Thanks to the efforts of some dedicated teachers, students at Lincoln Elementary have learned that bullying has no place in a civil society.
Lagretta Snowden and Juliet Rodrigues are the leaders of an anti-bullying group called IBup, which is comprised of third, fourth and fifth graders that are taking the school by storm.
“We started it about three or four years ago and it’s been about community, that was the genesis,” Snowden said. “The first group kind of came out of the fourth grade and we were having a lot of problems that year with that class… This came from that class and it’s grown from there.”
Lincoln encourages students to pursue certain attributes, to be leaders, to be kind and inquisitive, open minded and caring. The students have been taught to stand up when they see something wrong, to show empathy and commitment and confidence.
Snowden said Lincoln isn’t simply a school, it’s a community. All of the teachers and administration have worked tirelessly with the students and their parents to build a trusting and open community on campus.
Students have learned that if they see something wrong they can report it without fear of repercussions. In turn, many of the students have flocked toward joining the group that is helping keep their community safe and welcoming for every student.
While celebrating Lincoln Elementary Magnet School’s Red Ribbon Week, all of the approximately 490 students,
including those with the headstart program, filed onto the playground to take a red ribbon photo.
All week long the school found fun ways to say no to drugs, alcohol and violence. They have crazy sock day, red hair day, college t-shirt day and more. Wearing their red shirts, members of the IBup club gathered after the red ribbon photo to discuss the group and the change they have seen over the past several years at their campus.
Joana Esteban Arrona is a fifth grader at Lincoln. She said she joined IBup so that she can help people who are bullied. She said the act of bulling is “hateful” and that many kids do it because they may be hurting or going through something difficult and lash out at others.
Other students echoed that belief and Snowden said they have made a genuine effort to teach the difference between teasing, which almost every child takes a part in, and the repetitive and hurtful act of bullying. They explore stereotypes, but also talk about some of the less obvious instances of the hurtful actions.
Carly Steward, fifth grade, said that bullying is usually when an older person or a more athletic person picks on someone younger or weaker than them. However, she said they do their best to keep their eyes peeled for any type of hurtful behavior so they can keep Lincoln a safe and happy place to learn.
“Most adults don’t see bullying happen, but a lot of kids do because we’re here, we see it a little more,” Steward said. “We can be an up-stander and not a bystander.”
The club first started with just members from the fifth grade. As the years have passed it has trickled down to include students as young as third grade. Snowden said they have even discussed having ambassadors at all levels one day.
When the student joins they sign a pledge to stand up to bullying, and, thanks to the dedication of the entire school, most of the students said they rarely see any instances of hateful rhetoric or actions anymore.
The life-lessons learned at Lincoln seem to have resonated deep in the mindset of her students, Steward said.
“What has happened is we’ve had those fifth graders graduate and then come back and talk about how they want to start something like that in their new schools,” Steward said. “It’s great to see that what we started here is really important in their lives. We are causing change at the middle and high school levels as well because of the lessons we are teaching in our elementary school.”