Submitted by: Marisol Quiroz Pote

THE COMIC AND COMIC STRIPS: GRAPHIC TEXTS USED AS A DIDACTIC

STRATEGY TO COUNTERACT BULLYING AT SCHOOLS

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Throughout my process as pre-service teacher, I have noticed that bullying is one of the

most frequent problems inside the schools and classrooms. During the school stage, students

begin to form their friendship relationships with others, but sometimes this becomes the

opposite. For that reason, there are students who intimidate and assault the weakest students just

for generating satisfaction.

As I mention before, bullying is frequent at schools, for that, I decided to observe some

classes of students in 6° grade of the Institucion Educativa Técnica Salamanca, located in

Samaca, Boyacá. Normally, people have the stigma that kids from a rural area live away from

the problems faced by children who live in an urban area. It is common to listen comments

which affirm that children who live in cities have greater access to more violent content

transmitted by television, internet, video games etc. Unfortunately, that is totally false since

technological advances have allowed anyone to make use of these resources.

It is important to mention that there are another means of violence such as the family

environment. As we know, there have been historical, social and cultural changes in humanity;

of which the family has not been exempt from it, suffering changes, that influence in the attitude
and behavior of all its members, especially children. when the home environment is

dysfunctional including violent and aggressive aspects and where family relationships are often

based on inappropriate communication models innumerable problems are generated from

behavior to problems of exclusion which constitutes a problem of public interest.

Children will have to face a world full of crisis, violence, insecurity, changing emotions,

situations that affect the state of coexistence within other contexts, for example at the school. For

this reason, it is vital to educate children about the new manifestations of bullying that are lived

in the classroom and throughout the school. The use of graphic text it is a good alternative to

afront and understand this problematic.

RESEARCH QUESTION

What is the role of graphic texts inside the classrooms as an alternative to generate

reflection about bullying?

OBJETIVES

General

Specifics

 To identify the factors that surround students’ perceptions about the bullying

problematic.

 To generate trust spaces from a playful-creative environment.

 JUSTIFICATION

Currently, bullying has become a social phenomenon that affects both children and

adults. Unfortunately, this problematic is evidenced mostly in the school stage, where is notable

the affectation of the school coexistence.

Therefore, the purpose of this project is to contribute significantly in the search of this

type of social manifestations that are growing up in the society. For that reason, the use and

creation of comic strips by students will strengthen the creativity and at the same time will be

able to show situations of school bullying to the teachers. Also, it will help teachers and students

approach from another perspective the use of comics, which have been considered by many as an

object of entertainment and leisure.

Usually, in schools it is common to find bullying everywhere. During my intervention in

different public schools it does not matter if it is private or public, I have been able to identify

different situations that involve, teasing, physical and psychological abuse towards others.

Obviously, comic strips will not help permanently to eradicate this situation, but it will

contribute to the reflection, that is, that students will be able to understand the magnitudes that

the propagation of bullying brings. Thus, it is intended that the creation of comics strips show to

the teacher different types of bullying, which are more popular in schools. Also, it will to

identify problems of intrafamily abuse that tend to influence the way some students behave.
 Finally, it is essential to mention that graphic texts are a dynamic and motivational

method. then, it stimulates creativity, imagination, curiosity, propitiating a magical and fantastic

climate, which at the same time contributes to the reflection about bullying nowadays.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

In the last years, teachers have been always in a constant search for strategies that help

them to counteract bullying inside the classrooms. Unfortunately, this phenomenon has increased

in recent years and now more and more children are affected by different situations that are

influenced by bullying, which involves physical and psychological abuse.

Firstly, in this chapter the concept of bullying will be addressed explaining in detail the

two types of bullying, direct and indirect bullying. Secondly, the term graphic text will be

defined and how it serves as a means for students to tell their anecdotes about bullying that they

suffer or have witnessed around them.

In this respect, bullying is a social construct that intends to interrupt social connections

between students or physical intimidation (Frey, Hirschstein, Edstrom, & Snell, 2009).

Unfortunately, this breakdown of interpersonal relationships tends to causes conflicts among

students, and if it is not properly controlled, probably it can cause bigger problems like fights or

threats. It is also important to mention that physical intimidation is one of the biggest problems

that are evident in schools, because certain students promote fear and exclusion through beatings

or force. This bullying type is the most obvious and common of all types of bullying “direct

bullying” it includes acts of physical bullying or aggression where someone hit, punched, kicked,
stomped, beaten, etc. It also refers to the victim being verbally teased or called with bully words

or falling victim to inappropriate comments or gestures.

Another form of bullying is the Indirect Bullying, which is much harder to detect in the

classroom. It includes acts such as isolating others on purpose, spreading rumors with the intent

of hurting one’s reputation, or persuading others to dislike another individual (Crick &

Grotpeter, 1995). In fact, it is more difficult to recognize because the person being bullied

may not be present when the bullying happens or may not know the identity of the bully. Also,

the primary purpose is social exclusion or the damaging of a child’s reputation or status.

Graphics texts are used for at least 3 purposes: to explain, to persuade and to tell stories.

In this case the cartoon or comic strips are used to relate personal or social stories about bullying

combining the drawing, writing and color which is usually very striking for children. Paz and

Pepinosa (2009: 19) state that students can create and elaborate their own comic strips, in order

to strengthen their learning process. This form allows students to generate their own ideas and

comments about bullying. It is evident that many children suffer school mistreatment and

sometimes they prefer not to say anything to their parents or teachers, because they feel fear or

scare. This is why, encouraging them to draw and write a situation bullying could help teachers

to identify situations that kids live every day at school and at home.
REFERENCES

Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1995) Relations aggression, gender, and social-psychological

adjustment. Child Development, 66, 710-722.

Frey, K. S., Hirschstein, M. K., Edstrom, L. V., & Snell, J. L. (2009). Observed reductions on

school bullying, nonbullying aggression, and destructive bystander behavior: A

longitudinal evaluation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 466-481.

Paz,C. y Pepinosa, L. (2009). Desarrollo de las habilidades Lingüístico-comunicativos tomando

como recurso didáctico la construcción de historietas en el grado 8 seccion 16 de la IEM

Mariano Ospina Rodriguez, inem-pasto (Tesis de Pregado). Universidad de Nariño. Pasto.

 POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The main objective of this project consists that students tell and transmit anecdotes

related to bullying through comic strips. In that sense, a group of students of a rural school were

chosen to carry out this project, this school is located in Samacá, Boyacá. These students are

from 5º grade and they have an age range of 11 to 12 years, in the classroom there are 27

students. During my intervention in this class, I noticed that there are certain features of bullying

inside the classroom, but at the same time there are students who are aware of this problematic.

However, it is important that all students know about this topic in order to counteract its effects

at school. As we know, school stage is one of the most affected by bullying, especially in those

who enter to the preadolescent stage.

For this project, it is intended to conduct a series of workshops that will allow students to

know more about the problematic of bullying and for these students will make use of the graphic

text as the comic strip. In this sense, is relevant to reflect and make known situations where the

abuse towards themselves and others in the school environment is involved. From this, it is

important that children acquire a critical position towards this problematic which is experienced

daily in schools.