Part 4 - Anti-Bullying Week - Pat Capel

The Good Mental Health Podcast

Anti-Bullying Week with Pat Capel. In this newly recorded audio series, Pat Capel – classroom teacher of 25 years and trained HG psychotherapist – shares invaluable insights and clear techniques that can be applied in any situation. By approaching bullying behaviour – and its consequences – through the lens of unmet emotional needs, Pat shows how the HG approach sheds light on why bullying behaviour happens, and unlocks practical and effective strategies for preventing – and stopping – it. The final emotional need that I am going to focus on is the need for meaning. This can be tricky as too often the pupil sees your subject as having no real meaning or value. It is just a subject that is uninteresting or possibly even really difficult but one that simply has to be done. Or homework is seen as meaningless as it is issued only to satisfy the school’s homework roster. The challenge then is to be able to explain the purpose of the homework and how it fits in to the grand scheme. I have a golden rule: If I cannot explain the purpose of a piece of homework, I don’t set it! A child who sees their immediate environment as meaningless, can act out in ways I mentioned earlier this week. It can also lead to increased anxiety and bullying might become the way for the anxiety to be expressed. Exam time is a very stressful time for many as other than a grade sheet, the pupil cannot see the purpose of the exams. As a teacher, you can reframe the exam so that it has meaning. One of the easiest ways to do that is to show how the exam is a gate to the next stage of life. It is not an obstacle that has to be overcome. It is an opportunity. Reduce the anxiety and replace it with a sense of meaning. A child who feels that what they are doing is meaningful will not become a bully.