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Anti-Bullying Course Makes Fla. Debut in Pinellas School

Tribune photo by KATHY MOORE

Bill Voors, director of Bully Safe Schools, speaks to a kindergarten class today at Pinellas Central Elementary School.

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2009

PINELLAS PARK - Look a person in the eye. Address them by name. Say thank you.

These basic civilities serve as the foundation of an anti-bullying course introduced today in Florida for the first time.

The course, called "R Time," was developed in England. Today, it was brought to Pinellas Central Elementary School by Bill Voors, director of Bully Safe Schools, based in Fort Wayne, Ind.

"We're going to be talking about good manners today," Voors told a group of 6- and 7-year-old first-graders. He then paired off students using animal cards and went through a string of exercises that emphasized friendly and polite behavior between two people.

Outside of class, Voors said it wasn't necessary to mention the word bully as part of the course. Rather, he said, instructors of the technique teach civility as a way of warding off potential bullying in the future.

Voors' appearance was part of a $4,000 pilot program paid for with federal funds, said Jan Urbanski, supervisor of the Pinellas school district's Safe and Drug-Free Schools program. In addition to Voors' expertise, which he is passing on to teachers, the amount pays for manuals and instructional materials, she said.

Voors had the first-graders sit on the floor and face each other and asked them to come up with words that show good manners.

To his partner, young Corey said, "Could you please be my friend?"

Riley said, "You are nice."

Pedro said, "Please."

Then the students were instructed to ask their partners whether it was OK to tell Voors what nice phrase the partner came up with, and then relate to Voors what was said through a kind of paraphrase.

Richard quoted Zacaria as saying, "When it's Christmas, you can say 'Happy New Year.' "

Another child's quote: "If mom don't feel good, you can say, 'What's the matter.' "

Voors wrapped up the 15-minute exercise by instructing a boy to collect the boys' animal cards and a girl to get the girls' animal cards. During the exchange, each was to say "thank you," but one boy veered from the script after he handed over his animal card by saying, "You're welcome."

Though "R Time" had never been introduced to a Florida school, Pinellas Central Elementary has been taking a proactive stance against bullying for some time, Principal Randi Latzke said. "R Time" is supplementing that effort, Latzke said.

"We had a lot of what some people might consider typical conflicts," Latzke said.

One student might talk another one out of being a third student's friend. Or a student might be enticed to be mean to a new arrival. Some bullying victims have cried. Others have told their parents they don't want to go to school.

The school was one of only a couple of elementary school that took advantage of bully prevention training offered by the school district in 2006, she said, and now everyone, from janitors to cafeteria workers, are aware of the tenets of anti-bullying practices.

"The philosophy is, 'We don't do that here. We treat each other with respect, even if we are different,' " Latzke said.

That kind of thinking is applies at Pinellas Central, which accepts students who don't speak English, she said.

Anti-bullying rules and procedures were established, she said. For instance, victims and bullies are separated for interviews so school personnel can find out what happened. Bystanders are encouraged to step forward if they witness any bullying. And students are told to differentiate between tattling, where gossipy or false information might be passed on, and telling, where someone has been legitimately victimized.

In addition, a puppet on the school's closed-circuit television station has been making an appearance every Wednesday morning. The puppet and a behavioral specialist discuss a facet of bullying, Latzke said.

Afterward, teachers in the classroom discuss with students what has been said. The "R Time" program will now be incorporated as the classroom-level activity that supplements everything else the school has been doing, she said.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336.

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