In this poem, Antonio’s “looking-glass” self is a metaphor for the way in which he has been influenced by the agents of socialization in his family, classroom, and peer-group. In other words, the “looking-glass” self is how Antonio imagines others in his community view him. He writes, “I have no friends”, suggesting that his desire to change is socially-motivated: Antonio realizes that it is his bullying behaviour that prevents him from forming meaningful relationships with his peers. In responding to the way in which he imagines his peers perceive him, Antonio is performing what Kenny (2017) describes as “answerability”: “expectation-driven performances, performances predicated upon motivational clusters that are too often overlooked” (p. 268). Antonio ha realized that his bullying is perceived negatively, and his desire to change is motivated by his answerability to his peers and particularly to the teacher he confides in. According to Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center (2018), “More than half of bullying situations (57 percent) stop when a peer intervenes on behalf of the student being bullied” (n.p.). Antonio himself seems aware of this when he asks for “Someone [to] plant the seed inside of me” for change. The teacher’s best way of proceeding is to build upon Antonio’s sense of answerability to his peers for his behaviour and the rewards that non-bullying behaviour will bring to him.
One lesson/activity that could be completed by the whole class would be the Pledge Signing Event detailed on the Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center website (2018, n.p.). In this event, students take a pledge to prevent bullying, by speaking out against it, and by defending and befriending those they see being bullied. As well as publically decalring their pledge, each student engages in other activities such as taking an online survey, displaying a certificate, and speaking publically about bullying. By making bullying a topic that is openly discussed, such an activity would prompt reflections such as that experienced by Antonio, allowing both bullies and victims to consider issues of answerability, and making all students answerable to each other for bulling behaviours in the classroom environment. As such, this activity transforms bullying from a private conflict into a public and open issue which is everyone’s business and responsibility. The materials such as the signed pledge sheet and certificates also provide visible and tangible positive results for students to focus on.
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One way in which the class can support Antonio’s change would be to engage in daily supervised sharing/dialogue sessions. Similar to the nursery-school “circle-time” type of activity, such sessions would enable students to talk frankly to one another about issues and situations in which they feel answerable to one another. Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center (2018) explains that many bullying behaviours are about control and power (n.p.); what this suggests is that the bully him or herself feel inadequate or out of control and in need of a way to take control of his or her social environment. By fostering dialogue and discussion, the focus of both bullies and victims in the classroom could be turned away from conflict towards understanding, allowing the children to work together to address the threats that trigger bullying in the first place. The activity would effectively turn the classroom into a temporary “safe space” for all students, empowering them to help one another rather than fight one another.
One strategy that I think would help Antonio to stay on the right path would be to keep a journal. Providing structured writing prompts to ensure that his entries remained focused on his goals and progress, this activity would enable Antonio to maintain the self-reflective mind-set that prompted the mirror-self poem, reminding him of his own commitment to change and making him, in effect, answerable to himself through the mirror of the diary. Antonio would, in effect, be repeating the thinking-processes that led to the creation of the original poem. If the diary were regularly shared with a teacher or parent, this would play on his sense of answerability to others. A diary would also enable Antonio to track his progress towards the change he wants to see, giving him something positive to focus on and allowing him a sense of achievement. In addition to writing the entries, Antonio should be encouraged to re-read his past entries frequently. By placing judgement of his actions on himself, a diary would help remind Antonio to be empathetic towards others.
One suggestion I would share with Antonio’s parents, in order to ensure that his change in behaviour is a true partnership between the teacher, the child, and the parents, would be to keep a chart of Antonio’s progress at home, together with appropriate awards and punishments for reaching or failing to reach goals set for him by himself and approved/monitored by teachers and parents. The system might consist of a series of challenges or goals, or daily/weekly milestones, with stickers or other visuals allowing him to track his progress. Liked rewards might include extra TV or computer time, a raise in allowance, or a free-pass on household chores, with punishments designed to further encourage self-reflection and answerability, such as writing a letter to his peers or writing a story from the point of view of one of his victims. By putting Antonio in partnership with his mentors in this way, Antonio both takes control of his own progress, but also remains answerable to others in his community for his behaviours.
- Kenny, R. (2007). “The Good, the Bad, and the Social: On Living as an Answerable Agent.” Sociological Theory, 25(3), 268-291.
- Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center (2018). “Bullying Facts.” Retrieved from http://www.pacer.org/
