The Dragon

One of the reasons bullies have so much power is because their victims are often too scared to tell. It’s a struggle that Leroy faces in ‘Bully on the Bus’ – and it’s a huge and important step, for him to speak about it.

Excerpt take from ‘Bully on the Bus’, by Kathryn Apel (UQP)

This Friday, 16th March, is Bullying, No Way Day – a national day of action against bullying. It’s a reminder that we need to be intentional about conversations with our kids – in homes and in classrooms – to know if they are in situations where they don’t feel safe or valued, but also to ensure that they are growing as compassionate beings, respecting others, even in their differences.

Bullying should not be kept secret!

I wrote Leroy’s story to open communication between small people and their carers, enabling young children to identify a situation where they might feel threatened, like Leroy. A flow-on effect is that it’s being used in older classes to foster empathy and awareness – in hopes of reducing bullying.

For more information on ‘Bully on the Bus’, including reviews and teacher notes; https://katswhiskers.wordpress.com/kats-books/bully-on-the-bus.

For more information about Bullying No Way Day check out; https://bullyingnoway.gov.au

It might be Bullying No Way Day on Friday – but bullying is never okay!

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This post is (sneaking in early) as part of the Poetry Friday link-up around the blogosphere.

You’ll find more poetry posts on 16th March, at TeacherDance.

Thanks, Linda!

Please feel free to share links to other poems about bullying, in the comments.