“I am the girl with epilepsy ” (Claudia’s story

STORY DESCRIPTION

SELF-REFLECTION QUESTIONS

“I am the girl with epilepsy” (Claudia’s story)

Hi there! My name is Claudia, I am 16 years old. I think my experience with cyberbullying can be very helpful for those who are facing this. It happened a few months ago. I will say from the beginning that “I am the girl with epilepsy ” . This is the easiest nickname my colleagues gave me on our Facebook group. A few months ago, we moved to a new city and had to change schools. My new colleagues were not the same as the others. I made a friend in class, Alina, and I thought everything was fine. I trusted her so much that I told her that I had epilepsy and that I was living with it, although sometimes I was afraid that something bad would happen to me.

On the same day, the whole class found out, Alina had posted a very ugly comment about me on the class's Facebook group. All my colleagues started to say that I was "the strangest being they had ever seen" , that they didn't want me to get close to them anymore, that they hoped something bad would happen to me. And many, many ugly things that I don't even want to remember. When I saw them I started to cry. I felt so helpless and stupid that I trusted Alina.

The next day, I asked Alina why she posted that comment and told her how I felt. She told me that I was much too sensitive and that this was nothing special. I should get used to it. In the following days, the messages continued even with threats that my colleagues no longer want to see me in their class. And that if nothing happens due to my epilepsy, they will do something to me.

I was very scared and told my mother what I was going through. My mother went to school, talked to the principal and he called my colleagues one by one to clarify the situation. Alina and three of my colleagues who had posted threats were suspended for several days. Then the principal introduced a cyberbullying prevention program at the school. After these lessons, Alina came to me and apologized. She confessed to me that she too had been bullied by older colleagues and foolishly took revenge on me.

I decided to forgive her and I was sorry because she had such an experience. As I learned in these lessons, it often happens that cyberbullies feel frustrated and helpless and take revenge on those who seem weaker than them.

PUPILS AGE: 14-16 YEARS

1. Why was Claudia vulnerable to cyberbullying? Do you know other common “reasons” for which students are cyberbullied? 2. How did Claudia feel after discovering the first messages from the Facebook group? Have you ever felt betrayed by a friend?

NON-FORMAL GROUP ACTIVITIES

3. Have you ever been humiliated online? What did you do? What would you have done instead of Claudia? 4. What was the explanation for Alina's behavior? Do you know anyone in this situation? 5. What would you do if you knew someone like Alina? How would you react?

Approx. 25-30 students between14-16 years old.

Materials: flipchart paper, markers

Time: 50 minutes Instructions after reading together the story: 1. Teacher splits the students into 5 small groups with the task to imagine they are Alina's friends and find solutions to prevent cyberbullying. They will write the solutions on a flipchart paper (15 minutes). 2. Each group will assign a presenter who will emphasize the most important solutions in 5 minutes (25 minutes). 3. Teacher will write the most interesting solutions on a flipchart paper and conclude with: the role of friends as social support when one is cyberbullied, the vulnerable categories to cyberbullying, reasons why one can become cyberbullies, and how to prevent this (10 minutes).