and as quickly as possible. This holds true at the conclusion of the meeting when the classroom is returned to its normal structure. This action requires a teaching of the students this process. It is my personal belief that most classrooms can be prepared for a meeting in three minutes or less. This requires students to help each other in a safe and respectful manner. The process needs to be practiced over and over by the students until they reach the expectations of time, design, and safety.I recommend classroom meetings occur weekly for approximately 45 minutes per session on the last day of the week. A student can request a special session at any time so long as the facilitator agrees the discussion warrants an alteration of the school day and if the time can be found. Special sessions should not occur frequently and must justify a teaching opportunity.In time, effective classroom facilitators may opt for meetings the last fifteen minutes of the day for each and every day of the week. This method keeps the discussion items usually within the same day of occurrence.Every classroom meeting begins with ‘Kudos’. A student can only give and receive one kudo per session. Kudos must be specifically stated. Example: “I want to give Carol kudos for helping me understand my math yesterday.” Only after all students are done can the teacher offer a kudo to a student for a specific situation, hopefully to bring emphasis to a specific topic or problem the class is working on.The second part of the session is ‘Problem Solving’. A student can only present one problem per session. The student identifies the problem clearly without reference to a specific student by name or description. The teacher asks for possible solutions from the students. The complaining student is asked if one of these solutions would work for them. Example: A student states, “I am being bullied on the playground by a student. This person threatens me almost every day, and says he or she will beat me up after school.” Everyone listens very carefully as the problem is stated. The teacher asks the students in the circle what they think. A student says, “This is bully! You must tell an adult immediately.” Every student looks at the teacher. The teacher tells the student that she will help him/her with the bully, and then asks the student what they could have done if they witnessed it. A student answers, “We could have walked our friend away from the bully and found adult help. The complaining student is asked if one of these solutions would work for them.The last part of the session is ‘Specific Topics’. This is a great time for the teacher to bring in specific topics from a school behavior program or concerns, which are becoming problems. Example: The teacher facilitates a discussion of internet bullying.Finally, facilitators have to be highly focused and use their skills effectively at each and every meeting. They must be aware of all students, watching their body language, keeping the meeting moving along, and managing the time well. The success of classroom meeting will depend on their skills of leadership and facilitation.  The ‘circle or classroom meeting’ is a wonderful bridge in the development of problem solving and trust between students and adults.[i] Dr.William Glasser, Choice Theory, Harper/Collins Publishers, Inc., 1998