Download Tips for Educators
Be an upstander
- You are a role model for your students. They watch what you do and will follow your lead.
- They notice whether you stop hurtful name-calling or comments based on bias: skin color, gender, religion, weight, ability, family structure.
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They worry if they might be the next target of a mean remark.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
- Improving your skills at anything takes practice – including stopping hurtful bullying and teasing.
- Practice with colleagues what you could say to students to stop harassment, to educate, and to let all students know that you expect respect and accept diversity.
- Practice responding to students’ questions about differences.
Teach your students how to be an ally
- Work with your students so they know what they can do if they witness bullying: – including talking with or befriending the targeted student, confiding in an adult, talking with the student who is being mean, causing a distraction to help stop the harassment, or speaking up in the moment.
Involve families
- Host a family night with a panel of diverse families from your school community.
- Hold a book night with students or teachers reading from books that show a range of diversity – including racial, ethnic, religious, economic status or family structure.
Use books to engage students
- Read books such as One by Kathryn Otoshi or Benjamin and the Word / Benjamin y La Palabra by Daniel Olivas to spark discussion of hurtful teasing and ways to be an ally to classmates.
- Use books to spark discussions of the real put-downs they hear, paying close attention to ones that target a child’s or their family’s identity.
Addtional Resources
Welcoming Schools