Response to the Bullied Film

Bullied | A Student, a School and a Case That Made History

"Bullied is a documentary film that chronicles one student's ordeal at the hands of anti-gay bullies and offers an inspiring message of hope to those fighting harassment today. It can become a cornerstone of anti-bullying efforts in middle and high schools. Bullied is designed to help administrators, teachers and counselors create a safer school environment for all students, not just those who are gay and lesbian. It is also intended to help all students understand the terrible toll bullying can take on its victims, and to encourage students to stand up for their classmates who are being harassed (Teaching Tolerance, 2020). 

View the Film Below

My responses to questions asked about the film.

Describe an issue(s) from the film important for you?

There are so many issues that are important to me from the film but I want to address it from an educator's perspective. Before I discuss that though, the first, most important issue at hand is the mental health of Jaime, the student (and now adult survivor) in the film. I am glad that he sued the school district and won $900,000 for his pain in suffering. As a survivor of abuse, I realize that no amount of money could ever take the pain away. With that being said, I would like to focus on the issue of the response of schools to students that are bullied.

What are your believes about the issue(s) you described in #1?

The way the principal's allegedly responded to Jaime's calls for help reflects who they are as people. It also reflects their bias that they have toward gay people. Their actions revealed that they believed that gay people should expect to be bullied. In fact, one of the principals allegedly stated this. I also believe this is expected because of the homophobia that exists in this country. However, as we expect bullies to bully, I believe our response should be swift, and bullies should be punished. Those students should have been removed from the school and placed in an alternative setting.

Did the issue(s) you described from the film in #1 match or cause you to re-think your beliefs about bullying/school safety policy issues and community engagement for students and their families? How did they match or cause you to re-think your beliefs about policy and politics?

This film was in line with my beliefs. However, it really opened my eyes to why families file lawsuits against school boards. Growing up and even in college, I thought it was mainly about families trying to get money. Even when I became a teacher my view of lawsuits against school boards was based on comments by students. I would hear comments by students saying they wanted to sue schools for reasons like no cell phone policies, teachers not accepting late work(within reason), and not being able to sit next to their friends. However, this opens my eyes to valid reasons why schools are sued. How the administration handled the situation disregarded Jaime's right to equal protection under the law.

How have your thoughts altered (or deepened) about school safety policy and politics based on your analysis of the film? (new or deepening insights?)

The film made realized the inaction of administrators, teachers, and other adults at the school could lead to a child's life being altered forever. Their inaction led to him attempting suicide, running away from home multiple times, having post-traumatic stress disorder, and his parents feeling helpless. Imagine if he had taken his life, he wouldn't be here to tell his story. Unfortunately, many people have not survived their suicide attempts. My friend's younger brother committed suicide at the age of 10. This also makes me think about others who instead of killing themselves end up shooting others. Some of the school shooters have confessed that the reason that they did it was that they were being bullied at school. Bullying is criminal and should be dealt with swiftly. I also believe that those in the highest authority of the land should realize that people are watching them and modeling their behavior. If high officials are bullies, its not a surprise when we see it at the school level. My condolences go out to all family members that have lost loved ones due to bullying.

Make an analytical statement (e.g.top-level of Blooms (Links to an external site.) to this film

as it regards the Penuel article.

Penuel (2009) discusses communities of practice and collective efforts toward school reform. The idea of everyone being board versus everyone not being on board is also discussed. The article also discusses teacher leadership. In the film, Jaime's teacher realized this was happening. However, it does not appear that she discussed this with the administration. Or maybe she did and they just did not listen to or act on her reports. Penuel (2009) also discusses in the article that teachers must also have a voice in the school. It appears that the major voice led to the continued suffering of Jaime. In other words, there didn't seem like there was a strong network of support for students at the school. Penuel (2009) mentioned that one school that was trying to implement reform had "widespread commitment to reform goals, and the school made substantial progress toward increasing the achievement of its lowest-achieving students. And in the other, even with more time allocated to meetings, there was no shared understanding of the reform goals, and teachers complained of a fragmented social network and limited access to valued resources (p.126)." With this being said one thing that can be done is that teachers, administrators, and other school personnel need bias training toward understanding and commitment to reform goals. In the context of this situation, there needed to be reform in the way that gay students' complaints were being handled in the school.

References

Bloom's Chart. https://www.go1.com/blog/post-develop-higher-order-thinking-skills-to-future-proof-your-organisation

Penuel, W., Riel, M., Krause, A., Frank, K. (2009). Analyzing teachers’ professional interactions in a school as social capital: A social network approach.Teachers College Record,111(1), 124-163.

Teaching Tolerance (2020). Bullied | A Student, a School and a Case That Made History. https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources/film-kits/bullied-a-student-a-school-and-a-case-that-made-history