Mrs. Sarah Kanter has been the school counselor at Bells Mill Elementary School in Potomac, Maryland for 11 years and she has made it her mission to cut bullying off at the pass….before it starts. Mrs. Kanter developed her own framework that introduces and reinforces bullying prevention at crucial ages.
For second graders at Bells Mill, Mrs. Kanter gives lessons on kindness, empathy and how to make good choices. Kids learn the difference between playful teasing and teasing that turns into bullying. Mrs. Kanter teaches a structured unit on bullying prevention and gives all of the second graders a book to read that focuses on how to deal with bullies. The kids jump into character and role play how to respond to bullying appropriately.
For third graders Mrs. Kanter teaches a 5-part lesson on bullying that focuses on the child who bullies, the targeted student and the bystander. She has children experience each role and teaches them how to stand up to bullying, both as a target and a bystander. When bystanders intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% of the time (Hawkins, D. L., Pepler, D., and Craig, W. M. (2001). As a bystander, making a joke or taking the targeted student by the hand and walking away together can stop the child who is bullying in his or her tracks.
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