“Be that generation of
educators; it’s a chain reaction.”
-Lee Hirsch
Director of
Bully
At 6pm on October23 rd, 2012, the Little Theater here at
St. John’s University began to fill with people awaiting Lee
Hirsch’s lecture. However, the term ‘lecture’ really does not
capture the essence of Lee Hirsch’s words; he was personal,
sincere, passionate, and relatable as he spoke to students,
administrators and teachers. Hirsch is the director of
“Bully,” an incredible, powerful documentary that has made waves in
the education world along with the entire world as a whole.
Hirsch was born in Queens and grew up on Long Island. Having
been bullied throughout school, his passion for directing the film
is real and personal. As Hirsch went through clips, it was
clear that the documentary itself was powerful, real, and personal;
capturing the lives of kids who have struggled with the issue of
bullying in school. Often times we hear the phrases, “man up”
or, “kids will be kids”; yet, how far do these phrases really get
us? Bullying is not just a rite of passage; bullying has
become an epidemic throughout our schools. An estimated 13
million kids will be bullied in the United States in one
year. In addition, 160,000-200,000 of those students will skip
school due to bully-related issues. These astronomical numbers
reveal the reality of bullying; indifference has only enabled the
problem to escalate.
So, how do we take action? What does it mean to create a safe
school environment? How do we achieve this? What steps
can we take? Lee Hirsch took us through strategies and
ideas to help prevent bullying within schools. First, Hirsch
spoke of the idea to incorporate a tracking system within
schools. This system could give us the knowledge to recognize
the bullies and the victims. Knowledge is power, and part of
prevention. Often times, bullying is overlooked because the
student is suffering in silence. Knowledge can break that
silence and the barrier to really help our students. Hirsch
then took us through social and emotional learning. Social and
emotional learning is a way to get kids and adults alike to
intervene and stand up. He stressed the importance of being
“upstanders and not bystanders.” This framework can change the
entire school environment. By sending out a clear message, it
can help students make those connections as well. To implement
this social and emotional learning strategy, Hirsch spoke of doing
things as simple as having class meetings, or a homeroom type of
setup where students and teachers can speak openly and stress the
importance of being upstanders in the issue of bullying. By
making the classroom a safe place, you can make schools in general
a safe place.
“I think we are at a tipping point for national and global change,”
Hirsch stated. The norms are beginning to shift, and it is up to us
to continue it. It seems that society only makes a fuss of
bullying once it has gone to far, or once it is too late. Yet,
as Hirsch stated, “The time to make change happen is when nothing
is happening.” We need to capitalize on the moments that we
can. One victim of bullying is one too many. To end with
the words of Lee Hirsch, the time is now to “be that generation of
educators; it’s a chain reaction.”
To be a part of the movement, visit
www.facebook.com/bullymovie
www.thebullyproject.comTwitter:
@bullymovie
Dana Hetzel '14