Why We ACT UP! Where Bullying Is Concerned

Bullying is something that no one should be staying quiet about, which is why Drama Kids International introduced the ACT UP! to Stop Bullying initiative.

Chances are, we’ve all experienced bullying in some form or manner during our lives—but it’s something that is especially prevalent in school. Did you know that 1 in 3 U.S. students have reported being bullied at school and an astounding 70.6 percent of teens have seen bullying occur at their school?

There are three types of bullying, including verbal bullying, social bullying and physical bullying. Verbal bullying includes teasing, name-calling, taunting, threatening and inappropriate sexual comments. Social bullying can include leaving someone out on purpose, telling other children to not be friends with someone, embarrassing someone in public and spreading rumors about someone. Physical bullying is anything that involves hurting a person’s body or possessions.

Something that has grown even more common is cyberbullying. With the increased popularity of social media and ease of accessing it, nearly 43 percent of children have been bullied online, while one-in-four have had it happen more than once.

Bullying can have a long-lasting impact on those who experience it, both physically and emotionally. Did you know that those who are bullied are more at risk for mental health problems, headaches and struggling to adjust to school? Those who are bullied also are at increased risk for substance use, academics issues and violence to others later on, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

We want to do our part to help make bullying a thing of the past, which is why we are proud to offer ACT UP! to Stop Bullying workshops, which are designed for children in third, fourth and fifth grade. The workshops involve student participation in drama activities and group discussions that are used to teach them about the various forms of bullying and how they can properly respond to those situations if they ever arise.

Drama Kids International specializes in helping children build up their self-esteem, and no one’s self-esteem is being bolstered by bullying. It is our goal to see the ACT UP! workshops help teach children the roles they can play when bullying occurs, how to model good behavior, and how to identify bullying and practice safe and effective interventions.

If you would like to learn more about our ACT UP! to Stop Bullying initiative, reach out! We’d love to see it come to a school near you!