“Excess of liberty, whether it lies in state or individuals seems only to lead into excess of slavery”. Plato, Greek philosopher
1. THE ROLE OF LEGAL ASPECTS ACTION
The decision to inform students on the legal aspects of bullying has the purpose of proper information on the consequences of school bullying on a legal level and also of raising awareness that, school bullying as a phenomenon and as concrete actions of people involved (victim-bully) are not only of school concern but also an issue of the community and the state. The aim of the action is the realization, on the part of the students, of the extent of the phenomenon, and knowledge of how it is treated in other countries/school partners in the EMB project. Finally, they are accustomed to legal procedures, the social role of the state, the culture and the seriousness of the laws.
2. OUR EMB EXPERIENCE
Many students ignored the fact that school bullying can be an issue of such proportions and also a legal issue of the penal code in some countries or a major state of concern in others. Thus, surprise was an eminent feeling during the sessions of discussion and a lot of interest was placed on different approaches in different countries and the concomitant comparisons. A characteristic query was: “But is it true that children can go to jail because of this?”
3. SKILLS ACQUISITION
In the end of each information session, a role play activity followed, through which and via semi-directed activities the students stood the chance to be in the role of a bully, a victim or a by-stander in a bullying incident. In this way, effort was made in encouraging team-bonding, cooperation, creativity, creative thinking, communication and self-presentation.
4. OVERALL BENEFIT
Through this action the students get accustomed with the operation of the state as a social institution and the role of the community. They also realize that the victims are not left alone but they are protected from a series of organizations. They also realize that bullies are found sooner or later and they pay for their deeds accordingly.
5. WHEN AND HOW TO USE THE ACTION
The action consists of two parts. Part 1 is information on legal aspects (in simple form) via a power point slides presentation. Part 2 is a creative activity with role-plays and script writing. These two equally important parts make the specific activity stand out for the seriousness with which school faces the phenomenon of bulling as well as the closeness and creativity which the students experience in it. They cultivate skills of crisis management, refusal towards negative behavior and initiative of decisive attitude and empathy/sympathy.
This action is a very useful tool in the hands of teachers, in the frame of prevention of school bullying and
it can be used both during a teaching module and on special days like Universal Anti-bullying Day, World Day Against Violence and so on.
It can also consist part of the school’s planned yearly action of sensitization as “Activity of the Month” and in combination with other activities found in this guide (comic script writing, poetry, poster drawing and decoration of the school etc.) in different months.
It can serve as material for the lessons of Project, English language, Political Science, Home Economics etc.
