Forum theatre offered to students in the Thau basin to overcome school bullying

Les élèves ont pu monter sur scène pour savoir quelles attitudes adopter en cas de harcèlement scolaire. Midi Libre – W. N.

Two performances were offered by the company Les Cinquantièmes hurlants to the middle school students of Saint-Joseph, this Friday, October 4.

“Do you know who to turn to in the school in case of school bullying”?”. In the classroom, fingers are raised and answers are flying: “To a head teacher”, “To a supervisor”. “You need to talk to an adult you trust”, says to the young assembly one of the actors from the company Les Cinquantièmes hurlants who performed on Friday, October 4, at the Saint-Joseph college. Four sixth-grade classes from the private establishment benefited from this forum theater session, intended to raise awareness among students about the risk of school bullying and the attitudes to adopt in this case. Supported by the educational teams, the National Education, the Hérault prefecture and the CISPD (*) of Sète Agglopôle, this project benefited, last year, some 2,600 students from the Bassin de Thau.

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Putting the students on stage

The session begins with discussions with the young spectators "so that they can tell us what they already know about the subject", says Lili Sagit, one of the actresses. The troupe then offers a play in which "bad" behaviors are highlighted. Finally, the children are invited to discuss what they have seen, and to propose solutions by going on stage themselves. “We give them tools so that they ask themselves the right questions, so that they have an opinion, a clear position. We will discuss the legislative side, but also the whole emotional part. We try to talk about this serious subject while being relaxed in order to interest them“, adds Lili Sagit.

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And the students are showing real enthusiasm for the subject. Many volunteers are getting on stage to play a supervisor or a child who finds himself/herself facing a bullying situation. “It's positive to put the students in the spotlight, it brings out the empathy that they don't always have, rejoices Cécile Lemaire, director of the establishment. They are hyper-reactive, because they feel concerned, they have heard about the subject since primary school. Unfortunately, school bullying is part of our daily lives despite awareness raising”.

(*) Intercommunal Security and Crime Prevention Council I subscribe to read the rest