last night i could not sleep

so i studied a lil =) yay i’ve officially started!

i studied the three shortest powerpoints but still..it’s a start

i realized i never told u guys about my community clinicals with the kids a few wks ago

they were heavy on my mind last night and we are going back this week so i need to start planning

but we worked w/ 4th and 5th graders and we talked about bullying. it went very well we got into some really good convo and they opened up a lot about the things they’ve done or seen their friends, cousins, older siblings do and the consequences

we talked about what made sense and what didn’t and how to stop bullying. we didn’t go in there with some cookie cutter bullying psa though. these kids had some STORIES. some that left us not really knowing what to say

..it was kind of sad

3 of them had been suspended for that week for fighting..some were bullying right there in the room (ie name calling..even hitting e/o in the face). we knew we might have some behavioral issues and some people not wanting to participate because they were ‘too cool’ so here’s how the day went because when we were told by the previous week’s group that we weren’t going to be able to control these kids or get them to do anything we were like

we went in there and had everyone sit in a circle so we could see all of them. we told them we had plenty of good candy for them that we had spent plenty of good money on but that we weren’t giving it out unless they 1)participate 2)behave and then we explained how each kid would have a lil bag w/ their name on it and they would either accumulate or lose candy from the bag based on their behavior. participating and being polite would earn you candy. and anything that i didn’t like would make you lose candy. things i don’t like: rolling your eyes, sucking your teeth, crossing your arms, speaking in a tone that hints towards you having an attitude with me, name-calling, talkign while i’m talking, putting your hands on someone, being any form of rude, not paying attn, etc.

any hint of attitude i WILL NOT TOLERATE

they got the gist

(ok well maybe they weren’t THAT eager..at first)

oh and they wouldn’t receive their bags of candy til the end because we weren’t about to deal w/ hyped up kids and candy wrappers

and so we started w/ an icebreaker - a categories game and then we got to know every1s names so we could call individuals out if needbe (and to make it more personal). we tried to let the talkative ones help us out in a leadership kind of way (in hopes that they would use their social powers 4 good and not evil).

and then we discussed what they thought bullying was and by raise of hands showed who all had bullied, been bullied, seen bullying etc. we participated as well. then we split into 2 groups and went into the 2 backrooms. about 20 kids and 4 of us. we had a small group discussion where we played a game w/ skittles. whichever color skittle you picked out the bag was the kind of story you had to tell about bullying. a time where you have been bullied, a time where you’ve stopped bullying or stood up for someone, a time where you’ve bullied someone, a time where you’ve seen someone be bullied etc. then it just kind of turned into a sharing/discussion. oh and we did hi/lo where we each shared the hi and lo of our week/day. some kids claimed they had no high for the day/week =(

one girl because she hadn’t be en to school since she was suspended. i asked her what for and she said fighting. i asked her if she won

(my bad. i slipped lol NO HI-FIVES FOR FIGHTING…even if u won. because not being in school is losing.)

in my group we had a few behavioral issues for a min but it didn’t last long. one little boy kept pickign stuff up. my pen, a stick, my candy. i told him ‘please do NOT put your hands on my things w/o asking’ so he asked and i said

another kid: ohhhhh lemme help you with the candy i know who everybody is i’ll pass it out!

me: how about you back up a minute and tell me your name and i’ll let you know when and if i need your help (i did let him help l8r though)

it’s weird with kids even if you’re mean/strict w/ them they still love u. the 1 lil boy who i had to get on when we first got there was dying to participate and be in my group. he was such a lil cutie. we also had a talkie handkerchief which meant u didn’t talk unless u had the handkerchief. they were reallyyyyy good about remembering that even when i forgot. 1 girl gave a slick answer to my question of how 1 of the kids could’ve stopped some1 from bullying (she said ‘jump in and participate’) so i said ‘who said that?

candy out the bag- u know better’ that was the last piece of candy i had to take out of her bag

they were all eager 2 talk..even the ones who at first said they weren’t going to participate. i told them that was fine but if we lose the competition of who had the most candy out of our group and the other then i’d be upset because i’m highly competitive. they warmed up to the convo though

one boy just had attitude for no reason i almost dumped all his candy out.

i told him he could leave and he said fine i said ok well fine then GO. and of course he stayed. i talked to him a lil later and he was a lil more respectful.

i told them i said some of y’all seem to have attitudes for no reasons. and i’m sure maybe you could’ve had a rough day but you don’t know what kind of day i’ve had so keep that in mind too. we were talking about why it makes no sense to bully 1 person to get back at their older brother or sis for picking on u. that that poor kid has nothing 2 do w/ a nythnig. and likewise it’s dangerous to bully because who knows what cousins or older kids that person is going to go and get and bring to your house w/ a gun or knife (a few told stories like that)

we discussed things to do/say that won’t make you sound lame or like a snitch but that can help you help somebody else who is being bullied

and we discussed WHY ppl may be bullying in the first place. how ppl have things going on at home and sometimes that’s hwo they take it out and feel in control. they said sometimes they feel that way 2. so we explained u never know what some1s going through… and it could be like what you are going through or worse. and then when we were talking about how u shouldn’t let what ppl say get 2 u esp if it’s not true 1 girl said ‘well what if it is true?’ :-((((((

so i had to think for a sec but i told her well in that case what will bullying solve? it’ll still be true and you could be doing something more productive or positive than getting yourself in trouble and adding to your probs

it was a good discussion overall. we go back this week and the plan is to focus on positive things. so we will  play that game where u step forward or cross the line if whatever is read out applies to you. that way they can see that they aren’t alone in their feelings/situations. and then encourage them to write positive things of appreciation to e/o on these lil cards that we will put on a board. and then if we have time or maybe next visit we will have lil books (like yearbooks but smaller and hceaper) for them to each write in for e/o that they can keep and look back on when they may be feeling down adn we will write things in them as well.

also we want to talk about ways to cope w/ stress at home (some have some SERIOUS stress at home that i can’t even pretend to relate to) and i’m going to make them smoothies =) cuz i love smoothies and that’s my personal destressor

i’m really grateful for my teammates who either helped me plan or willingly went along with my plan even though it sounded (maybe) too detailed and idealistic. love those chicas!

any tips/ideas/suggestions are welcomed!

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