By Natalie Spencer, Guest Student Writer from Louisa County High School

Olweus is a program created by Dan Olweus that schools introduce to students to prevent bullying. The lessons are often presentations with videos to show why bullying is not okay and how to approach a bullying incident. This program has also informed teachers and school staff about the abundance of bullying worldwide. According to research from “clemsonolweus.org,” over 72,000 students were shown the Olweus presentations. There has been over a 50% decrease in bullying in schools because of the Olweus program. For many, this has made school feel like a safer and more enjoyable place to be.

“I like the Olweus program; I feel like it has brought awareness to our school community about bullying,” junior Isabella Williams said. D. Olweus started his journey in 1983. He wanted to prevent bullying and started to observe schools and the students’ behaviors. In the mid-1990s, the first schools in South Carolina reported back that they saw a significant decrease in bullying because of the program, Olweus kept spreading across the world, influencing students and staff members. Although D. Olweus passed in September of 2020, his legacy still carries with thousands of schools using and applying the anti-bullying tactics he taught.

The Olweus program has shown to be impactful for the students it reaches. The program makes sure to implement ways in their work that helps students focus and understand. These ways include fun activities and questions they can reflect on and answer.

Some of the presentations have sparked confidence in students who were struggling with bullying to talk to a trusted adult to get the situation solved.

The program is shown to students every other Monday at LCPS. Another anti-bullying tactic used in schools include Anonymous Alert, which is an anonymous way for students to communicate their concerns about bullying to staff. Additionally, there is a bullying survey sent out to each student yearly for students who may be afraid to speak out to a staff member and voice their concerns about the school’s handling of bullying.

The presentations often have videos done by other students who talk about their personal encounters with mental struggles and/or bullying , which allows more students to connect with the program. One of Olweus’s mottos is, “It is a fundamental human right for all children to be educated in a safe and humane school community,” (quotation from Clemsonolweus.org). This is such an important statement because it highlights that no child should go to school and worry about bullying.

“Olweus has helped students that are maybe being bullied want to speak out to an adult instead of just keeping it to themselves,” sophomore Aniya Hughes said.

Some may feel that the Olweus program has no effect on students and there’s no reason to have it. However, Olweus is important for school systems because of the ability of teens to cyberbully. Olweus teaches students the effects of bullying on others and their mental health. The different lessons are never repetitive and always have important and intriguing information that most people would have never thought twice about such as different mental disorders and how to spot them.

“It has brought us together because it encourages us to talk to each other and just to be a kinder person overall,” Williams said.

The Olweus presentations that the teachers use often have activities for the students to do associated with them. These activities consist of hands-on activities that require communication and teamwork. An example of one of these activities was a chain link that was to be made with paper and glue. The catch to this was that each member of a group could only use one hand to make the chain, causing each member to do their part and communicate through the activity.

“I think that the activities that are assigned are a good opportunity for students to collaborate and talk to each other,” English teacher Katie Barnes said.

Because Olweus is taught in the advisory block, students can open up to others and learn how to collaborate together. Teamwork is also encouraged, as well as communication between the students to fully understand the topic at hand in the lesson.

“Now that we have an advisory period for students to speak with each other and share ideas with students they may not see every day, I feel it broadens their horizons,” Barnes said.

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