Nicholas Carlisle and No Bully. Nicholas Carlisle is a “recovering attorney” and the founder of No Bully, a nonprofit organization in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Having been the target of bullying himself growing up in England, he developed a simple and powerful way to solve the problem of bullying in schools. Carlisle's approach has been implemented now around the globe. His method: to create teams of students, working under the tutelage of a trained adult called a "coach."
The results are compelling: No Bully has a 92% rate of effectiveness in stopping the bully from future incidents. Few, if any, other programs can make this claim.
How can this be? It looks too good to be true. The school takes discipline off the table and the coach runs a series of three short meetings consisting of six to eight students (including the bully and the bully followers) who work together on behalf of the student who has been targeted.
Over the course of three meetings the power shifts from the adults to the students themselves, drawing on their natural idealism, their sense of justice and fairness, their natural compassion and sense of empathy to come up with a solution. It is the kids themselves -- those who are best positioned to solve the problem. Give them agency -- a voice and a stake in the wellbeing of fellow students and in their community -- and positive dynamics ensue.
The creation of Solution Teams also reaps less direct benefits:
Well designed and executed groups—once they become teams—can benefit students on both the receiving and the giving ends.
The results are compelling: No Bully has a 92% rate of effectiveness in stopping the bully from future incidents. Few, if any, other programs can make this claim.
How can this be? It looks too good to be true. The school takes discipline off the table and the coach runs a series of three short meetings consisting of six to eight students (including the bully and the bully followers) who work together on behalf of the student who has been targeted.
Over the course of three meetings the power shifts from the adults to the students themselves, drawing on their natural idealism, their sense of justice and fairness, their natural compassion and sense of empathy to come up with a solution. It is the kids themselves -- those who are best positioned to solve the problem. Give them agency -- a voice and a stake in the wellbeing of fellow students and in their community -- and positive dynamics ensue.
The creation of Solution Teams also reaps less direct benefits:
- The students develop their own leadership skills -- whether it's the bully, the bully followers or the bystanders.
- And the school benefits -- especially in bringing about a more inclusive culture. That’s a win-win.
Well designed and executed groups—once they become teams—can benefit students on both the receiving and the giving ends.