I had seen the trailer for this documentary a while back and it looks very good. Here is the link to the trailer: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/bully/
I currently help out at Blacksburg High School, and the teacher I assist with has shown a movie in the past about bullying to her students. I can't remember the movie's name on top of my head, however I remember it being a successful adult talking to a group of students about his troubled past with bullying. It was definitely interesting, but I'm not sure if the students in the BHS class really took much from it. I was wondering what your guys opinions were on how effective showing movies on bullying and having class discussions could be?
I remember hearing a lot about this movie trying to lobby for a PG-13 rating instead of R so it could be shown to young students. They marketed it as a groundbreaking film that would totally change bullying. It seems like they cleaned up some language and finally got the rating lowered.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/apr/06/weinstein-bully-wins-pg-13-rating
I think the R rating was pretty unfounded. It is possible it was a move by the MPAA, which is owned by big Hollywood, to stifle an independent movie. They've pulled similar stunts in the past. The problem is they issue ratings without really explaining what has to be fixed to change it. Luckily there was enough protest surrounding this film that the MPAA eventually caved.
DeleteMy experience with movies/videos is that there are several ways to not have them provide a useful learning experience.
ReplyDeleteForgive me a second - this is relevant to the topic; I'll try and connect it to bullying farther down.
Simply showing a video without providing a clear pedagogic context is one way of ensuring the students get little from it. Another way is to tell students "Watch the video and take notes" or "Watch the video and take at least five notes".
In my experience, you have to (1) provide a context; (2) alert students to what it is they are to focus on; and (3) make sure that they have a realistic chance of getting what you want out of it.
This is all essential, especially if there are facts/interpretations/etc., that are being introduced, rather than which have already been introduced to students, and are now being re-inforced.
One way to focus the students is to provide them with specific questions to answer. Another is to pause the video shortly before each critical part. Maybe say something to direct attention or summarize what was before that point. Or call on a student to summarize what happened previously. Then restart the video. Pause again after the critical part, and discuss the critical part with the class. Repeat as needed. When the video is done, most likely you then have to summarize important ideas or concepts on an ovehead, or board, or put them on the class blog, wiki, etc.
There are too many students who zone out, sleep (especially near the end of the school day, or right after lunch, when students are digesting food), or just don't have an interest.
So, how does this relate to bullying? or cyberbullying?
As always, you have to peak their interest, get their attention, motivate them. If they are already motivated - perhaps due to advance publicity about a "cool" movie, then the task is made easier. But the students have so many classes and demands put upon them that it is probable that many will zone out unless they have a direct prior interest. That prior interest can't be assumed, in most cases.
I think you have to pre-view the movie/video, think about what is important, and how to focus interest on those parts. I think you have to do things to facilitate the discussion, and it has to relate to experiences the students have already had.
So movies on bullying made me think of this one NCIS show. Sorry if you aren't a NCIS person, but it you are you may appreciate this. In season 4 episode 9 ("Twisted Sister") McGee's sister, Sarah McGee is set-up for murder. It turns out that Sarah bullied someone by posting mean thing on her blog about a cheerleader. So Sarah was the bully and the cheerleader was the victim but the roles would change. Sarah became the victim when the cheerleader retaliated and set her up for murder. The show shows a very dramatic effect of cyberbullying. Probably not something you would want to show your class, but I encourage you to watch it for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI did see that episode and it clearly hightlighted effects of cyberbullying by "turning the tables" on the bully. It does bring up a point that sometimes a bully precipitates a domino effect. That is to say, the victim may become a bully also and target someone else; thus, creating a vicious cycle.
ReplyDeleteAnd it is probably safe to say that the vicious cycle could escalate in intensity as well. That is to say, the bullying could increase in severity of the harmfulness.
DeleteI completely missed this post. I ended up putting the same thing haha. Sorry about that, but it is a really powerful movie that teachers should see.
ReplyDelete