“I Have a Millions Reasons to be Here"

Disclaimer: This blog post is a reflection of the video posted above!

“I’m not going anywhere. Because I’m stronger than that….and I have a million reasons to be here,” are the brave words Jonah Mowry displays on flash-cards at the end of his powerful, anti-bullying video. This strong statement to fighting bullying comes after having provided a glimpse into his difficult and heartbreaking life as a bullying victim. In his video, Jonah shares with the world that a lot of people hate him and that he doesn’t know why, but that he can guess why given that he hates himself. Labels such as ‘fag,’ ‘homo’ and 'asshole' were just some of the words that followed him at school. Eventually, this hate turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy, which can explain why Jonah began hating himself and thinking so negatively about himself and his capabilities. From a social cognitive perspective, the concept of self-efficacy can be linked to behaviours related to bullying (Ormrod, 2010). Self-efficacy refers to the belief that one can reach certain goals or execute certain behaviours (Ibid, 2010). Some factors that influence the development of self-efficacy include messages from others. In Jonah’s case, it could be argued that the messages he kept receiving from others at school contributed to his low sense of self-efficacy.

As teachers, it is critical that we are aware of the serious nature of social bullying and how relationships can be used as weapons. It is important to be cognizant of the devastating impacts bullying has on one’s emotional, social and cognitive development. As such, we need to foster safe and healthy learning environments within our classrooms that encourage students to be their better selves. One such way could be to encourage the development of our students' self-efficacy.

Overall, we need to prevent bullying, while also addressing it effectively when it occurs. I’ve been reading a lot about restorative justice and restorative practices within school settings lately and encourage others to do so as well given that such practices can be used to effectively address serious issues like bullying.

Ormrod, J. E., Saklofske, D. H., Schwean, V. L., Andrews, J. J. W., & Shore, B. M. (2010). “Chapter 8” in Principles of Educational Psychology, Second Canadian Edition, 2e. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Canada.