Call to Action

National Call to Action

by Wilson Mc Caskill

Soon school principals will receive a letter from the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull  urging them do more to target bullying and violence in the classroom.  The implication that not enough is being done may raise the ire of many school leaders and their dedicated staff who are constantly trying to ensure the safety and well being of the children in their care.

The recent suicide of Amy “Dolly” Everett after persistent bullying has intensified the spotlight that has always shone on this ever-present aspect of human behaviour.  Schools are being called on to join the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence on March 16. Mr Turnbull has written “We believe all students have the right to be safe at school. Bullying and violence has no place in Australia.” Perhaps recent events in America prompted the obviousness of this declaration and his subsequent call to arms; “Together we can reduce the incidence of bullying whether inside the school gate or online, and eliminate it wherever we can” is tacit admission that reduction is likely the best we can do even though the NDA asks schools to “imagine a world free from bullying.”

In so many instances of a crisis in standards of behaviour the nation’s attention turns to schools and pleas are made for leaders to “do more.” Surely this acknowledges the truth that schools are four walls around the future and whatever tomorrow looks like will be substantially shaped by the daily practice within classrooms and schools.

The Victorian educational researcher Ken Rowe said, “What kids bring to school determines where they start, but what happens in that classroom determines how far they get.” This acceptance that teachers can be of significant influence on a child irrespective of his or her background should give us great hope and explains why the nation turns to schools in moments of crisis. We are in a position to repair today while

shaping tomorrow.

There are few educators whose hearts are not in the right place and most carry the weight of the nation’s expectations with good grace and humour. However, their effectiveness in any endeavour will depend to a large extent on the tools they use, and of the many tools used to tackle bullying the most effective have been those that actively build and embed empathy in all parties, including those who bully.  

It would be naive to believe that bullying can be eliminated. No more likelihood of that happening than prisons being mothballed because we have eliminated crime. We can however, significantly diminish the power and effect of bullying by raising the emotional resilience and strengthening the self-perception of those targeted. Doing so

is not a quick and easy task and takes a long-term approach and a willingness to master the skills required for the tools used.

If bullying were easy to fix we wouldn’t still be trying to fix it. The #MeToo and  #TimesUp campaigns have rightly further sensitised us all to bullying, harassment, violence and abuse especially to women and girls. Sweeping these issues under the carpet is not acceptable and anything less than a rigorous and wholehearted attack on the problem will attract the wrath of a global community insisting their children feel 

safe, are safe and will always be safe in schools.