This week I read Thirteen Reasons Why. This is the second time I have read this
book, and it still had the same impact on me this time as it did when I read it
last year after a few of my students recommended it to me . Through "listening" to Hannah
Baker's tapes, we, along with Clay, learn of 13 reasons as to why Hannah takes her
own life. Although the book is sad and
difficult to read in parts, it sends an important message. As we read about each of the incidents, we see
how people's actions or inactions can truly affect others.
On her tapes, Hannah explains
rumors that were spread about her and describes the torment and abuse she
suffered from her classmates. The incidents
she describes are REAL issues that students of all ages are constantly dealing
with. This is one of the reasons why
this novel is so relevant and meaningful.
Teaching in a high school, I know that many students deal with these
types of issues, and these students may very likely relate to Hannah and her
feelings of pain, depression and suicide.
Although some of the incidents Hannah describes may seem small, we see
how they build on one another and, as a result, cause this snowballing
effect. Like Hannah, many teenagers may
not know how to deal with these types of issues, and as a result, things may
become out of control.
As Hannah explains, rumors
are hurtful, and oftentimes, they are difficult to disprove because people are
set on believing everything they hear. Now
more than ever, we see just how quickly rumors can be spread, particularly via
the web. Cyberbullying has become a
major issue. Without that face-to-face interaction,
it is "easier" to be hurtful or bully someone because one does not
see the immediate impact their words have.
When people are online, they feel invisible, like they can say whatever
they want. While reading Hannah's story,
we see the repercussions people's actions can have on others and how what one
might consider merely joking may not always be interpreted that way.
This week, John Halligan
came and visited my high school. Mr.
Halligan's son, Ryan,
who was bullied and tormented by his classmates both in school and online,
committed suicide in 2003. Mr. Halligan
shared his son's story, and many of the things he shared reminded me of Hannah
Baker and Thirteen Reasons Why. Mr. Halligan shared the rumors that were
spread about his son and explained how Ryan was tormented by his classmates. Mr. Halligan then described the snowball
effect these things had and how Ryan could not take it anymore. He felt like he had no one to talk to. This is very similar to Hannah's
situation. She did not know how to
handle all the issues, and she felt like she did not have anyone to discuss her
problems with. She even felt ignored by
her guidance counselor.
Although
Thirteen Reasons Why is fiction,
bullying is a real issue, which is why it is imperative that issues relating to
bullying be embedded in school curriculums.
One thing we can do as teachers is ensure we are providing our students
with a safe and caring learning environment.
I highly recommend Capturing Kids
Hearts. It is a professional
development training that offers tools and ideas for fostering a positive
learning environment. We need our
students to know that we care and that they can talk to us and trust us.
At
my school, during our Advisory sessions, we do a lot of anti-bullying
activities and these can easily be carried over into the classroom. First off, we should be teaching more about
digital citizenship, particularly digital responsibility and etiquette. Students of all ages spend their time
texting, tweeting, and using facebook, and it is our responsibility to ensure
that students are using these appropriately and responsibly and not to
humiliate and hurt others. I know I have
mentioned something similar in previous posts, but why not have students think critically
about different bullying scenarios and then collaborate and share their ideas
to create public service announcements about the effects of bullying? These can be shared with other students
during morning announcements. In my
English class, I can have my students use their knowledge of internal and
external conflict to create skits about the effects of bullying. Finally, for a research assignment, I can
have my students' research different bullying laws and write a paper arguing
whether or not these laws are strict enough.
Students can then communicate their ideas to others by presenting their
research to classmates. Another idea-students
can consider our own district's bullying policy, and depending whether or not
they find it effective, create a presentation and present it to the administration
or even Board of Ed. These types of activities
can easily be connected to the Common Core and state standards. Students will have opportunities to interact
and collaborate with peers. They will use
technology to research and gather information about different issues, and then
present their information and ideas to larger audiences. These types of projects are so meaningful, because
issues of bullying are relevant to our students today, which is why these
issues need to be taught and discussed in schools.
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