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Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

  • 1.  Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-23-2024 11:06

    Hello!

    I am a Middle School Drama Teacher at a private school in South Florida. 

    Over the last two years, our school has developed a pretty severe and shocking bullying problem, especially in regards to students involved in the arts. (Although they are not the only kids targeted... it's rough out here.)

    Students who choose to participate in the arts, and drama, are often targeted by their peers who see them as the "weird kids" at our school. I am a pretty young educator who has worked in schools in New York City, Colorado, and now Florida.. and I have never seen anything this bad before. I am constantly losing kids in the drama program because they are afraid of their reputation and do not want to be associated with drama or theatre. Kids tell me that they love doing this and have a passion for theatre.. but that their peers are bullying them so bad they do not want to continue. 

    I have been trying, since I started at this school, to help shape this perception. I am a pretty young educator (27) so I do my best to try and relate to the students at the school. I've tried bringing in social media, tiktok, anything I can that reaches them. The students just tell me that this has ALWAYS been an issue, even before I began here. 

    I know that theatre kids are often stereotyped as the weird kids... but why is that? Why, as a society, has this become the norm in schools? What can I do to fix this? How can I help? I hate seeing kids give up on their passions due to bullying. 

    Any and all resources are appreciated. 

    Have a great day!



    ------------------------------
    Karlie Kohler
    Middle School Drama Teacher
    Miami Country Day School
    FL
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-23-2024 13:06

    Not a problem where I am.  Could be just a Florida issue.  I have heard a lot of stories from people who grew up in Florida.



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    Hans Offenfrish
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-24-2024 08:02

    Not a Florida problem.  I teach in Florida and have been for over 25 years. 

    My program continues to grow and I always have more kids show up for auditions than those that are just in the theatre classes.  Not sure if it's an anomaly or not.  I try to be very active at the other things on campus to get to know kids outside of the program too.  Go to games, attend the Robotics events, support the magnet programs, volunteer.  Get out there and get to know the kids.  They often attack what they don't know or understand.  Our program uses outreach events that are fun for everyone to allow them to get to know our program and the kids in it.  We host game events, karaoke events, and others where they can come have fun after school and hang out.  



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    Amy MacCord
    Musical Theatre Teacher
    Westwood Middle School
    FL
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-24-2024 13:41

    Sadly, the arts have an unfair stigma from a large percentage of "non arts " people. It wasn't until a tragic, arts student's suicide, I realized how serious the stigma and senseless bullying is in our schools.

    If you notice any form of bullying, do something, say something. Most importantly, end bullying immediately with promise it will never happen again.

    As with any subject, anti bullying can be taught and practiced by anyone, even the bully.



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    Ron Matthews
    director
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-24-2024 06:45

    It is not just a Florida problem. For the last 18 years I've directed a 7-12 program in a small Title I school in Lancaster County, PA, with no curricular theatre, limited arts and music in a sports-centric community. Can't even count the number of talented students we've lost because of peer pressure - and it has been growing worse in the past 5 years or so. Just mention an in-school performance and even those dedicated enough to stick it out go ashen and threaten to quit. It breaks my heart.



    ------------------------------
    Janet Wood
    Drama Director
    [Columbia High School]
    [Columbia] [PA]
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-24-2024 09:51

    First, I am sorry to hear what your kids are going through. I left Florida for greener pastures after acting, writing, teaching and directing there for 30 years at every level. I saw an increase of bullying and marginalizing of the arts over the past 5 years and the political climate has some impact. What I have mainly found in middle school aged kids is that those that bully are jealous of the courage the performing arts kids have to put themselves out there. Middle school is such a difficult time and to step out of your comfort zone on stage in front of peers is, in my opinion, heroic. I have shared this observation with my students past and present. I tell them they are my heroes and to never let anyone take their joy or stop them from doing what they love.

    I am cheering for you and your kids to thrive!



    ------------------------------
    William J. Eyerly, Ph. D, Ed. D
    Performing Arts Director St. Andrew's Sewanee School
    Thespian Director Troupe #11474
    Executive Director
    Gainesville Association for the Creative Arts
    Sewanee, TN
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-24-2024 10:29

    Hi Karlie,  

    I am sorry your students are going through this.

    Where is the school administration? Are they aware this is happening?  Do they have policies about bullying?  Do they support arts programs?  It feels more systemic than just a few students. 

    I wish you the best in your efforts to encourage these students. 

    Linda



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    Linda Apperson
    Stage Manager and Mentor
    Milwaukie, OR
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-24-2024 13:41
    Hi Karlie,

    I am so sorry to hear about the bullying situation where you are. That's absolutely awful. I've been working with high school theatre for over 20 years. Bullying performing arts kids has never been a huge issue where I'm at but it did used to happen a bit in the early years. And maybe not so much bullying per se as these kids were being looked down upon because performing arts wasn't viewed as something that is important or impactful (or cool) to those that have never experienced it.  I think the performing arts kids as the "weird kids" mentality is more prominent in some areas over others and it's sometimes hard to change that viewpoint especially if it's been rampant for a long time. Lessening (and hopefully, fixing) the bullying issue is probably going to be a slow process over time with a lot of little baby steps.

    My personal opinion is that it comes down to creating educational experiences for those that are not in the arts. People tend to bully and discredit things they don't understand. So getting them involved on a more personal level will hopefully give them at the very least an understanding and respect for how difficult theatre really is.  I tell my students all the time "Actors are athletes". And if you think about how much physicality and stamina it takes to sing and dance at the same time, that is equivalent to many of the sports out there. Check out the ESPN youtube links below. 

    Putting things on social media is always good for marketing. However, that typically only appeals to people who are already interested in the performing arts. Non-theatre folks are most likely going to scroll right past those posts. Try connecting with people on a more personal, in-person level. Here are some suggestions that worked to bridge that gap between theatre and non-theatre kids for us.  Hopefully they may work for you too. But keep in mind it's going to be a marathon not a sprint to change a deep set culture. 
    • Have the theatre program/class host a fun community event that's not theatre performance related, but rather a way to get theatre and non-theatre students having fun together, like a halloween costume party or a game night. You can even partner with other teachers/classes to organize events and get kids to come.
    • Find and perform a show that is geared towards a topic popular with all kids and do a student only performance. Even work with your admin to require (or strongly encourage) other students to come to a performance or even a final dress rehearsal. If you can find one with a bit of sword fighting all the better. Who doesn't like a good sword fight?
    • If you have non-theatre students in class (or coordinate with teachers in other subjects) read and put on mini plays or scenes from plays or books as class projects. Even doing basic scene work and exposing these kids to a bit of theatre can go a long way to gaining understanding about the theatre world. Or offer to have your class perform a scene from a play or book another class is currently studying and have a Q&A with the actors after. We recently did Macbeth and our freshmen English teacher had her kids come to evaluate the play for an assignment. For many it was the first time they had seen a play and really enjoyed it.  Or even have your class write their own skits/plays and perform for family & friends or other classes.
    • Might sound crazy but give a sports kid a role in a show.  There are some kids out there that like sports and also like to sing (and perhaps act too). Or if need be cater to their athletic abilities and say you could really use said skill in the show. If even for a bit part. We did this years ago, and it quickly had a snowball effect. The athlete discovered they liked being a part of the show. His friends came to see the show only because he was in it and gained a bit of understanding for what theatre does. He auditioned again and brought a couple sports friends with him. I now constantly have athletes in shows including the captain of the football team (was our musical lead for three years), track state champions, tennis, volleyball and lacrosse players continue to be involved in the theatre program. Having athletes in the shows expanded our audience base to a lot of not-theatre families as well who now consistently come to shows. 
    • Find other non-theatre students that have skills useful for some of the tech positions. Same as above. This is another good way to open the theatre world to non-theatre folks. They get to see first hand how difficult and how much work goes into making a show. And oftentimes they really enjoy it and will keep coming back. Having athletes and other non-theatre kids as part of the shows has gone a very long way to garnering respect and even admiration for what theatre kids do amongst our student community.
    • Appeal to parents to bring their students to your shows (or better yet involved in the shows). Getting the parents on board with a positive theatre culture can trickle down to the students too.

    Good luck!


    --
    Blessings,
     

    		Jillian Lietzau | Head of Theatre Department, Registrar
    jillian.lietzau@lhsparker.org

    Lutheran High School
    (303) 841-5551 ext 200
    11249 Newlin Gulch Blvd Parker CO 80134
     www.lhsparker.org




    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-25-2024 14:05

    Karlie, middle school is hard.  Hard for teachers, hard for students.  Most are moving in lockstep with peers, constantly hoping they won't be excluded from the group. 

    The school where you are teaching is K-12, which means you have a ready audience of younger students.  You might look into producing a show for the younger grades, with an evening show for parents and friends.  I loved doing children's theatre with my high school students, taking shows to our feeder elementary schools, where my actors were considered rock stars.  Your feeder is right where you are.  You can incorporate a multitude of various lessons in preparation for a show.

    Heuer and Pioneer may be your best locations for plays for that purpose.   

    I worked 1/3 day at a middle school, 2/3 day at my high school, for 3 semesters.  I left that experience thinking I had failed miserably.   I was shocked at how many of the surly, squirrely middle students I had interacted with registered for theatre classes when they got to the high school.  Middle school is just hard, and everyone who teaches there deserves praise.  Hang in there!

         



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    CJ Breland
    Retired Theatre Arts Educator
    NC
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-25-2024 15:21

    HIgh School Musical.  Put a basketball hoop in your playspace and invite the basketball team to be in the show.  



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    Carla Jenness
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 01-29-2024 10:24

    Do the kids who are bullying others ever watch movies or TV shows? If they do, they are seeing actors, many of whom are popular with kids for various reasons. What I think I'm reading above is that there's a disconnect between "high school drama" and "professional actors" in the bullies' minds.

    Just like many sports stars started out in high school sports, many big-time actors started out in high school drama. I'm not a teacher, so I have no idea how to bring this up in a school, but, from my years here in the forum, I'm under the impression that part of the problem is the way high school theater is often presented and perceived as "the arts" instead of as a possible and very real career path.



    ------------------------------
    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Why are drama students often bullied by their peers? How do I help?

    Posted 02-03-2024 09:42

    #1 We all Empathize with you, in some way or another.

    #2 Short term - You need to get adults involved in protecting the innocent.   Parents, Admin, community members, and Other teachers!  and teach the kids how to appropriately stand up for themselves!   You'll have to figure out what works for you, but it might be cool to get some successful people to help change perception (cops, attorneys, local celebs, biz owners, church leaders... etc)

    #3 DO THEATRE!!!  Work into your theatre shows experiences that empower the artists, and messages for the gen population that encourage better behavior.   This is what we do, right?     HSM might be interesting... or find some way to connect the dots between your artistic groups and groups that tweens are more likely to be easily drawn to?   We do a Drama Camp for little kids (you could include 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders...) and when the little kids enjoy doing theatre games and being onstage - it can have the affect of helping them to see the arts more broadly (just one of the fin things they do) thus breaking down the walls that seperate the "sporty/success" type activities and the "Weirdo" ones.  And their parents will give you money to make more impressive things happen onstage!!!

    I'm sure it's extra difficult in the 'trenches', but I'm sure that you can take steps towards a better situation! 



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    [Drama] [Dan] []
    [Drama Teacher/Director]
    [Dublin Coffman HS]
    [Dublin] [Ohio]
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    Original Message


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