Real-Life Decision Making
During lunch, there are two students having a heated discussion. There
is a crowd of students starting to draw around them, and you can see already
that the crowd is gathering off into two distinct groups.
As always in these situations, there are numerous "witnesses" to what is
going on. Although you trust many of the students, there are equal numbers
of trustworthy students saying opposite things. Unfortunately,
most of the students could just be supporting what their friends are saying
rather than what may have truly happened.
"When there is a confrontation in the playground," says teacher aide Jill
Dykeman, "you have to be careful to not jump to any conclusions, listen to
all sides of the story, and try to remain unbiased. Anything can happen."
One student, David, is known for being a bully at school and on the playground.
You have seen him in action yourself, many times.
David comes forward, saying that Paul has pushed him over because they
had an argument. When Paul pushed David over, David hurt his arm -- and that's
what the commotion was about. Paul is not a bully, and he's also not
a victim. Paul can stand up for himself when necessary, but also seems to
avoid confrontation.
Now you need to decide how you are going to handle this situation. You
take both students aside and ask them what happened. They both begin talking
at the same time, blaming each other. You then decide to talk with some of
the kids, and find that you are getting the same sort of answers.
What you have been able to figure out is that there is no clear bully,
nor no clear victim in this situation -- both students handled the predicament
poorly. What do you do?