Bully Bully!

There are many ways to promote different ideas to students; lessons, teachable moments, cultural performances, among many others. There are some lessons, however, that you want to cross through all lessons and all teachable moments, and all experiences in school. These social / emotional lessons and values need to be a part of everything we do in school.

Today I was in my practicum class and there was a cultural performance by the Story Theatre Company out of Victoria. This group is excellent, but what makes it even better, is that this group promotes the same social / emotional encouragements as we do in the school, the W.I.T.S program. For those not familiar with this program, it's like many out there, WITS stands for the suggested game play when you encounter bullying. First you walk away, then you try to ignore the situation, you try to talk it out and then in the end if nothing else is working, you seek help.

The group was very well presented and had a funny script, it was definitely worth it. I like that we can use arts to present ideas and curriculum to students. It inspired a conversation this evening about cultural events and different ones that we have seen. While it is nice to have the students entertained, it is hard to gauge what they are getting out of the event. Today, for instance, the actors were so funny and entertaining, the kids were laughing hysterically. However, there were times that they were laughing so hard that they missed the point and kept on laughing when the actors were getting bullied by others. So the question is this, can they still get the message when they are too busy being entertained to really listen? What is better, a good message or a good delivery?

For now I'll just say, it was a great show. The only downside is that I have a "Bully Bully" stuck in my head (a catchy tune set to "Louie, Louie")!   :)