The three of us went to our local Boys and Girls Clubs to complete our service learning project. We went to different clubs because we wanted to compare and contrast the anti-bullying awareness and prevention in three different areas. We chose to do our service learning projects at the Boys and Girls Club because they offer many different activities for students that may deter them from partaking in bullying. MaryEllen went to the Boys and Girls Club in Arlington. Maria went to the Boys and Girls Club in Woburn.
The Boys and Girls Club in Arlington is in a relatively old building in front of Spy Pond. Despite the old building the president, Richard B. Gallagher offers many programs to prevent bullying at the Arlington Boys and Girls Club. According to Gallagher, “We do not offer any explicit anti-bullying or bullying prevention programs. However, we do offer a safe environment for kids of all ages where bullying is not accepted on any level. Through our sports and after-school programs we advocate the importance of engaging in activities other than bullying. We teach the kids how to interact with other kids without bullying.”
The Boys and Girls Club in Woburn is a newly renovated building set back from the main road it is located off of. Through their mission, the Boys and Girls Club of Woburn inspires and enables all young people, especially those who need them most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. The Boys and Girls Club of Woburn holds seminars to educate club members about bullying. Although I was not able to attend one of the club’s anti-bullying seminars, I was able to speak to one of the staff at the club who was able to tell me a little but about what goes on during the seminar. The Boys and Girls Club of Woburn hires a speaker to come in and discuss bullying and the different aspects about bullying with staff and club members. According to one of the staff, “The seminar was really effective. The kids were given a lot of information along with anti-bullying bracelets. The kids who went to the seminar could not stop talking about it, and how it changed their outlook on bullying.”
With no explicit anti-bullying programs present the days we volunteered, we participated in the various activities provided to the children during the drop in program. As part of the drop in program children 6-17 years old can come to the club at any time after school. During that time various activities are available to them from ping-pong tournaments, relay races in the gym, open swim time, to arts and crafts; and those are just the popular ones! There had to be at least 50 children of all ages eager to participate in the activities planned for the day. The first game was a quick game of floor hockey. While the teams were picked, we noticed that there was no kid to kid whispering about not picking a particular child to be on their team. We also noticed that the adults organizing the game arranged it so the adults were chosen last. To be honest, watching the kids select teams without whispering or complaining about a particular child surprised me. During the games, there were not any children left out. Then during the floor hockey game the teams all passed to one another. No child left any of the games because he or she was feeling left out or bored.
We observed zero situations of emotional bullying or physical bullying during games where it could have been extremely prudent in a different setting. The adults organizing the games in the gym enhanced that “safe environment” that the Boys and Girls Clubs strive for. There was a zero bullying tolerance in the games that were organized. The children then must have become so completely accustomed to this zero tolerance that they do not even have a tendency to start bullying. The staff at all of the Boys and Girls Clubs all work together to make each club bully free.
Boys and Girls Club Websites:
Arlington: http://www.abgclub.org/
Woburn: http://www.bgcwoburn.org/
MaryEllen’s Reflection:
I did not end bullying forever the day I went to the Boys and Girls Club in Arlington. I did however, participate in a particular activity that could have involved a lot of bulling but rather had a zero bullying tolerance. The children playing floor hockey developed the attitudes that bullying is not worth taking away from the fun of engaging in a game. As these children grow up they will most likely have the same general attitude. With all these children having the same general attitude bullying is likely to be less prudent. Furthermore, it is the Boys and Girls Clubs of America that are preventing bullying forever. But the children need to go to the clubs and adapt these attitudes in order for it to be completely effective.
I would absolutely volunteer or work at a Boys and Girls Club or a similar institution to develop the bullying prevention attitudes in kids. I believe once the majority of the children in America learn that bullying is not worth the time it takes away from fun then bullying will slowly decline. However, I do not think bullying will disappear forever. But if the children develop the mentality that is instilled in the children that go to the Boys and Girls Clubs then bullying will not be as prudent as it is today.
Teaching service learning and having students engaged in a service learning project is essential. I believe the service learning projects can make children aware of the world around them. Also, engaging in the project will help children realize that everyone can make a difference. That difference might not be catastrophic but every attempt affects someone for the better. If everyone tried to make a difference everyday then the world would be a very different place than it is today. And who knows, maybe that student I assign a service learning project to will become the next Mother Teresa or Martin Luther King Jr.
Maria’s Reflection:
By taking time to volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club of Woburn, I was able to see that bullying can be prevented and steps are being taken to do so. Through the club’s hard work, persistence, and funded seminars, bullying is no longer an issue at the Boys and Girls Club of Woburn. All members of the club are able to work together, whether it be in the “After the bell academic enrichment program” or on the basketball court. Because of the success of the seminar at the Boys and Girls Club, all twelve of the schools in Woburn are working with the Boys and Girls Club to become advocates for anti-bullying seminars. It is intended that these seminars will spread to and be adopted by surrounding communities, putting an end to bullying.
Volunteering at my local Boys and Girls Club is something that I have done since high school, and continue to do. As a former club member, and member of the swim team, I think it is important for college and high school students to volunteer at these institutes to give the club members a role model. I think it is important for people to volunteer and spend time promoting something they believe in. Bullying is an issue that is important to me as a future teacher. By seeing the actions taken at the Boys and Girls Club of Woburn and the results, the actions should be adopted by all student centers. I would continue to spread bullying awareness to children, to assist in the end to bullying.
By going out and focusing my volunteering toward something that is important to me, it has made a major impact on me and my outlook on bullying. Although I believed in anti-bullying programs, I always thought it would be difficult to end bullying. The Boys and Girls Club of Woburn allowed me to have hope, and to see that bullying can be prevented with hard work and persistence. Without completing this service learning project, I would always be skeptical of the idea of bullying coming to an end. In the future, I would like to have students complete a service learning project on a topic of their choice, in hopes that they would obtain the same insight that I was able to.
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