The spot "Join the group, don't run with the herd"

Buccoliero E., Maggi M.

Annali della Pubblica Istruzione

Italian

English

Tv spot – web site – claim – phone number - regional observatories

Report

Parents, Policy Makers, Teachers, Researchers, Young People, School Directors.

1 - 20 pages

The analysis of the project from several schools urged us to make a tv spot against violence at school and outside school.MIUR received some short films and promos made by students, which showed a high level of creativity and involvement but were technically unsuitable for tv national networks. For these reasons the Education Department launched a campaign apt to convey positive messages through tv networks popular among teenagers, without insisting in the mistake made by the media which have treated bullies like stars and strengthened the idea that violence is the only means to be accepted and acknowledged in our society. The spot rejects this assumption as it is not focused on bully teenagers; the main characters are all those teenagers who belong to the audience. The spot is addressed to teenagers not involved in the problem to urge them to act positively.From this simple assumption Andrea Jublin director and a candidate for Oscar in 2007 for the best short “The temporary teacher”, of which he was script-writer, director and actor, has developed a subject able to combine and balance several and different elements.- The testimonial is essential to draw teenagers’ attention. However the testimonial must not be the one who solves the relationship problems of the class or the preacher who educates pupils. The role played by Victoria Cabello urges a positive behaviour in the students and carries them in a sort of collective hug around the supposed victim of bullying. Victoria plays the role of the school education system. She is not the avenger coming from outside who breaks into a world which already owns the means to solve the problem.-Teenagers are the actual protagonists of the spot, both the ones who act as "friend department" and the ones who wake up from indifference and take part in the collective hug. Even the bully is won by the wave which runs through the class, he realizes he has lost his power, based on fear and joins the others after Victoria’s invitation. All the teenagers who acted in the spot are students at Liceo “Giulio Cesare” , where the spot was made, and Scuola Media Settembrini.- Adults are represented by the teacher, the headmaster and the school caretaker who convey the idea of the school as a well-organized, trained, educational community where everyone, according to his/her role can and must give his/her own contribution to prevent and cope with the problems.- The claim “ join the group, don’t run with the herd” sums up, with the effectiveness of an advert, all the measures against violence and bullying at school and outside taken by the Education Department in recent years. Teenagers must join together and take off the mask of indifference they often wear to look at the others and at the world; adults must join together so that families and teachers may come to an agreement in order to share the same values and mutual trust.-The Website and the free phone number: the main aim of the TV spot is to encourage the use of two services provided by the Education Department: the phone number 800669696 free of charge and the Website www.smontailbullo.it where you may find documents, detailed information about bullying, suggestions on how to improve the knowledge of the phenomenon as well as region based emergency procedures.- The language: direction, testimonial, humor, speed, graphics make the spot suitable for young and very young people and up to the standard of the networks they like best; at the same time they are the key to draw the attention of our target audience even if the spot can be seen on TV national networks, which usually meet the needs of a more adult audience. - The spot can be seen at the following address: http:// www.smontailbullo.it/videohome/pp_video.

WWW.SMONTAILBULLO.IT is a very helpful website since it is easy to understand and to use, it is rich in information and material both for teachers and for those people whose work is closely related to school: these are the main feature of the new national website about bullying which has been working since October 2009. It has also become a national website which highlights the countless actions, interventions, projects, seminars, research which have been carried out in this field in Italy for so many years thanks to the contribution of so many schools, local authorities, Universities, Associations of the third sector, National Health service, Banks, Police forces. The website aims to offer ideas, advices and suggestions at different levels to different targets.-The people who don’t know anything about bullying and the school responsibilities in coping with the problem are accurately informed about the phenomenon of repeated violence at school and about the dynamics of groups of children and teenagers, with analyses and advice in order to identify abuses, to define the role played by school in dealing with the problem and to plan some intervention by clicking il bullismo. In Normative you can consult legislation concerning the prevention of bullying and violence at school, from the Constitution to Department CircularsThe National Committee Prevention of the bullying troubles is in close contact with the renewed National Committee on bullying to let everyone know its goals, documents and plans.Those who wish to have a look at what is done in Italy to prevent and cope with bullying can consult the Osservatori page which is a synthesis of the whole work carried out by Osservatori regionali against bullying; moreover they may see and download the most important material: guide-lines, projects, seminars, programs or training courses. La Tua Campagna and Video webcast messages against bullying through advertisements, posters, audiovisual materials designed by teenagers. It’s a way to encourage teenagers’ creativity and to examine proposals in order to plan prevention campaigns.Those who wish to gather further information about projects, research or material concerning bullying in order either to plan their work or achieve a deeper knowledge of the phenomenon may click on Progetti, Indagini e Materiali which offers a wide range of what has been experienced in this field in Italy in recent years. It’s only the first selection of all the collected material which includes more than 100 local surveys and several projects. All the collected material will be filed and made available on the Web in order to set up a national data bank. Those who need to look into the problem may click on Bibliografia and Sitografia which offer work tracks about bullying, aggressive behavior and violence in teenagers, class management and good citizenship. In the bibliography you can find books for children and teenagers which may become a gift, a reading experience shared by adults and children, a starting point for the class work.Those who wish to keep themselves up-to-date or to let people know their work may click on Eventi and News which draw a map of anything is happening in Italy concerning bullying: meetings, seminars, book reviews, films, shows, circulars.A selection of these events may be found in Primo Piano on the home page, special attention is given to the campaigns promoted by the Education Department. Those who want to take action and don’t know how to start will find a selection of immediately available instruments in Attrezzi: it is divided into goals and targets and suggests methodologies to learn group dynamics, to make students aware of bullying, to realize that their children are victims, to analyze bullying situations, to choose the most suitable methods for class work.Teatro and Filmografia inform of shows and films dealing with bullying, that may be used at school to debate the problem with teenagers.Finally those who are experiencing or have learnt about bullying situations and need help may ask professional advice either by dialling the free of charge number or by clicking on Consulenza online.www.smontailbullo.it is a web site open to anyone who wants to give information about violence at school. Please send an e-mail to the editor and your material will be published.

Don Milani