DFA Library
Dignity for All Students Act (DASA)
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/dignityact/documents/FINALDignityForAllStudentsActGuidanceDec2017.pdf
A PDF of the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), this document outlines the current thinking for how to ensure that all students can learn in a positive climate and achieve their potential. The Act outlines the federal and state policies and offers best practices and helpful tips for both students and teachers to reference.
The first paragraph of DASA reads:
A student’s ability to learn and to meet high academic standards, and a school’s ability to educate its students is compromised by incidents of discrimination or harassment including bullying, taunting, or intimidation. The Dignity Act makes it the official policy of New York State that all students in public schools have the right to an education free of discrimination and harassment.
Stopbullying
https://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/index.html
This site provides federally collected data on youth bullying. You can delve into current research and statistics on bullying and also find helpful information about your rights and how to protect yourself from cyber-bullying, including what steps to take, how to report harassment to Online Service Providers, and how to create a safe digital community in your school.
PACER
http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/info-facts.asp
PACER is an organization founded by families who are dedicated to supporting other families, and PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center is a great resource for important facts. This website has sections on classroom activities, resources, videos, stories, and campaigns where teens can get involved.
Forward through Ferguson
http://forwardthroughferguson.org
The Ferguson Commission gives an inspiring and informative Call to Action. This is a document for students and teachers to understand the importance of a positive climate and culture for learning, to identify the current status-quo that allows inequities and injustices, and the importance of our active involvement to make a difference. As you browse this site reflect on the parallels between unsafe climate in schools and racial injustice in a larger society.
Megan Meier Foundation
https://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/what-we-do
This foundation is moved to create compassionate environments where kids feel safe so that they may lead creative and productive lives. Mostly focused on cyber-bullying, this is a site dedicated to compiling research and providing us with the facts we need to build compelling arguments for change.
It sometimes difficult to notice bullying behavior when it happens. In this video, you will see the ways in which bullying can occur, and may even start to notice how bullying shows up in your own life.
Questions To Consider:
How do you feel about the boy getting on the bus?
What is the impact of the role the bully plays in this situation?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l7ldlw5xk7aqbz3/EveryOpportunity.mp4?dl=0
Tray Chaney— Mike Bully (Stand Up For Our Future
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTecq9aqB1Y
This is a compelling and inspiring song set to a narrative about a young boy who found a way to make a difference in his school.
Opening Doors and Beyond
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIHtuKc3Gjg&feature=em-share_video_user
This is a story about one kid who not only becomes an upstander, but unwittingly finds a way to change the social and emotional climate of his school. An unlikely hero, this kid shows us how simple it can be.
Bullying, Harassment, & Civil Rights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI1tdJPHz2I
The video is an overview of School Districts’ federal obligation to respond to harassment. It was developed by stopbullying.gov as part of collaboration among the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice and SAMSHA, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Who Will Stop the Bullying?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75gsCJaXTnQ
This is an important video to watch and to identify the behavior in a bullying cycle, the importance of the bystander, and to reflect on our own attitudes and beliefs about our own role in this cycle of aggression.
Positive Action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8lUD6BHunE
This is a PSA (public service announcement) video produced by Disney that hopes to inspire social change among young people. Watch it and pinpoint which aspects of the video are effective in promoting change in beliefs and attitudes.
Stand Up Against Bullying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzD1qVfr5gs
Bullying knocks down thousands of youth every day, but when one person stands, others will stand with him/her. How does this video encourage young people to stand up to help those who have been bullied?
Teaching Tolerance
https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/archive
This page of the website for the Southern Poverty Law Center provides PDFs of pertinent articles for both students and teachers. Check out a great article that inspires thinking around the 2016 presidential election and share it with the rest of the class!
National Children’s Advocacy Center
https://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/cyberbullying-resources/
This is an organization that provides research, information, and resources for communities to help young people who are targeted by peers or living in abusive environments. The website provides helpful facts and statistics about cyberbullying.
Surveys for School Climate
http://www.whatkidscando.org/specialcollections/student_as_allies/pdfs/saa_samplesurveys_final.pdf
This site created by students from schools across the country to share surveys that they wrote with the help of their teachers. The goal is to examine and evaluate their own school climate! They offer great advice and share their experiences while conducting the survey.