Kids Know
“People are making fun of that kid in the middle. He feels sad because he never did anything.” “When you’re a grown up the kids do what you do.”
Learning and School Atmosphere
This video taught some kids that mean behavior toward them at home is a cause for their own mean behavior at school; mean behavior can be imitated.
Being Mean
Meanness can be contagious. One can become mean as function being treated in a mean way. We need to learn how not to be mean on purpose.
Bullying 101
College and University students learn the Video-Mirroring™ process by making videos with each other. They become the “interviewees” and then the “interviewers” using the TAI method.
Is This a Real Picture?
“…this can happen in real life.” “This baby wouldn’t be a bully because she was treated with so much respect.” “That’s not a bullying picture. That’s a baby with her mother and father holding her.” This baby won’t grow up to be a bully because “she is surrounded by love and care.”
Bullying is Powerful & Pervasive
This video speaks to the overall problem of bullying though the eyes of middle school students. It speaks to the subtle, everyday forms of bullying that don’t often get discussed.
Body Image and Sexuality
Basic, Bullying topics for training videos were chosen by the trainers. The issues are their own, giving them the experience talking through emotion as their future students will.
Videos Like This Help
“You learn how people feel inside.” “They tell their own stories and make connections with other people.” “They weren’t afraid to say what really happened.”
A Look at Themselves
Programs for Social Change filmed kids from an elementary school in Bridgeport, CT, talking about their experiences of being bullied. Talking about bullying—and more importantly, being listened to...
Turning Bad Feelings Around
In this video the trainers, speaking from their own personal experience, talk about self-acceptance, the acceptance of others and the value it has.
Differences and Reactions
Unfortunately, perceived differences are often the cause of mean behavior. Who we are really has nothing to do with how we dress or what we look like.
"Being heard and understood using Video-Mirroring™ is fun, engaging and effective."
Honesty. Pain. Anger. Empathy.
Captured on video these emotions have the power to reach the emotional cores of others, to teach lessons that transcend textbooks and lectures.
Imagine bringing the transformative power of video to schools and organizations, students and curriculum, to talk honestly and openly about bullying. Envision kids fully engaged in “making movies” that focus on the roles students take in the anti-social issues found in their schools, guided through this process with solid curriculum and unique learning tools.
This is The Anti-Bullying Initiative (TAI) – a whole-school program that generates excitement and learning, where the students are the “stars” and their stories become the scripts, the conversation starters and the lessons. The ultimate goal of this program is to reduce aggression and increase empathy.
Real students. Real schools. Real Stories.
TAI is disseminated through partnerships with schools and organizations, a carefully selected group of local college and university graduate students and our professional team of educators, trainers and videographers, who guide teachers and students through the program.
By partnering with, training, and then monitoring, local college and university students to implement the TAI program we make it nationally accessible.
During the “Video-Mirroring™” session students engage in conversations about aggressive behavior, bullying, cyber-bullying and name-calling. The students address all the key components of bullying behavior in their own words.
Collaboration
TAI, in part or in whole, can be integrated to any program that strives to improve the way we treat and interact with each other. The use of videos is an extremely attractive and exciting way of engaging kids. The TAI “bottom up” approach works exceedingly well.
The need for like-minded people to provide the best possible solutions to help schools and other organizations mitigate and eliminate bullying is something, we believe, can be accomplished most efficiently through collaboration. Our business model is unique. It allows program delivery to schools, at next to no cost, through funding by corporate and individual donors. (our parent organization is a 501c3)
We welcome contact for discussion around combining resources to positively change school climate and to eradicate bullying.
