Bullying and violence: changing an act of disconnectedness into an act of kindness

Abstract

In this article, the authors examine contemporary pluralistic, technologically-driven societies where human spirituality, in terms of human experiences of connectedness, is eroded and overwhelmed by high levels of cultural and religious diversity and hi-tech devices. Without connectedness, empathy and compassion become missing elements resulting in conditions that are conducive to bullying. Not surprisingly, there have been many anti-bullying programmes introduced into schools in Australia and elsewhere in the past couple of decades. Within this context, one individual’s response to the London bombings in 2007 was to approach two primary schools and invite them to participate in a programme she devised: ‘The Act of Kindness’. This programme, while it began as an individual Australian’s response, fit well into the values-based education agenda that was current at the time since it incorporated many of the nine values identified by the Federal Government. Three years later, there were more than 40 schools participating in the programme. At that point, the authors conducted a research study to examine the effectiveness of The Act of Kindness programme in changing a school’s culture as well as raising awareness of Other. The findings are presented in this paper and the authors identify appropriate links to and implications for the issues related to difference, bullying and violence.

Keywords:

• spirituality
• kindness
• empathy
• connectedness
• pluralistic communities
• contemporary contexts

Notes

1. For previous discussions on non-conscious learning, see de Souza (2010) and also de Souza (2009).

2. See de Souza and Cartwright’s (2007) paper presented at the Australian Curriculum Studies Association Conference that reports on research findings amongst newly arrived Indian university students in Ballarat, Australia.

3. The story was widely reported in Australian daily newspapers as well as on Facebook. See the story ‘Sheniz Erkan Farewelled as Friend Urges Bullying Victims to Speak Out’ available online at: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/last-words-of-a-best-friend/story-e6frf7jx-1226243627148 (accessed 19 January 2012).

4. Citing some research from ComScore, Carpenter (2009, p. 192) indicated that MySpace.com attracted more than 114 million visitors in 2007, a 72% increase from the year before, and Facebook attracted 52.2 million visitors, a 270% increase.

5. The title of S. Turkle’s book is Alone Together: Why we Expect More from Technology and Less from each Other.

6. See Buber (1966, p. 56), which contains a selection of Buber’s writings.

7. See the website for more details: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/values/val_vegps_1_and_2,8877.html.

8. Marion Parsonage, a business woman in Australia, established The Act of Kindness in 2005 using entirely her own resources and her business to support the endeavour. She set out to work with local schools to ‘recognise and acknowledge’ what she believed to be ‘the innately kind nature of human beings’. The project began with three schools in her local area and today continues to expand and now extends to more than 40 schools throughout Australia.

9. When communities celebrate, well-being and kindness, cohesion and connectedness is fostered within the community through the process of changing consciousness. It is possible that the response described by this participant and others represented a misinterpretation of the Celebration process. The presentation of a cup-cake at Assembly was not intended to be an award but a celebration in the school community of the innate kindness of human beings. This celebration process could be described as important for nurturing the relational dimension through the sharing of stories of kindness and well-being within the community. The cup-cake, then, as a symbol of celebration, was given to the recipient not as an award but as part of community celebration.