Prevention
education, including sexual harassment prevention, needs to include
pro-social skills as an integrated part of regular classroom curricular
offerings.
It's elementary:
Teach
gender equity and respect
BY
KATIA AND STEVEN PETERSEN
Instruction
to prevent sexual harassment in the elementary grades is an important
curriculum element to include in classroom methods that teachers use
to create safer school environments for girls and boys. Developing respect
for gender and healthy sexuality are pro-social skills that are necessary
for a lifetime of successful relationships.
There
are an increasing number of tools to assist educators specifically with
preventing sexual harassment in the elementary grades. Such tools, however,
need to be used with prevention and social skills materials because
many behavioral issues are interrelated. Defining sexual harassment
concepts and teaching preventive skills can be more effective and welcome
when such concepts and skills are considered in the context of broader,
pro-social outcomes.
Pro-social
skills and school
Teaching
pro-social skills for successful living requires a shift from restricting
the mission of schools solely to academic Teaming. Children spend a
great deal of time at school which can be a natural environment for
Teaming new, positive behaviors and attitudes along with academic subjects.
Teachers must be encouraged to expand curriculum plans to help place
students in a receptive frame of mind to learn.
Pro-social
skills enhance children's well-being by supporting positive self-identity
and self-esteem, healthy sexuality and gender respect; fostering a sense
of equality and value for human dignity; developing personal safety
awareness; expanding critical thinking, listening and observation skills;
and encouraging appropriate expressions of one's feelings as well as
empathy for the feelings of others.
A
positive social context
Prevention
education focused on developing pro-social skills needs to be an integral
part of the regular classroom curriculum. Cultural attitudes toward
gender, family, community, religion and many other facets of life need
to be taken into account when planning the curriculum so that a more
direct connection can be made between what goes on at school and what
happens in students' lives outside school. When those who plan school
curricular programs are sensitive to the realities children face gender
relationships, conflict and violence, inclusion and respect they offer
children information that is pertinent,motivational and helpful for
making healthy choices.
The
teacher's role
Every
teacher would like to believe that all of his/her students come from
nurturing, supportive and stress-free homes; reality says that this
assumption is not true. Teachers cannot assume that the children they
face every day in classrooms have needed coping skills. Many children
only receive messages about what they do wrong rather than how special
they are. Often today's students are surrounded by sadness, violence
and disapproval rather than support and empowerment.
Although
educators' schedules are busy and their lesson plan books are filled,
teachers need to understand that they cannot afford to avoid building
students' well-being. Part of being proactive is understanding that
all students can learn if their strengths are recognized and encouraged.
Moreover,
how does one really separate the educational needs of children from
their emotional needs? Without support and understanding, a child will
not be able to focus well on Teaming if s/he is hulling inside. The
child's inability to focus in class may well stem from stress due to
various causes, not from lack of ability, interest or desire to do well.
Educators
have distinct opportunities to encourage students to share their feelings
and to recognize their own worth, strengths and uniqueness. If children
learn to believe in themselves and are surrounded by supportive adults
and a nurturing environment, they will have a better chance to develop
the resiliency needed to succeed in the face of difficult challenges.
Sexual
harassment in school settings
It
is generally accepted that unwelcome conduct directed toward an employee
or student because of his/her gender may constitute sexual harassment.
Such conduct includes sexual touch, sexually oriented comments and forceful
acts of coercion. In school settings, sexual harassment may result from
words or conduct of a sexual nature communicated in a manner that offends,
stigmatizes or demeans students or employees.
When
teaching sexual harassment concepts to elementary-age boys and girls,
it is important to refrain from shaming and blaming. Children often
reflect what they have teamed from the people around them. A child in
the primary grades may use sexually offensive language and actions as
an expression of aggression with no specific understanding of how gender-based
harassment can be used to exercise power over another person. Efforts
to stop the child's harassing behaviors may not yield the desired results
if instructional methods are restricted to explanations of sexual harassment
concepts separate from the larger context of positive social behavior.
Further, efforts may be more likely to create misunderstandings and
tension among parents and within the community if the training only
focuses on sexual harassment.
What
do we teach?
We
can give children all kinds of information about sexual harassment,
but without a strong foundation of understanding social behaviors, they
will not be able to internalize and use the information. Children must
be taught to treat others with respect, to solve problems peacefully
and to express themselves appropriately. With a foundation of such teaming
and skill-building, children will then be more prepared to make healthy
choices regarding their own perceived well-being and that of others.
They may then have the basis for beginning to understand sexual stereotypes
and appropriate, respectful gender relationships.
Skills
for successful interaction
The
following is a list of life skills (or pro-social skills) for successful
social interaction regarding sexual harassment:
-
respect for
self as well as others;
-
a belief in
human dignity;
-
a personal value
for equality;
-
decision making;
-
problem solving;
-
positive conflict
resolution;
-
appropriate
expression of feelings;
-
an understanding
of stereotypes and sexual stereotypes in particular;
-
an understanding
of good touch/bad touch, good talk/bad talk; and
-
a concept of
personal safety.
Prevention
and intervention strategies
Implementation
of prevention instruction cannot occur in a vacuum. Some of the strongest
and most well-thought-out programs fail because there is no support
from the school administration, parents or community. If social skills
training is to succeed, teachers truly need the ongoing moral support
of the adult community and a personal willingness to prioritize teaching
pro-social skills throughout the school year.
Essential
positive behaviors that improve school climate and support effective
prevention and intervention strategies include the following:
-
Develop lessons
that regularly teach real-life skills as a prevention. strategy.
Use these lessons in every subject area of the existing curriculum.
-
Refuse to use
Band-Aids' to "treat" or "cure" existing problems
such as physical, sexual and emotional violence, chemical abuse,
early pregnancy and gangs. Work toward creating long-term, effective
solutions.
-
Believe in the
power of educators, children, families and communities working as
partners. Find more direct ways to connect these partners and to
channel their energy constructively.
-
Work toward
a common vision for your school that defines how the educational
system could change to address common issues of concern.
-
Focus on people's
resiliency and strengths rather than on their limitations.
-
Teach students
to celebrate diversity so that they may learn to appreciate other
cultures, customs, attitudes and genders.
-
Create a strong
support system by organizing a team of like-minded peers. Proceed
by coordinating their collaboration with existing pro-social programs
and services.
-
Provide staff
development training to build new skills and awareness. Include
opportunities for self-care for all staff.
-
Add up-to-date
material to the school library for both staff and students.
Observations
from the field
The
following observations have been derived from field work. Consistent
concerns that children report are:
Children
often state why they do not typically ask for help from an adult:
-
Adults are not
there when I need them.
-
Adults tell
me to fix it myself.
-
Adults do not
know how to stop the problem.
-
I can handle
the trouble myself.
-
I am too embarrassed.
Teaching
sexual harassment prevention to young children requires care and sensitivity.
Lessons should include not only the definition and understanding of
sexual harassment, but also the foundation premise that teaming about
respect, equality and dignity will give children the necessary skills
to deal with sexual harassment.
Entering
a classroom with puppets used for the K-3 lessons was always a delight
because the children anticipated a positive, fun and yet informative
class period. These young boys and girls remembered definitions and
were able to share and discuss tough issues on sexual harassment because
they felt safe and because the information had been given to them in
an entertaining manner.
Older
students created short skits or role-played a situation specifically
created for them. On those occasions, an adult trainer always took on
the role of the receiver of harassment. In this way we avoided putting
a child on the spot or allowing one child to behave inappropriately
or hurtfully toward a classmate, even if the action was just a play.
Situations
were chosen from real-life incidents that had been related by children,
teachers, principals, social workers and others. Names and events were
changed to protect privacy. Real-life examples give the most powerful
material to use in teachable moments. Children can relate to the situations,
consider how to resolve the issues and realize that they are not alone
in experiencing such difficult challenges.
Strategies
interrelated
Children
need to know that their school environment is safe and that the adults
around them will do everything possible to create a secure and caring
environment. Policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment need
to be explained to children in simple terms that they can understand.
When the preventive work has been done, appropriate action must be taken
immediately when harassment occurs so students know that indeed there
is a support system in place.
Filing
reports and imposing consequences are part of standard procedures when
sexual harassment occurs. However, children first need to be taught
the skills necessary to help them understand why sexual, physical or
emotional harassment is not okay. In our professional capacities as
trainers, we did not see any real success teaching a sexual harassment
curriculum until we began to teach skills that addressed assertiveness,
anger management, dealing with bullying behavior, decision making, healthy
choices, inclusion and peer support. Telling children to stand up for
themselves, to write letters or to verbally confront the harasser is
not enough. Those tasks are complex. Adults need to empower children
in a positive way by giving them the right language and the appropriate
responses to deal with sexual harassment situations.
Conflict
is part of children's daily lives, and harassment may be a big part
of their daily conflicts. It is therefore essential to teach children
conflict resolution skills. This does not mean, though, that once children
have been taught the necessary skills, the job is over. Active parental
and teacher involvement and continued participation is needed at all
times. Children need to know that they do not have to face any type
of harassment alone.
Professional
observations on delivering gender equity instruction successfully are
summarized below:
-
It is neither
helpful nor appropriate to simply teach what sexual harassment is
and to instruct children to "say no" to it. Real success
with sexual harassment prevention training begins when children
first experience the teaching of prosocial skills: assertiveness,
anger management, making healthy decisions/ choices, listening,
the importance of inclusion, peer support, and dealing with bullying
behavior.
-
Children can
understand the information if the curriculum is based upon the approach
of treating others the way they themselves want to be treated.
-
The use of follow-up
activities by teachers is crucial to the success of the program.
Providing consistency and reinforcement through repetition is very
important to children's teaming processes.
-
Nothing will
change unless there is zero tolerance for sexual harassment with
real follow-through. Children who follow adult advice to report
a problem must have support, or the problem will get worse.
-
Teacher training
must not focus solely on the legal aspects of sexual harassment.
Such a focus instills fear in teachers and offers no strategies
to actually teach the prevention of the problem. The teaching staff
is a natural group to convey prevention information across a school
and throughout a district. However, to mobilize the teachers, background
information as well as instructional tools and methods must be provided.
A presentation of mere legal liabilities will not motivate teachers.
-
Teachers must
be represented in the training staff. Excluding teachers and the
teaching process from sexual harassment training is one of the most
counterproductive steps possible in the attempt to set up a teacher-based
prevention education program to address sexual harassment.
Teaching
gender equity is a rewarding, positive way to support both girls and
boys. While it is important to apprise children of the serious consequences
of sexual harassment, sexual harassment prevention lessons are best
accepted when they are presented in an age-appropriate manner that emphasizes
positive relationships. What is most important is that skills and knowledge
that support equality, gender respect and tolerance should be an integral
part of any planned pro-social instruction. "Telling children to
stand up for themselves, to write letters or to verbally confront the
harasser is not enough. Adults need to empower children by giving them
the right language and the appropriate responses to deal with harassment
situations."
Katia
S. Petersen, M.A., and Steven J. Petersen, M.A., are authors and trainers
specializing in the development and implementation of prevention education
services through their consulting firm, ARGO and Associates, Inc., in
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Children
Youth and Family Consortium Electronic Clearinghouse. Permission is
granted to create and distribute copies of this document for noncommercial
purposes provided that the author and CYFCEC receive acknowledgment
and this notice is included. Phone (612) 626-1212 EMAIL: cyfcec@maroon.tc.umn.edu
