Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes

Tune In: What is an upstander?

20 minutes

Find Out: Strategies for upstanders

15 minutes

Take Action: Love your enemy

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: What is an Upstander?

Step 1

Write these two words on either side of the board:

Bystander
Upstander

Invite students to suggest definitions for these words. Note these down.

Step 2

Ask students to determine what they think the key difference is between a bystander and an upstander.

After their discussion, explain that the key difference between a bystander and an upstander is whether or not you are actively taking a stance against the behaviour.

Together Against Bullying says:

“Becoming an upstander is about moving from silence to action. Bystanders contribute to the problem. Upstanders stop the problem.”

Step 3

Play this video:

Violence is Ugly Part 3 (Coward Punch Campaign) - (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHkw3uuEtp0)

In small groups, invite students to determine which characters were the bystanders and which were the upstanders. They can use this table on the Student Worksheet:

Bystanders - contribute to the problem

Upstanders - stop the problem

Possible answers:

The people cheering on the violence - they are demonstrating their approval of the violence
The people watching and doing or saying nothing - they are inactive towards the violence.

Possible answers:

The guy who shakes his head at the violence - he is actively demonstrating his disapproval. His swiping motion makes the violence stop.
The girl with her arms folded - her body language shows disapproval and her words actively challenge the violent behaviour while her swipe makes the behaviour stop.

Step 4

Ask students:

If this was real life, instead of an advertisement, what actions could the upstanders have taken?

Invite students to work in pairs to note down their responses and then share these with the class. Write their answers under the ‘Upstander’ column on the board.

Find Out: Strategies for upstanders

Step 1

Have students work in groups of three or four for the following task.

Explain to students that they are going to create a list of strategies for upstanders. These strategies should be able to be applied to many situations, such as:

aggressive or violent behaviour
bullying
racism and other forms of discrimination.

Step 2

Allow students 15 minutes to work on their lists.

Have students share their lists with another group and share constructive feedback.

Learning extension: Students could re-evaluate their lists based on feedback, or merge lists into one class list through a collaborative editing process. Once the list is complete, they could create a poster to hang up around the school.

Take Action: Love your enemy

Step 1

Explain to students that they are now going to practise a technique for disarming an aggressor or bully. It is called ‘Love Your Enemy’ (source).

Note: This can be quite a fun activity, but ensure students are aware that they should clearly communicate if and when they are feeling overwhelmed or unsafe so the activity can be interrupted and brought back on track.

Step 2

Play this video:

Bullying Prevention Speaker Jeff Veley Gets Bullied by Student - https://youtu.be/NLD9igDbgyw

Step 3

Invite students to pair up with someone they feel safe with. For some students, this may be an adult or teacher.

Some students may choose to opt out of this activity and act as an observer. These students can provide feedback or observations for other pairs of students. It's important not to 'make' any students complete this activity.

Have each pair nominate a bully. They will then have an opportunity to swap over.

Step 4

Have students complete several role-plays where they take turns playing the role of a bully or aggressor. They should test out the ‘love your enemy’ technique. You might ask students to start their role-plays with the following prompts:

What are you looking at?
What’s wrong with you?
Do you have a problem?
Are you stupid or something?
Get out of my face!

The less ‘personal’ the bullying comments, the safer the activity will be for students.

Below are some sample responses to each if you think students need extra help:

What are you looking at? Your t-shirt - it’s so cool! Where did you get it?
What’s wrong with you? Actually, I’ve got a really bad pain in my tummy… I should probably go to the toilet before I vomit everywhere.
Do you have a problem? Yeah, I was wondering if you could help me… see I’ve got this test coming up and I just can’t wrap my head around (insert topic). You seem really smart so I wondered if you might help me out.
Are you stupid or something? That’s definitely a possibility, I know I forget things all the time… does that ever happen to you? Probably not - you’re so clever. I really wish I was smart like you.
Get out of my face! Sorry - it’s just such a lovely face… I wish I had skin like yours - what’s your secret?

Reflection

Have students complete these questions on the Student Worksheet:

Have you ever been a bystander?
In what situations could you be more of an upstander?
What do you find challenging about being an upstander?
What did you find useful about today’s lesson?

Coward Punch - Be An Upstander

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