Mammoth Elementary PTO

This week there are auditions (Dec 13th and 14th) for my play, Which Team Will YOU Choose? (see announcement in this newsletter). I am hopeful for a good turnout for the auditions-both children and adults. Here is a little background on why I am doing this play...

In my first year of my Caring and Courageous Kids program (2009) I began building a collection of books and offered to go into the classrooms to do story-times and follow-up discussions on bullying, strategies, and building a kindness campaign (which is something I continue to do). "Stories provide a wealth of good examples... that are often missing from a child's day to day environment. Stories can create emotional attachment to... a desire to do the right thing. Stories familiarize youngsters with the codes of conduct they need to know." (Excerpts from "Books That Build Character", William Kilpatrick and Gregory & Suzanee Wolfe) I knew the storytelling and discussions were beginning to make a difference when kids began coming to me during recess for help with their bullying issues, or when they saw me in the halls thanking me for reading the story to their class--they liked talking about strategies for handling bullying!

Near the end of my first year doing the program, the principal asked me to do a  3 week intervention with the 5th grade classes because they were having lots of bullying issues. After our first class a 5th grade student came to me and told me "I want to stop being a bully." "What makes you want to stop?" I asked. He answered, "Because of the videos you showed us the other day. I don't want to be a bully anymore." I realized the power of talking to kids and showing them how their actions affect one another. Using a few short video clips from YouTube on the effects of people being bullied and having conversations with the 5th grade classes was enough to turn a few self-professed bullies around or at least get them thinking. Imagine what we could do if this became a regular part of the school curriculum? This is why my After School Peace Project program works on making our own videos for our assemblies.

 Having become involved as an actor in our local community theatre for the past few years, I thought about taking storytelling to a new level. I thought bringing a story live on stage could make a memorable and positive impact. So I decided to try writing a play -that way it could include all the points that I try to teach in my program while also being appropriate forelementary aged students. Using drama in schools can help students better understand themselves and others. Stan Davis states, "Theatre is an activity of special value... as actors learn to reinvent themselves with each new part." I wrote Which Team Will YOU Choose? not only to bring an awareness to the effects of bullying, to weave in talk-points as learning opportunities, as well as to create a lasting impression by bringing a story to life that students could identify with while opening the door for discussion on standing up to bullying. "Storytelling takes students through the stages of Identification (students identify with characters and/or events in the story); catharsis (students become emotionally involved in the story and express their feelings in a safe and structured setting, through discussion, writing, artwork, or other activities); and Insight (students imagine possible solutions to the issues presented in the story)to help them become aware of ways that their own problems might be addressed or solved." (From "Words that Heal" www.adl.org )When we first performed the play last year I used adult actors. This year I would like to let the students have an opportunity to do the acting which could be empowering for the individual actors while be inspiring the students in the audience! By filming our production we can use it over and over  as a teaching tool...and perhaps provide it to other elelmentary schools (there are more programs and materials for middle and high school levels)! I find myself referring back to the play all the time when talking to students.

Barbara Coloroso, author of "The Bully, The Bullied, and the Bystanders", describes bullying as "an act with 3 characters." She states: "There can be no bullying without bullies. But they cannot pull off their cruel deeds without the complicity of bystanders." Research shows that bystanders are present 85% of the time when bullying occurs. In Which Team Will YOU Choose? bystanders learn that standing up to bullying takes away the power of the bully and that they have the power to break the cycle of bullying. In so doing, this has the potential to make a big problem much smaller.  It takes caring and courage...and can help create a climate of caring & kindness in a school. "Most students from all across the country choose reaching out as the most desired peer intervention." (Stan Davis)

The strategies in my play are unlike those typically seen in the movies or on TV. The "bad guy" is downplayed and seen as "not cool"-in fact he "stinks"! There is no "sweet" revenge --only learning opportunities. That's because the "bucket fill-osophy"™ in Carol McCloud's book "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" was one of the inspirations for my play. In her book, McCloud explains that "we all carry an invisible bucket in which we keep our feelings about ourselves. Is our bucket real? Yes! It represents our mental and emotional health. When our buckets are full, we are happy; when they are empty, we are sad. It's important to know that we can fill our own bucket and so can others. "Bucket dippers" rob us of happy feelings by refusing to help with a task or by saying or doing cruel things."(www.bucketfillers101.com )  The concepts of "bucket-filling" and "bucket-dipping" are woven into our conversations at our school to help teach the concept of how everything we do or say has a positive or negative effect on others.

The Caring & Courageous Kids program and Which Team Will You Choose? is also influenced greatly by Stan Davis, as well as by Dr. Dan Olweus.  Stan Davis, author of "Schools Where Everyone Belongs" compares relational bullying to abuse or harassment. In his book he states: "the aggressor oscillates between harassment and apology, between hurting and nurturing, and between enmity and an imitation of friendship." Davis goes on to say that young children in these types of relationships with their friends come to accept abuse as a normal part of friendship, and later in dating relationships, and in adulthood. He teaches us that there are 5 components of successful comprehensive intervention to bullying. Myplay focuses on the 5th component: "Empowering bystanders". Barbara Coloroso says "Bystanders reinforce bullying behavior by being silent or not protesting." This increases the bully's feelings of power. But by educating and developing a new cultural norm, the school climate can change! Bullying is learned behavior. Empathy is a learned behavior. "When students understand and care about other's feelings, they are more likely to treat peers in kind ways. Empathetic students reach out to others and act spontaneously to make their classrooms, schools, families, and communities more inclusive." (Stan Davis) "Our goal should be to turn possible defenders into actual defenders. A group mindset needs to be created so that when students on the playground see someone being victimized, they will intuitively come to the aid of the victim." (Nick Dubin)

Audition for...

Children: There are six children's parts: characters include someone who bullies, someone who is bullied, and children who are bystanders. Children must be in grades 4 to 8 to audition. (You will play the part of elementary children).

Adults: Two adult parts as a Coach and one for a character who is considered a positive team leader who assists the Coach.

• Auditions will be filmed. Be prepared to say why you would like to be a part of this project.
• There will be one song at the end of the play, singing abilities a plus--bring a song to audition.
• Must have good reading and memorization skills
• No experience is required
• Must commit to the rehearsal schedule beginning in January 2012 (2-3x a week, including weekends-TBA) through mid-March; and commit to the filming schedule which will likely be two full weekend days in March (dates TBA).
• Children will need permission to audition and to be part of the production.
• Stage manager is also needed

"Acting out personal experiences with bullying fosters compassion and empowers all students - bullies, victims, and witnesses - to stand up for what's right."(http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept05/vol63/num01/Using-Theater-to-Address-Bullying.aspx )