Reconnection- Jen

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/gretchen-whitmer-michigan-senator-bullying-bill_n_1073928.html

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-11-02/entertainment/showbiz_lady-gaga-foundation_1_gaga-tweeted-lady-gaga-advisory-board?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/nov/03/ohios-tougher-bullying-laws-stuck-house-senate-ar-814568/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/the-jersey-shores-vinny-v_n_1074504.html

Over the past few weeks i have begun to see my topic come to life. In the news (above) there have been a number of laws and people fighting to make those laws better. But even within my classroom, i have begun to see the importance and need fro bullying laws and prevention.
    This past Wednesday two students got in to a physical fight a lunch. The shock of this fight sent one student into a panic attack. As he sat in his seat, i watched as he cried and and hyperventilated. I walked over and asked if everything was ok, i slowly began to realize things were much worse then i could imagine. As we sat out in the hallway he began to poor his heart out into me. He old me that he has "issues", and that he was "stupid" and a "loser".  When i asked him why he thought this he began to name various students from the class. I was absolutely shocked that here in front of me was a student struggling with bullying.

I have studied bullying and the affects of bullying for three years and it has become something that i am very passionate about. Even as a read the stories on line i struggle to hold back tears. But as i sat in that hallway holding back my own tears, i realized the extreme impact that bullying can have on a student scratch that on a child. We sat in that hallway for almost two hours, and i got to know this student inside and out. When he seemed like he felt better about everything, we returned back to class. I instantly went to speak to Mr. Allen the classroom teacher about what i had learned. I asked that he speak with brads parents and ask that we move his seat to get him away from his greatest bully. I left that day realizing that even with all the research i have done on bullying in the past, there is no real way to prepare for how to react when a student approaches you like that.


In regards to social studies, the fifth grade at Horace Mann was recently asked to cut down on the time spent on social studies. In the fifth grades students spend more time focusing on the history of America versus the social aspects of social studies. the students are rarely informed about the current world they live in.
I do like my project beacuse as a teacher i do think that it is important to model the anti bullying laws that should be in affect in the classroom.