Bullying For Girls Is A Team Sport

“Yeah, we teased you. So What. It’s not like you are the first person to get made fun of at this school.”
-Nadia – Please Stop Laughing At Me

When most people think of bullying, they think about someone getting hurt in some physical way like getting hit or kicked. Now with email, cell phones and the internet, bullying has changed forms in so many ways. Not only has the type of bullying transformed, but there are huge differences in the way that boys and girls bully one another.

Girls can be especially hurtful and sneaky in the way they bully. In fact, many of the things they do are even hard to recognize. However, the outcomes and the effects of what they do can hurt their victim emotionally in ways that are often much harsher than even getting punched. Administrators including teachers, principals and school counselors need all the help they can get to help their students through the impact and outcomes of bullying.
That is why we have developed the Bullying for Girls is a Team Sport presentation for grades 5 through 9. The Teen Esteem Council will come into your elementary or middle school and talk exclusively with your girl students. We will teach them the following about the bullies, the bullied, and those who are on the bench:

The Bullies – Do kids know bullying when they see it? We believe so. However, there are subtle ways that girls bully each other that may not be recognized easily. Some girls may not even know that they are bullying others. We teach young girls how to recognize these behaviors for what they are.

The Bullied – Being bullied is incredibly damaging for the self image and esteem of teen girls. Many kids who are bullied have no idea how to handle what is happening to them, and many times anything they try seems to make it worse. We give those students tools that they can do to stop the bullying that is happening to them.

The Bench – In our experience, even if a student is not a bully or is being bullied, they have seen it happening around them. Those who are bystanders and observers can make a huge difference in the problem of bullying. We give them information that empowers them to be able to help bring bullying to a stop in a step called, “getting off the bench.”
We are only able to do a limited number of presentations each year. If you are interested in scheduling an presentation please call Mat Edvik at 801-831-0234 or email him at mat@teenesteemcouncil.com.

Here is some of the feedback from one of our most recent presentations:

“The Teen Esteem Council were outstanding. The girls and leaders are smart, beautiful and well spoken. The bullying that they brought up in their discussion opened many eyes. Our understanding of what kind of bullying girls do and the damage that it causes was very good for our girls. Many of our girls were surprised at what is considered bullying and realized that they had been someone who it had been done to, and also that they may have been bullying others. The Council were very good at opening up a discussion and guiding it so that our kids understood what bullying is like. Our girls came away from the meeting having been well taught by peers that they look up to, and also with a desire to help those around them.”