The beginning is always the hardest part. Imagine you just found out your friend/child/student is bullying at school. What to do? How to deal with bullies, who for some reason choose to be agressive, bystanders, who for some reason choose to keep silence, with bullyied one, who`s world might be a living hell, though he or she does not say a word of complaint?
Theatre in education and drama methodology offer a possible way out.
What is it?
The Drama and Theatre in Education methodology is still a very small and quit unknown discipline. The methodology itself comes from the UK, also there have been some initiatives around globe to work with it.
How it works?
We work with a heart of an issue – inside the school community, in the very classroom. Educators, teachers and youth workers lead classes and groups theatre exercises dealing with bullying among the students. The long-term effects of bullying are numerous, and can include sensitivity, anxiety and even depression.
Recent statistics suggest that the majority of students will experience bullying at some point while studing. In the early 21st century, increased attention has been given to the importance of teachers, group leaders, educators and parents understanding and recognizing the signs of bullying (among both bullies and victims). We offer to help children to be equipped with strategies and tools to address school bullying and deal with it as a community, in and out of the classroom.
Drama and theater in education proved it can effectively improve Lisbon Key competences. We believe that it can also deal with aggresivity, power inequity and victimization distress. We would like to prove that through researches, improving our methodology and exploring theatre in education experience with students, we able decrease bullying in a certain community.