Ahead of the new school year, an unconventional anti-bullying workshop was held Wednesday night at the Riverhead Library.
John Martin of the Suffolk County Department of Health and Education used implicit improvisation as a bullying prevention tool at a conference. It included clapping, laughing, shouting, and other silly moves.
He said that for children who are about to return to school fully face-to-face for the first time since the pandemic began, his biggest concern is how to develop the social skills they have been unable to learn or fully develop. management.
“A lot of the grief, anxiety, depression, e-cigarettes, and drug use they went through to deal with are now going back to school,” says Martin.
The Smith family of Calverton say they came with a desire to learn how to better communicate with young people about bullying, albeit in a way they didn’t expect.
“I came in with skepticism, but he has a great program,” says Paul Smith.
Martin hopes to empower everyone at the conference to learn new coping strategies for dealing with bullying and learn how to say no, but still save face and avoid embarrassment and peer pressure. Try not to bend over.