Safe School Ambassadors: Harnessing Student Power to Stop Bullying and Violence
EDUC 600
2 CREDITS
$250
Instructor: Michelle Kalina
Grading: Graded
Spring, Summer & Fall (Ongoing)
Instruction Mode: Correspondence
Academic Level: K-12 Professional Development
Partner Course Fee: $250
Partner Class Offered Through Northstar Continuing Education
Course Description:
Most bullying prevention programs are created from the “outside-in”, focusing on how teachers and staff can prevent bullying behaviors. However, what would an “inside-out” bullying program look like? The Safe School Ambassadors program is currently used in more than 550 schools in the United States. The program empowers students and gives them the tools to stop mistreatment among their peers. This student-driven bullying prevention program shows students how to build positive relationships with peers, provides specific training in preventing and interrupting mistreatment and creates an empathic environment where incidences of bullying rapidly decrease. As a result, research has shown that our schools are safer, attendance increases and student achievement improves. Students in this course will learn how to teach and implement these behaviors in their own classrooms.
Objectives:
As a result of this participation in this course, students should:
1. Understand how bullying in schools can impact not only the school environment, but home, work and the social fabric of our communities.
2. Discover how empowering students to create a safe school environment can result in more efficient, long-lasting results than an anti-bullying program that is staff-centered.
3. Provide students with the skills they need to stop bullying and become agents of social change through teaching of specific peer-led interventions.
4. Understand the role of the “bystander” and transform them into active participants in preventing bullying incidents.
5. Demonstrate how teachers can involve families and the entire school staff to support the efforts of the safe school ambassadors.
Texts/Readings:
The required reading is found in the text and article listed below.
Linney, J., Pack, C. & Phillips, R. (2008). Safe school ambassadors: Harnessing student power to stop bullying and violence. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Linney, J. Pack, C. & Phillips, R. Determining the frequency and impact of bystander interventions in the safe school ambassadors program. Community Matters, March 2006, retrieved from www.safeschoolambassadors.org.
Article may be found at: http://www.community-matters.org/downloads/FreqAndEffect.pdf
Textbook(s) not included in the cost of the course.