Bullyproof:
A Teacher’s Guide on Teasing and Bullying
For Use with Fourth and Fifth-Grade Students

A joint publication of the Wellesley College Center for Research
On Women and the NEA Professional Library, 1996

Review by Tracey L. Hurd, Ph.D.
Lifespan Faith Development, UUA
Boston, MA

Bullyproof is one of the first resources produced by the team of researchers based at the Wellesley Center for Research on Women, which are now under the umbrella of the Project on Teasing and Bullying. It is written for teachers and parents of children in grades four and five. The critical, pre-pubescent, late elementary school years are exceptionally good for working with youth around social issues and power. Better able to consider multiple perspectives and more interested in peers, the later elementary school child usually finds topics of inclusion, exclusion, belonging, fairness, teasing, bullying, power, and powerlessness compelling. They are able to talk about ideas and engage fully in hypothetical thinking.

This slim book presents many excellent ideas for working with prepubescent youth around issues of bullying, teasing, and harassment. It is organized as a series of lessons, which could easily be interpreted and integrated into religious education. In fact what is missing from the presented lessons, overall, is the explicit question, “What values are operating here?” Introducing the topic of bullying and teasing in a religious community provides a perfect opportunity to help youth see that value systems are present in all organizations. While faith communities make such systems explicit, secular communities (e.g., schools) often have implicit value systems. Looking at behavior as tied to value systems, can be empowering for youth. As Unitarian Universalists we offer clear values and principles, that youth can actively summon as they wrestle with issues of bullying and teasing. Our first two Principles (affirming the inherent worth and dignity of every person and promoting justice, equity, and compassion in human relations) can truly provide guidance for solving social problems.

The activities in Bullyproof offer an excellent mix of uncovering what kids already know with providing new information and dilemmas. In the first few sessions, youth discuss exactly what are joking, teasing, and bullying. Ways of classifying behavior and the importance of context are discussed. Youth are asked to tell their stories and to observe their social world around them as part of the process of thinking about trends of teasing/bullying behaviors. The authors write with sensitivity and their instructions could help even a teaching novice lead such discussions.

In subsequent sessions youth brainstorm, cartoon, and play-act options for targets and bystanders confronted with bullying and teasing. In the process of uncovering advantages and disadvantages to different types of behavior, the structural nature of bullying is revealed. As Unitarian Universalists we can add an exploration of values to these activities. “What values are operating when bystanders feel that ‘staying out of it’ is the best course of action in this situation?” a leader might ask. This blends well with the authors’ emphasis that taking a stand against bullying does involve courage. It is courageous, and sometimes difficult, to live our values and principles. In the later sessions, Bullyproof provides excellent scenarios of bullying, teasing, and harassment. Presented in “hand-out” form, the case studies give youth the opportunity to try out their ideas about bully-proofing. There is special attention to the many roles adults play in the process of sorting out bullying and teasing. In one scenario, for example, a coach asks the bullied youth to apologize to his team for not being a “good sport” about teasing that might well be called hazing. The reality that there are diverse adult responses to bullying is an important one for youth. Uncovering the underlying value systems of adults’ actions and inactions is also critical for youth. It helps place bullying and teasing into the appropriate realm of wider social behavior. The child who is teased relentlessly with peer-made dog sounds on a bus may feel isolated and uniquely targeted. Seeing that behavior as part of a larger system is an important step in coping with and confronting bullying and teasing. It explains why allies against bullying are necessary; it is behavior that is part of a system.

Bullyproof provides guidance for raising awareness of the continuum of bullying, teasing, and harassment behaviors. It provides a sequence of activities that places youth’s lived authority—borne out of seeing, experiencing, and managing bullying—at the heart of suggested interventions. It makes it clear that there are ways to manage bullying and it gives case studies and suggestions that empower youth to ally against bullies.

I recommend this resource to those working with fourth, and fifth-grade children. Carefully choosing a few sessions can provide an excellent addition to the RE experience for this age group. Talking about bullying and learning about strategies, affirms the usefulness of our UU Principles and provides practical information for our young people before they enter the increasingly complex teenage years. Bullyproof can be ordered from Wellesley College Center for Research on Women (www.wcwonline.org or 781-283-2500).