Hobbies And Interests
Role-Playing Games
Role-playing games allow bullies and their victims to swap positions, providing all parties with a better understanding of the emotional forces driving the aggression, as well as the emotional impacts of such aggression. As the online educational resource 42 Explore describes, players first need to separate into groups and write out the action and dialogue for several realistic bullying scenarios. Possible ideas include writing about a student entering a new school who is bullied for being "different," or about a student subjected to online ridicule, or targeted by threatening e-mails and messages. Players can then exchange their scenarios with other groups, and take turns acting the scenarios out. After each performance, they can discuss tactics for resolving the bullying.
Board Games
Some manufacturers produce board and card games that specifically target the subject of bullying. For example, Franklin Learning Systems puts out the game "Bully Safe," which promotes different techniques and systems for stopping bullying. Suitable for students in grades five through eight, the game consists of two stacks of cards: red Situation cards, which describe episodes of bullying behavior, and blue Advice cards, which list skills that victims of bullying and bystanders can use to stop bullying. Players take turns pulling Situation cards, and either work all together or play competitively on teams in order to come up with non-violent solutions.
Mediation Games
As the Legal Aid Society of San Diego notes, peer mediation is a program that trains students to mediate and resolve conflicts that their fellow students engage in. Part of the mediation training process involves playing games, which--in addition to providing entertainment--helps students bond and learn about each other. One such game requires that teams of six work together to build machines, such as toasters or motorcycles, using only their bodies, like in charades. And while not specific to bullying, games like these can help students develop better relationships and understand how every student has an equal place in the school community.
Online Games
Educational games about bullying abound on the Internet, and include PBS's "Beat the Bully." The game posits questions relating to different bullying scenarios in order to beat you opponent--the bully--in an intergalactic race. The more questions you answer correctly, the further ahead of the bully you travel.