We are so excited to be kicking off our Sources of Strength program with our middle school students again this year! With this program, WCA students will be able to identify what their Source of Strength is, continue to build their resiliency, and create positive connections with their peers.
Middle school students are developmentally at the point where their peer relationships become one of their top priorities. Sometimes these relationships and conversations include teasing. Teasing ”can be a fun way to provoke a reaction in someone else, and they may want to reciprocate being teased themselves.” Typically, teasing is done to show closeness and affection for the other person and is in a non-threatening manner. Teasing can be confused with bullying. At WCA, our definition of bullying aligns with Colorado’s and is defined as: “Bullying is the use of coercion or intimidation to obtain control over another person or to cause physical, mental, or emotional harm to another person. Bullying can occur through written, verbal, or electronically transmitted expressions (i.e., cyberbullying) or by means of a physical act or gesture. Bullying is prohibited against any student for any reason, including but not limited to any such behavior that is directed toward a student on the basis of their academic performance or any basis protected by federal or state law, including disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, national origin, religion, ancestry, or the need for special education services, whether such characteristic(s) is actual or perceived.”
One of the ways we encourage students to work through these situations is to be an upstander instead of a bystander when they see teasing going too far or perceived bullying behavior. Students state their boundaries with teasing, build resiliency, and talk to a trusted adult. Students are also learning to report anonymously through Safe2Tell and an anonymous Google Form sent to Mr. Fitzpatrick if they are concerned about a situation.