We were honored to witness students from Shaw High School [1] in East Cleveland, Ohio as they trained elementary school students to stand up to bullying.  Last week, NIOT producer Kelly Whalen and I traveled to Cleveland to film Not In Our School segments at two local high schools.

Peer to peer learning is a core practice in Lori Urogody-Eiler’s Facing History [2]class—and her students have found a way to pass on her methods.  Alana  Ferguson  remembers the regular harassment she received for being “too studious” in elementary school.  Alana shared a story about being thrown into a trash can, and told her fellow students how painful it was to go to school and stay focused on her school work.  The perpetrators include some of her current classmates in Ms. U’s class.

The students decided to turn their experiences in elementary school and their knowledge about how to resist bullying and fighting into a workshop for younger students.

These young people presented a powerful model of youth innovation in action. Their abilities have not gone unnoticed.  Ms. Urogody’s Facing History class at Shaw  has hosted international visitors from Ukraine to Rwanda who want to learn from these students.

We look forward to sharing the Shaw students’ story with other schools, students and teachers around the country.