Bystanders are those people who witness an event such as discrimination and bullying. Bystanders have a choice: to stand by and watch; or to stand up and take steps to support the people involved. Supporting students to feel empowered to stand up as bystanders will help create a supportive and inclusive school culture.
Learning Intention
Students learn the importance of bystanders taking action in reducing bullying.
Key Outcomes
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
- identify activities that count as discrimination
- understand the role of bystanders
- identify actions that bystanders can take to support a person experiencing discrimination or bullying.
activity 01
Understanding bystanders 15 min
1. Explain to students that there are many situations where they may witness discrimination or bullying. Bystanders have a choice: to stand by, or to take action.
2. In pairs, ask students to discuss:
- What activities count as discrimination (and/or bullying)? (e.g. unfair treatment or comments about topics including gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, religious belief)
- Where might you see discrimination or bullying? (e.g. in the classroom, school yard, social media)
- Who is present when discrimination occurs? (ans: the perpetrator/s, the person/people being targeted, and bystanders)
- Who is a bystander? (ans: anyone who is a witness)
- How can bystanders help when they witness discrimination? (e.g. explain why the action was wrong, befriend the person being discriminated against)
Debrief: Explain to students that bystanders play a key role in stopping discrimination, and that there are many different ways they can help.
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