Politics & Government

Building Community: An Alameda Workshop on How to Prevent Bullying

Educators, community members, students, faculty and staff gathered to discuss bullying, both in person and virtually, Saturday at Wood Middle School.

By Meghan Riley

Bullying is one of the most discussed topics in our community and in the media today, yet many questions about it remain unanswered. To remedy this, Wood Middle School hosted a bullying prevention workshop on Saturday, March 12, as a part of the school district’s Season of Nonviolence, which began Jan. 30 and continues until April 4.

The Season of Nonviolence celebrates and pays tribute to the work of Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and Cesar Chavez. Workshop sponsors included the Alameda Unified School District, the Alameda Youth Collaborative, the Alameda Police Department and the City of Alameda Social Service Human Relations Board.

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The seminar, led by Community Development Coordinator Jim Franz, began with a performance by Cary Trivanovich, a motivational speaker and comic performer who has visited thousands of high schools across the United States to share his own stories and advice about bullying.

After being harassed in elementary school, Trivanovich began to get involved in theater and later became a well-regarded speaker on the topic of bullying. “It is an awesome responsibility,” he said.

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His main piece of advice for children who experience bullying: “Confidence … Bullies are looking for a victim; don’t give it to them.”

He then used three chairs to represent three different types of people. The first chair was a symbol of the people that we look up to, “people who build us up … who are givers instead of takers,” said Trivanovich. The second chair represented people who have no impact on our lives, and the third chair represented bullies, or people who do not value character and respect.

Trivanovich encouraged the students in the audience to always be “first-chair” people.

After Trivanovich's presentation, several Alamedans participated in a panel discussion. The experts included Dr. Katherine Barr, principal of Paden Elementary School, who has worked with the bullying prevention program Steps to Respect; Matthew Giles, a school psychologist and anti-bullying counselor at Wood Middle School and Encinal High School; Mike Noonan, Alameda's chief of police; and Diana Kenney, an instructor for digital citizenship at Encinal High School.

Karen Kenney, director of Girls Inc. of the Island City, facilitated the discussion, which included panel responses to questions submitted in writing from the audience.

The first subtopic the panel presented was how to recognize signs of bullying among children. According to  Giles, this extensive list included: “Physical harm, name-calling, exclusion, damaged or stolen items, over-aggression and someone who is quick to blame others.”

The panel then covered a range of bullying issues, including how parents can talk to their children about bullying and how cyberbullying can be managed. Parents need to allow access to technology, said Kenney, but stay involved with their children's use.

“It’s not going away, it’s only getting bigger. Parents should allow their kids to have a Facebook page with the caveat that they add you as a friend and you guide them along the way,” said technology advisor Kenney. “Parents need to sit down and set guidelines … and be the example.”

The panel concluded by answering student questions about how to deal with specific instances of bullying and when certain actions are acceptable.

The bottom line, according to APD Chief Mike Noonan, is, “Bullying is wrong.” This message was reinforced during brief presentations by representatives from Alameda Family Services and Girls Inc.

The event drew an audience of 200, including Alameda elementary and middle school principals; AUSD Superintendent Kirsten Vital; Ron Mooney, president of AUSD’s Board of Education  and other AUSD trustees; and Councilwoman Lena Tam. 

Meghan Riley is a member of Blueprint, a Girls Inc. of the Island City social action program for high school students. Under the guidance of Diana Cristales, participants write, edit and publish a teen 'zine


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