Teach Empathy to Prevent Cruelty
“Kids will be kids….”
How many times have you heard this statement, in reference to bullying? It’s not enough to tell kids to ignore their bullies or grow a tougher skin. Bullying is real and serious, and it has harmful consequences. Kids who are bullied are more likely to drop out of school, turn to drug and alcohol use, and engage in risky behaviors. And kids who do the bullying are more likely to acquire a serious criminal record by the time they reach adulthood.
As a parent, it’s scary to think about the different types of bullying our children face in this modern, technological era. With the prevalence of social media, bullying is now a 24/7, nonstop issue. It has changed the way bullying occurs and has increased its audience many times over. But we have an advantage over bullying—by teaching our children from a young age not only how to recognize and confront bullying, but how to be kind, generous, empathetic citizens, we can prevent bullying from ever happening in the first place.
Step Up for Kindness!™
Step Up for Kindness!™ teaches kindness, empathy, compassion, and the skills needed to become an upstanding citizen who prevents bullying. In collaboration with Playworks, Step Up for Kindness is an interactive bullying and peer violence prevention curriculum which engages youth and teaches kindness and collaboration skills through play.
“I thought this program was fantastic and just what my students need! It actually moved me to tears and we’ve had great discussions after on both days!”
In addition to the learning portion of the program, students are given a pre-test asking them about the locations and levels of bullying they see in their school and community. Schools then receive a customized report on where students report bullying hot-spots are located, so the school can provide more adult supervision to protect students in these areas.
What Students Learn:
Kindergarten
- How to use the Golden Rule to work together and respect one another
- Tactics on how to report bullying and help the school stay bully free
- How to identify kind words
- The concept of inclusion to build a kind community
1st Grade
- How to be a good friend
- How to use empathy to aid understanding of conflict and bullying
- How to determine what to do and what not to do about bullying
- How to be empowered bystanders
2nd Grade
- How to identify physical, verbal, social, and cyber bullying
- Steps to take to diffuse bullying
- What to avoid when addressing bullying
- How to develop “no bullying rules”
3rd Grade
- How to identify when and where bullying happens, including online
- How to report if they are bullied or if they witness bullying
- Empathy and the Golden Rule in choosing not to hurt others
4th Grade
- Skills to identify bullying, particularly social and verbal bullying
- How to help stop bullying by reporting it safely
- How to determine what constitutes a bully-free classroom
- How to use empathy to understand and diffuse difficult situations
5th Grade
- Myths and facts about bullying
- About social and cyber bullying
- Skills to be empowered bystanders
- The power of words and feelings to help create an environment free from bullying
6th Grade
- How it feels to be bullied
- Words used to bully others
- What to do if they are bullied in person or online
- How to be an empowered bystander
- Skills to control anger and diffuse difficult situations through role play
7th Grade
- Myths and facts about bullying
- How to develop their skills as empowered bystanders
- What it means to be an influence
- The effect of gossip and cliques on bullying, with a focus on cyber bullying
This program builds from the previous grade level and requires a two-session commitment. For more information or to schedule a program, contact us at (317) 667-0340 or info@lifesmartyouth.org.
