Anti Bullying
Anti-Bullying Imagine a world where a new student can walk into school feeling accepted, safe and loved, where bullying, violence and oppression is completely diminished towards students who might not necessarily fit in. A world where not just students, but everyone can feel confident in being his/her true self. Sounds like it could be a realistic place, but it takes time, dedication and lots of work. There are many programs for anti-bullying that continue to help students and their communities rid bullying from their lives, yet only one program sticks out clearly to me; Challenge Day. Yvonne and Rich St. John Dutra, the founders of Challenge Day came up with a mission statement saying, “The Challenge Day mission is to provide youth and their communities with experiential programs that demonstrate the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth, and full expression (Yvonne).” The work of Challenge Day within schools helps bullying, violence and oppression become a thing of the past through multiple life altering activities. Three times a year within the Hartland Middle School’s gym various seventh grade students and new eighth grade students run through a tunnel of adult facilitators and teen leaders who high-five them into a circle of chairs beginning their day in the Challenge Day program. I know when I was in seventh grade, running through this tunnel of my teachers, adult and high school volunteers was extremely intimidating. I had no idea what possibly could be in store for this life-changing day. There are two leaders from the Challenge Day foundation program who start everyone off with some games; in order, to break down the built up tension and anxiousness of what is going to happen next. Dancing like no one is watching, sitting on each others laps and pretending to be on a rollercoaster, a version of musical chairs that seems to end up like a rough hip-checking hockey game, are just some of the ice-breakers