Students Wear Pink in Solidarity

Last February, Teacher Michele’s Courageous Cubs participated in Pink Shirt Day, an annual event celebrated in many countries around the world.

Pink Shirt Day encourages people to talk about bullying and to take action against it. The event began in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2007. A group of students decided to defend another student who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. In a show of solidarity, many of his peers turned up to school the next day wearing pink shirts. By wearing a pink shirt, people identify themselves as an ally. The pink shirt is a way of showing those being bullied that there are many people around who care.

In solidarity, Courageous Cubs wore pink, red or their class shirts to school. They also participated in a powerful group exercise designed to create awareness around and empathy for the various participants in a bullying scenario – the bystander, the upstander, the target and the bully. Students discussed the perspectives of these participants and then wrote poetry reflecting those points of view.

Rebecca, mom to Courageous Cub Jaxson, had the privilege of working in the classroom for this special event and shares how impactful this experience was, both to her, and to our students:

“I had the privilege of working in class today during the Pink Shirt activity. First, I’d like to give a shout out to Teacher Michele. She was amazing in the way she handled the sensitive topic of bullying, and helping the students empathize with all parties in a bullying situation (the bully, the victim, the bystander, the upstander). The way she presented the lesson and activities was beautiful, but the best part, was how our Courageous Cubs responded. In addition to wearing pink, red or their class shirts, the students were engaged, and well informed, offering well-thought-out perspectives and solutions.  I learned a lot from listening to them – and realized once again that we learn as much from our kids as they do from us (maybe more, with their fresh brains!). Just wait until you read their poems and see the “pink shirts” they artistically designed. More than once, Teacher Michele, Debbie P. (mom to Courageous Cubs Sam and Michael) and I caught each other with tears in our eyes and chills on our arms, amazed at the beautiful, smart and introspective children in our classroom and the words they chose to use.  Good job parents!  Good job Village!”

To read some of the beautifully insightful words, written by the students, select a point of view button:

I am the bully,
I wonder if I will hurt someone
I hear kids feet disappearing in fright
I see kids shivering in fear and hiding if it was like I had a weapon
I want nothing to do with this
I am the bully.
I pretend I have a friend when really I have non
I feel like I have nothing to do on this earth
I touch a ball and throw it and it touches the hard ground
I worry that my future will be disappointing and lonely
I cry at night
I am the bully.
I understand that I’m doing wrong but I can’t stop
I say I’m sorry but no one believes me
I dream of being the villain in a movie and getting teased
I try my hardest to stop but I can’t
I hope my future is happy
I am the bully.

I am the target,
I wonder why he or she bully’s me
I hear mean words directed at me
I see the bully hurting me
I want to leave
I am the target.
I pretend I am somewhere else
I feel sad and hurt
I touch my hurt sad body
I worry I won’t get help
I cry for help and my mom
I am the target.
I understand why I am sad
I say stop
I dream I was better
I try get help
I hope that I can leave this world
I am the target.

I am the bystander,
I wonder if the target is O.K
I hear bullying
I see bullying
I want no bullying
I am the bystander.
I pretend their is nothing
I feel bad
I touch my deep side
I worry the target will get hurt
I cry because i don’t know what to do
I am the bystander.
I understand the target
I say in my head i don’t know what to do
I dream i will be the target too
I try to not get involved
I hope he doesn’t get hurt
I am the bystander.

I am the upstander,
I wonder what the bully is afraid of,
I hear angry targets,
I see the bullies run of,
I want this to stop,
I am the upstander.
I pretend that when I finish this mission I will save the school,
I feel lucky to fight of bullies,
I touch the targets shoulder to make them feel better,
I worry that this will never stop,
I cry the targets are getting bullied,
I am the upstander.
I understand that I will save the school,
I say this will stop,
I dream of a land with no bullies,
I try to stop this,
I hope that this will finally stop,
I am the upstander.