Act Like You Matter Founder and President Amy Jones Anichini discusses why it’s important to stop using bully as a label
California nonprofit Act Like You Matter announces that they are changing the name of their interactive stage play for K-3rd from Baffle That Bully! LIVE to Baffle Away Bullying! to stop using bully as a label. The full new name of the program is Baffle Away Bullying! Interactive Stage Play for K-3rd – Learn Life Skills to Help You Build Resilience and Manage Encounters with Anyone Who Mistreats You.
Click the image to learn more, see show photos, and meet the characters.
The announcement comes 5 years after the release of children’s book Baffle That Bully! by Act Like You Matter Founder and President Amy Jones Anichini and her daughter Chase Anichini, and just before the 1-year anniversary of the first elementary school performance of the adapted stage play version of the book. The reason for the name change is to remove the noun, “bully,” and stop using bully as a label. The new name, Baffle Away Bullying, reflects the messages of empathy, resilience, and empowerment that are at the heart of the stage play.
“As we started running the Assembly at elementary schools, I became more and more certain that we needed to change the title because it didn’t match the spirit of the play,” said Ms. Anichini. “Using the word bully as a noun places a negative label on a child and implies that they can’t change. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and it couldn’t be further from the tone of the script. Bullying is a behavior that’s learned, and it can be unlearned. Sending the message that a “bully” can’t change is one of the many reasons that bullying persists. It’s time to move beyond that label.”
Using the word bully as a noun places a negative label on a child and implies that they can’t change. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and it couldn’t be further from the tone of the script.
Baffle Away Bullying! Interactive Stage Play for K-3rd is one of four age-appropriate, student-led anti-bullying programs offered by Act Like You Matter and delivered by its division Theatre of Peace: Youth Bullying Awareness Acting Troupe. Each program, whether offered as an assembly or smaller group workshop, is packed with tools students can use immediately to break the cycle of bullying no matter what role they play (target, bystander, follower, or aggressor.)
“Our mission is to empower each child to bring their full selves to a situation, notice what’s happening around them, speak up, and do something about bullying behavior, whether they witness it or experience it firsthand,” Ms. Anichini continued. “Anyone can be part of the solution. Anyone can choose to behave differently than they have in the past. Anyone can speak up against injustices. But it takes empathy, kindness, courage, and sometimes the help of a trusted adult to do those things. The path toward more positive behavior choices is much easier if people haven’t slapped a negative label on us.”
Baffle Away Bullying! will be Presented at the International Bullying Prevention Association Conference Nov. 5-7th in San Diego
Theatre of Peace and Amy Jones Anichini will present Baffle Away Bullying! at the International Bullying Prevention Association (“IBPA”) Conference Nov. 5-7, 2018, at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina in San Diego, CA. The event is open to the public; tickets are available at: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/
ABOUT ACT LIKE YOU MATTER
Act Like You Matter is a California nonprofit that seeks to promote the well-being of children, tweens, and teens so that each child feels accepted and free to be themselves without being bullied. Through their division Theatre of Peace, the company runs anti-bullying programs for K-12 in San Diego County that are custom-designed, solution-driven, and student-led:
This article originally appeared on PRLog.org
Looking forward to this change! The fact that people who bully can change is so important.
I totally agree!!
I love this change! It’s so cool to acknowledge people’s ability to change!!