August, 2017

　　　　　　　　　　　Harvard University

　　　　　　　　　　　GFL Sino-Foreigner People to People

　　　　　　　　　　　Exchange Research Summer Program

Social innovation--

　　　　　　　　　　　How to Reduce Campus Bullying

　　　　　　　　　　　28th August, 2017

　　　　　　　　　　　Tutors: Mrs. Song

　　　　　　　　　　　Group Students Name: Wang Zikai (Marilyn)

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Zhang Guanyi (Ginny)

　　　　　　　　　　　Word Count: 2,300 Characters (excluding content， the reference and appendixes)

Abstract

　　This paper focuses on school bullying. School bullying has been a serious problem for people all over our community, for it causes fights and other occurrences between kids. Our group tries to manage them by innovating solutions to reduce the amount of school bullying over the world. We talked to students and visitors in Harvard about their experiences and thoughts, searched relevant information on the Internet, and discussed our own ideas together. We designed three different solutions for different kinds of people who care about the subject a lot--making educative cartoons for kids, developing an evaluating App for parents, and using a new student-teacher-ratio working form. This paper elaborates on the solutions and discusses their feasibility and sustainability.

Table of Contents

Chapter1 - Introduction 4

　　1.1 Main Problem and Methods 4

　　1.2 Significances of Solving the Campus Bullying Problem 4

　　1.3 Different Perspectives 5

　　1.4 Summarize of the Three solutions 5

Chapter 2 – Solution1 for Kids: Making Educational Cartoons 9

　　2.1 Solution Overview 10

　　2.2 Similar Existing Solutions 9

　　2.3 Issues in Guiding Kids 10

　　2.4 Tentative Project Assumption 10

　　2.5 Sustainability Analysis 10

　　2.6 Feasibility Analysis 10

Chapter 3 – Solution2 for Parents: Producing App for Evaluation 12

　　3.1 Tentative Project Assumption 10

　　3.2 Current Situation 9

　　3.3 Theoretical Support 10

　　3.4 Tentative Project Assumption 10

　　3.5 Sustainability Analysis 10

　　3.6 Feasibility Analysis 10

Chapter 4 – Solution3 for Teachers: Changing into a Smaller Teacher-Student Ratio 29

　　4.1 Tentative Project Assumption 10

　　4.2 Relevant Research 9

　　4.3 Difficulties Facing 10

　　4.4 Graphic Illustration 10

　　4.5 Sustainability Analysis 10

　　4.6 Feasibility Analysis 10

Chapter 5 – Future Development 29

　　5.1 Timeline 19

　　5.2 Vision of the Future 19

Chapter 6 – Conclusion 29

Bibliography / List of References 39

Chapter1 - Introduction

1.1 Main Problem and Methods

　　Our group focus on the campus bullying problem, and try to bring forward schemes to reduce it. To achieve this, we searched on the Internet, asked teachers and friends, and talked to several strangers in Harvard University.

1.2 Significances of Solving the Campus Bullying Problem

　　According to the small talks taken place in Harvard University, eight out of the nine groups of interviewees mentioned that they or their friends had ever suffered from such bullying things. Similar vicious incidents are happening more and more often, evidenced by news emerging in endlessly. All these make a sense that the campus bullying happens at anywhere and anytime. As a result, the bullying problem is widespread while urgently needed to be reduced.

1.3 Different Perspectives

　　To draw a conclusion of all the information we gained, campus bulling can occur for any point of reason. A person may be bullied because of his religion, outlooks, character, or sometimes just because his was doing too well in his schoolwork.

　　The multiple and uncontrollable induction factors require all sorts of perspectives to come up with different solutions.

　　Our group started the innovation program with a question-- “whom are our solutions specially designed for?” Dividing the answers into three groups, we are designing schemes for kids their selves, parents and teachers.

1.4 Summarize of the Three solutions

　　From our point of view, making educational cartoons may help towards kids. App for evaluation can be beneficial for parents to monitor their children. And a smaller teacher-student ratio might be favorable to teachers.

Chapter 2 – Solution1 for Kids:

Making Educational Cartoons

2.1 Solution Overview

　　Our first solution is specially designed for kids. In our vision, cartoons educating youngsters about bullying knowledge can be produced.

2.2 Similar Existing Solutions

　　During our preliminary investigation, we have found some similar videos made by others. For example, a program called BEAT A BULLY WITHOUT USING YOUR FISTS from , focused on bullying-guiding topic. It used stick figures to explain frequently asked questions in illustrating ways. Through the short video, the reasons why one is being bullied as well has how to solve the bullying situation were clearly expounded in details.

2.3 Issues in Guiding Kids

　　The only drawback of the existing video is that, all the paintings and explanations are not so easy to draw children’s attention. Since the figures are either black or white instead of the fresh colors, kids whom bulling usually happens on may not be willing to watch. Aside from this, directing words and sentences would be out of their understanding range.

2.4 Tentative Project Assumption

　　We are thinking about making a more kids-friendly kind of video, and cartoon seems to be a good idea. The knowledge and information which children should know can be mixed into one and another attractive story, and the key point is to make kids learn them while watching cartoons, sharing the stories with friends, and even any time they recall the plots in their mind. Besides, parents and teachers can also make sure whether kids have gained the knowledge by letting them to “recommend” the cartoon and asking them to introduce the plots.

2.5 Sustainability Analysis

　　Producing a cartoon is not as easy as it sounds like. It requires a high-quality animation producing group with the technology, and a broadcasting platform as cooperative partner to generalize the cartoon. As guiding children has a long way to go, the team should keep making new seasons in case kids will lose interest. All the things above need money to sustain, so it’s important to sell the finished cartoons to TV stations.

2.6 Feasibility Analysis

　　There are factors which put this solution into force, indeed. The experience in producing the existing videos may help to promoting cartoons. So as long as the related knowledge are provided by professional people (psychologists, children education experts, animation directors, etc.), the solution could be of a lot feasible.

Chapter 3 – Solution2 for Parents:

Producing App for Evaluation

3.1 Tentative Project Assumption

　　Parents must be those who care about kids most. An evaluating app will help parents to monitor their children and trade bullying situations in school. Parents can observe their kids first, and then record the behaviors into the App. By offering a few questions about children’s actions, emotions and behaviors, the App uses quantification methods to change all the answers into weights. Finally, the App will calculate scores for likely of bullying towards their children. If there are these kinds of problems identified pertaining the children, the App can also offer relating advices like teaching parents good ways to guide kids. Laws and research data will also be provided at the same time.

3.2 Current Situation

　　Through the talks with people, we found that children who suffered from bullying situations are usually not willing to share bad and embarrassing feelings with their parents. Bullying made him feel detested and hard to get alone with others, according to one of the visitors in Harvard. This point which has been agreed by others shows that bullied children have weaker relationships with parents.

3.3 Theoretical Support

　　Therefore, parents should pay close attention to whether the child is experiencing bullying. Observing the behavior of children, one or two can be perceived. “For example, outgoing child suddenly became silent, sharply lower grades children without by the outstanding result, does not love to spend the children suddenly ask you for additional allowance, suddenly lose interest in love before things, etc. For these abnormal signals, parents should be alert. Other features include an unexplainable wound and bruise; damage to clothing, accessories and personal belongings; headaches, stomachaches, or feigning discomfort; having trouble sleeping and having nightmares; don't want to go to school; panic in social situations; feeling helpless and falling in confidence; self-destruction……” (Information from , translated by YoudaoApp.).

3.4 Tentative Project Assumption

　　Therefore, parents should pay close attention to whether the child is experiencing bullying. Observing the behavior of children, one or two can be perceived. “For example, outgoing child suddenly became silent, sharply lower grades children without by the outstanding result, does not love to spend the children suddenly ask you for additional allowance, suddenly lose interest in love before things, etc. For these abnormal signals, parents should be alert. Other features include an unexplainable wound and bruise; damage to clothing, accessories and personal belongings; headaches, stomachaches, or feigning discomfort; having trouble sleeping and having nightmares; don't want to go to school; panic in social situations; feeling helpless and falling in confidence; self-destruction……” (Information from , translated by YoudaoApp.).

3.5 Sustainability Analysis

　　The resource of cost may come from investments at first. And after the App been published, we can sell it to parents. It may cost only a little for each family, but as there are a large amount of expect users, fund for running a company will not be a problem for sure. Besides, if there are surplus, donating them to relating organizations or investing in public service advertising can be a good way.

3.6 Feasibility Analysis

　　This idea is easier to realize compared with the above two methods. What school need to do is just training more teachers to be friends with children. The salaries of the teachers can be a problem, and distributing wages according to the average workload is a helpful suggestion.

Chapter 4 – Solution3 for Teachers:

Changing into a Smaller Teacher-Student Ratio

4.1 Tentative Project Assumption

　　Another important element that hinder reducing school bullying is teachers’ ability to monitor students. A class especially in China usually has more than thirty students. A head teacher who is responsible for a whole class, cannot concentrate on the feelings of all the students. So, we are thinking of a new working form, which is to reduce student-teacher ratio and making psychological groups. Take an example, the current situation is that a teacher focuses on thirty students’ mental case. After changing the working form, there will be more teachers and each of them can focus on only three or four students. By this way, all the students can be paid close attention to.

4.2 Relevant Research

　　Teachers usually face a lot of tasks nowadays: knowledge transference, activity organizing, attendance record, family-school communication……

　　According to a survey:

　　46.8% admitted to "having a teacher they were afraid of at school", 37.4% of students "are afraid to talk to their parents about their situation", 52.5% of students felt "nervous" when they asked them to go to the office to talk.

　　The head teacher in the 2% of the students' heads was "very serious", 18.2% of students said the head teacher was "very angry" and 5 percent never spoke to the teacher alone.

　　30.8% of primary school students the most afraid of teachers criticism or punishment, there are often "run by the teacher make stand as punishment " and punished by the teacher after school to stay", irony, sarcasm, scolded by the teacher, don't let into the classroom ", copy the text or job many times "and" play "by the teacher students experience, sum up to 17.1% of the total number of students, this experience on average, 24.1% of students, some girls are afraid of" teacher criticism or punishment "is significantly higher than boys.

　　When answering the question “if there's a worry or a whisper, will you find a teacher?", only 16% of children chose to find a teacher, and 53% preferred to be alone.

　　In answer to "what is your favorite kind of teachers?”, the students answered: youth, lively, active and energetic, not dull or monotonous, not rigid, humor, smile, no sarcasm students, etc.

　　(Information from , translated by YoudaoApp.).

4.3 Difficulties Facing

　　Therefore, the relationship between teachers and students of primary and middle school students is not good optimistic. And students’ mental states are not so easy to be observed. Whether there are school bullying accidents is hard to tell, unless enough time and patience are available.

4.4 Graphic Illustration

4.5 Sustainability Analysis

　　As for further details like a student may dislike the teacher responsible for him or a teacher does not work well with the group, they can have internal meetings regularly. On the meeting which may hold once a week, teachers can share working experiences, difficulty they found and likely bullying situations together. By exchanging information, they can improve the next phase of work.

4.6 Feasibility Analysis

　　This idea is easier to realize compared with the above two methods. What school need to do is just training more teachers to be friends with children. The salaries of the teachers can be a problem, and distributing wages according to the average workload is a helpful suggestion.

Chapter 5 – Future Development

5.1 Timeline

　　If what we planned had all been realized, we are supposed to see that:

5.2 Vision of the Future

　　We are heartfully looking forward so see that campus bullying things can be authentically reduced, either by using our humble solutions or in using any other methods which react.

Chapter 6 – Conclusion

　　The social problem we found is campus bullying. Through the innovation project, we designed three different solutions towards different kind of people:

　　·Solution1 for Kids: Making Educational Cartoons;

　　·Solution2 for Parents: Producing App for Evaluation;

　　·Solution3 for Teachers: Changing into a Smaller Teacher-Student Ratio.

　　And we bravely hope that all we thought of can be carried out, and benefit the reducing of campus bullying.

Bibliography / List of References

　　·BEAT A BULLY WITHOUT USING YOUR FISTS, viewed in August 30th 2017, < JW.org>

　　·NOBulying.com, viewed in August 30th 2017,

　　·Su Dezhong & Cui Xinning 2016, School Bullying affects children’s life, viewed in August 30th 2017, .

　　·Wu Runmei 2015, Report on the Relationship Between Teachers and Students in Primary and Secondary Schools, viewed in August 30th 2017, .