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Following a presentation by Edison State students, second graders at
Greenville Elementary
proudly show off their “I’m a good buddy” cards.
Edison State Darke
County students talk to youngsters about bullying
The message was simple: Be a good buddy, not a bully! Nine teams of
Edison State Darke County Fundamentals of Communications students went
to four school districts, plus the Greenville Public Library, in
December to talk to youngsters and adults about the rapidly increasing
problem of bullying.
“Every one of you has experienced or seen bullying at one time or
another,” said one team after asking students three basic questions:
Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever been a bully? Have you ever
seen bullying occur? Typically more than half of the students indicated
they had been bullied, about a quarter admitted to being a bully, and
nearly all said they’d witnessed bullying.
The nine teams, consisting of 54 Edison State students, talked about
bullying to nearly 400 students at Ansonia Intermediate, Greenville
Intermediate, Mississinawa Elementary, Greenville Elementary and adults
at Greenville Library. They talked about the harm it causes and what to
do if it happens.
What is bullying? “Bullying is being mean a lot,” they told a class of
second grade students. “Always pushing or hitting someone, or saying
bad things to someone.”
Physical and verbal bullying is easy to recognize. A form that’s harder
to recognize, but can be just as harmful, is social bullying. It
includes telling lies or saying mean things behind someone’s back, or
excluding someone from a game or group activity. The fourth form – and
most quickly growing – is cyber bullying.
“Verbal bullying is most common right now,” one team told a fourth
grade class, “but cyber bullying is almost as bad and it’s getting
worse.” It can affect kids as young as third and fourth grade because
of the Internet games they play. “It’s easy to be a cyber bully,” the
students said. “Nobody has to know who you are.”
Students told adults at the library that signs that a child is being
bullied include unexplainable injuries, lost or destroyed personal
items, faking illness to avoid going to school, changes in eating
habits and difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares.
Their message to kids if they are being bullied, or see someone being
bullied? “Tell a teacher, your parents or another trusted adult!”
“Fundamental of Communication students at Edison State Darke County
Campus have been conducting these presentations for several semesters,”
said Edison State Darke County Campus Dean Chad Beanblossom. “I commend
the students and their instructor for the time and effort put into
these important presentations. As a college we have an obligation to
serve our community, and this is just one example of how we are doing
this.”
Edison State Darke County Fundamentals of Communication students use
the skills they learn in the course to give back to their community.
Their fall presentations are about bullying. In the spring their
message is about drug abuse. Beginning with the 2016-17 school year,
Edison State students also have begun tutoring struggling young people,
kindergarten through sixth grade, in the Greenville City School
District.
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