Group acts early to put an end to school bullying

Education

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March 19, 2009

By Bethany Bray

Middle school — filled with cliques, crushes and teenage angst — can be a tough time. This month, a program came to Andover to help young students deal with being a middle-schooler, especially one who is being bullied.

Deana's Educational Theater, a Wakefield-based group that aims to prevent violence through drama productions, visited Wood Hill, Doherty and West middle schools. The middle school students were split up by gender as DET actors performed "Girl Chat" for females and "Step Up" for male students.

Both shows dealt with bullying and teasing, said Brian McNally, program coordinator for health education programs in Andover Public Schools, with actors portraying a bully, a victim and a friend caught in the middle.

"The message we're trying to get out is what would you do if you were one of these three? Who could you talk to?" said McNally. "There are some similarities in bullying between boys and girls, but with either one, it's just as painful if you're the victim."

The DET dramas were brought to Andover middle schools as part of health curriculum, he said, and jointly funded by the health education department and the Parent Advisory Councils of the three middle schools.

Bullying in Andover's middle schools is no worse than in other towns, said McNally, but it still takes place.

"Middle school is a real time of transition in people's lives," he said. "We're hoping (the anti-bullying message) is something that will permeate the entire school, and create dialogue that will change behavior. We know students are being victims of bullying, being teased. We want students to know that it's not OK, and what to do to get help."

Middle school bullying is exaggerated by the technology now available and used by teenagers, especially cell phones, text messaging and the Internet, said McNally.

"We all feel — both teachers and administration — it's something that we want to address well beyond a health classroom. We all want our students to feel comfortable and safe in our schools," he said.

In a separate program, South Elementary was visited by Deana's Educational Theater on Monday, March 16. DET actors performed the show "All Starz," a show about bullying and respect geared for younger students. DET's visit to South was part of a PTO-funded month of character education programming.