Conyers Middle School Advisement Monday, November 17, 2014 Cafeteria Challenges Conyers Middle School Advisement Monday, November 17, 2014

Background What more challenging place is there to deal with being bullied than the school cafeteria? In dinner-theatre fashion, the cafeteria is a stage where the social dynamics of peer relations are played out.. It is here, in the cafeteria, that cliques may be most visible. Social groups may sit together, often at the same table each day. In this environment, it’s very evident which students sit alone and may not have a social group. The cafeteria is a perfect setting for bullying to occur. But the cafeteria is also an ideal place for bystanders to stand up to bullying behavior.

Learning Outcomes By the end of this lesson, students will be able to identify the types of bullying that occur in their school’s cafeteria identify the motivations and social dynamics that come to play describe strategies to prevent and deal with bullying in the cafeteria

Preparation/ Materials Needed Preparation Needed: Clear an area space (such as a wide isle) large enough for the class to form a circle. Materials Needed: Tape

Opening Activity Have students to stand in a circle in the open space that you have created in your classroom. Place a strip of tape down the middle of the circle. Read the statements on the next slide: (allowing students to move to the left side if they disagree, move to the right side if they agree, and if you are unsure stand on the tape line. Please be honest and go with your first reaction

Statements: I would rather have a group of friends than one best friend. I would rather feel embarrassed than afraid. I feel pressure to hang out with certain people all the time instead of feeling free to make new friends. I would rather sit alone in the cafeteria than to have an assigned seat with people that I don’t know. I would like to have a regular groups to sit with at lunch even if they don’t like me (or pay attention to me or include me in the conversation) rather than sit by myself. If I see someone sitting alone, I try to distance myself from that person rather than try to get to know him or her. If I had a friend who was being bullied by a group of students, I would step in to defend him or her rather than ignore it. If I saw a new student or someone I didn’t know well struggling to find a place to sit in the cafeteria, I’d invite that person to join me.

Discussion Questions What are some things you noticed about people’s responses in this activity? Was it hard to be honest about your feelings? Why or why not? In general, how would you describe lunchtime at our school? How many of you would describe it as pleasant? Unpleasant? What factors does it depend on (for example, you are having a bad day, you are not popular, your best friend is not at school)? If some one was attending out school for the first time today and he or she asked you to explain who sits where in our school cafeteria and why, what would you say? Where would you suggest a new student sit and what kinds of things would you think about when giving him or her advise?

Discussion Questions continued… If you had to eat alone in our school cafeteria, what would that experience be like? When you are tense or afraid, where in your body do you feel it? What’s it like to eat when you are feeling anxious, nervous, or afraid? What might be challenging about inviting someone you usually don’t sit with to join you at your table? Do students have a responsibility to include others who are left out? What might you do if you were looking for a group to join at lunch? How might you try making a connection with someone?

Discussion Questions continued… If you had a friend who was being excluded or made fun of in the cafeteria, what would you do? People who bully tend to do so in front of an audience. Why do you think that is? What can you do when you see bullying happening in our school cafeteria? What can you do if you are being bullied in our school cafeteria?

Wrap-Up Questions/ Comments… Although lunch is a time when you should have a chance to relax and hang out with friends, the cafeteria can be difficult for many students. If is a place where we know bullying occurs. But it’s also a great opportunity to show courage and to be an active and helpful bystander. Try to work together to include students who are being isolated or bullied by using some of the strategies that we have talked about today. Questions/ Comments…