Globetrotters talk bullying prevention

by BRIAN NADIG

Two members of the Harlem Globetrotters gave students in kindergarten through third grade a lesson on the “ABCs of Bullying Prevention” during a 30-minute assembly on Dec. 16 at Palmer School, 5051 N. Kenneth Ave.

“There is a problem in our youth, and it is a bad thing,” 12-year Globetrotter veteran “Slick” Willie Shaw told the students. “Bullying is not nice.”

“A” stands for “action,” and students should report bullying problems to a teacher or other trusted adult and such action should not be considered tattling, Shaw said. “Bullying will never stop if bullies don’t get in trouble,” he said.

“B” stands for bravery, and that includes “standing up for yourself and others,” Shaw said. Walking away from a bully or telling a bully to stop talking negatively about a friend are examples of bravery which students can demonstrate, he said.

“C” stands for “compassion,” and students can demonstrate that by sitting next to someone who has been teased and talking to him or her. “Be a friend,” Shaw said.

Many acts of bullying occurred on playgrounds, but students now are often victims of demeaning remarks which are made on social media, including Facebook, Shaw said. “It’s one more form of bullying,” he said.

The world-famous basketball team, which started 90 years ago, designed the anti-bullying campaign in coordination with the National Campaign To Stop Violence. Joining Shaw was teammate El Gato Melendez, a 3-year veteran of the Globetrotters.

Shaw and Melendez asked students to give examples of bullying and to describe the action which they would take to stop a bully. Students who participated were taken on stage and shown some of the Globetrotters’ basketball trickery.