Part 3 - Anti-Bullying Week - Pat Capel

The Good Mental Health Podcast

Anti-Bullying Week with Pat Capel. In this newly recorded audio series, Pat Capel – classroom teacher of 25 years and trained HG psychotherapist – shares invaluable insights and clear techniques that can be applied in any situation. By approaching bullying behaviour – and its consequences – through the lens of unmet emotional needs, Pat shows how the HG approach sheds light on why bullying behaviour happens, and unlocks practical and effective strategies for preventing – and stopping – it. Another one of our emotional needs is the needs for status. This does not mean that we all want to be the top dog. But it suggests that we all want to be recognised for who and what we are. We are social beings and we all need to feel that our group recognises and values us. As teachers, we need to find ways to ensure that each child feels they have status in the classroom. These can be small things like basic rules of classroom management: if one of us is talking, the rest need to listen. And the teacher needs to model and enforce that rule. A particularly good piece of work can be used as a model for the rest of the class. No matter how small the piece of work. Reading out just one sentence can make someone’s day. Or a pupil might have a talent such as being a phenomenal speller. Call on that pupil to help you spell a word while you are working on the board. And do not be scared to call on a particular talent. Hand over to the expert pupil and let him or her teach part of a lesson. They then also learn that status comes with responsibility as others are relying on you. This in turn can lead to the emotional need for a sense of self-esteem and competency being fulfilled. I regularly make my pupils list the skills, techniques and competencies they have learnt in my classroom. But then I take it one step further and I ask the following question: in which other subjects or areas of your life can you use the skills and techniques? If they can learn that the skills are transferable, they feel a sense of control and accomplishment. And this in turn leads to confidence. A confident child is a happy child. A happy child will not bully others. Our impact is stronger when we work together. Discover how you can play your part … https://www.humangivens.com/2020/11/06/anti-bullying-week/