Students to make videos on bullying

Mooresville high school students hope that by producing eye-catching claymation videos next semester, they will help stop bullying in their community.

NF Woods Advanced Technology and Arts Center teacher Donald Peters was awarded $500 after winning the Our State Magazine Creative

Classroom Contest. The contest asked teachers what they would do with $500 to improve education in their schools.

Peters decided to enter, saying that he’d dedicate the money to helping students create 2-minute claymation videos about bullying and how to deal with bullies.

Students will write scripts, design and create characters, film and edit their videos. After showing the videos to their school, the videos will be posted online for other classrooms across the country to watch.

“I’ve always had an interest in animation, but I haven’t been able to justify the expense of the materials,” Peters said. “There’s always more things we as teachers want to do but sometimes we’re unable to because of budget reasons.”

A panel of classroom teachers and school administrators from around the state judging the contest decided to award Peters the $500.

“The topic is so relevant ... and the finished product will reach a larger population of students,” the judges said in a statement. “Students will receive training and practice in using digital technology which can be transferred to real life situations.”

Many of his students are eager to tackle the issue of bullying. Last week, art students in Peters’ class said they frequently see bullying, although it’s more subtle than physical fighting.

“It doesn’t come off right away as being really negative,” sophomore Cheyanne Goodenow said. “It starts out as joking around and then it gets taken too far.”

Many of the students said that they don’t usually confront the bullies but instead try to be extra nice to bullying victims to compensate.

Added sophomore Aleksandra Daws: “You have to think that maybe the person bullying has their own problems and they’re just trying to cover that up by picking on someone smaller than them.”

Still, if the bullying continues, senior Elijah Pereira said he usually steps in to say, “Grow up.”

“I think it’s always going to go on. I don’t think it will ever stop because it’s just how kids are,” Pereira said.

Peters said he knows what it’s like to be bullied. Growing up in a small town in Nebraska, he was the oddball who preferred drawing over playing sports or hunting.

“There wasn’t really any other kids like me so it was like the odd-man-out type of thing,” Peters said. “I was picked on all the time for being the weird kid because I just wanted to sit and draw.”

Although bullying has always been around, Peters said, he believes the topic has gained particular attention in recent years because of several highly publicized suicides around the country.

Peters said he will use the $500 to purchase modeling clay, pieces of Masonite, 2-by-4 pieces of wood and wires. He plans to start the project in January with roughly 60 art students who will create 14 videos.

“For some of these kids, I think it will almost be therapeutic because they’ll be able to talk about how they were bullied,” Peters said. “We can start those kinds of discussions here and share it with others.”