Bullying workshops at local schools

Jeff Green | Apr 22, 2010

Steve Stresman, the Community Services Officer responsible for the Sharbot Lake detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police, worked with a fellow officer on a presentation about bullying that would connect with students between the ages of 9 and 13.

He then offered the workshop to any of the schools in the region, and a number of them took him up on the offer.

Judging from the reception he received at the last of the workshops, from the students in Chris Davison’s class at Clarendon Central Public School in Plevna, his straightforward talk about rights and consequences struck a chord with the students.

Pointing with regularity at a copy of the Ontario Criminal Code as he worked his way through a power point presentation, Stresman outlined what kind of behaviour is considered illegal, focussing on concepts such as consent, assault, assault with a weapon, threats, extortion, etc. Far from being lost in this kind of legal approach, the students sought clarification often, and provided examples to illustrate that they understood the concepts.

One of the major points that Steve Stresman kept returning to was that students should always report cases of bullying to their teachers and their parents. “Because of the Safe Schools Act, teachers and principals have a responsibility to open a file whenever they are made aware of an instance of bullying,” Stresman said.

He also showed two videos, based on actual cases, that made very clear the kind of damage that bullying can do.

The students asked questions throughout the presentation, and Stresman did not sugar coat his answers. He pointed out that criminal records do not go away, and even youth records are not as completely sealed as people might think.

“So if you are thinking about doing something silly, think about the consequences,” he said.