Dignity for All (DFA) is an innovative digital learning tool to prevent bullying and discrimination in school communities and develop remediation skills among students, teachers and parents to help repair the harm caused by bullying incidents.
Abuse, community violence, racial profiling, the pernicious effects of poverty, and many other forms of trauma affect children’s ability to succeed in school and communicate clearly their feelings and thoughts. Many of them are experiencing chronic stress activation, and a recent major epidemiological study demonstrated that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as these underlie many mental health problems including major depressive disorder.
DFA is informed in its entirety by findings from leading trauma specialists and researchers, and co-developed by a trauma practitioner and researcher. DFA seeks to address and remediate the toxic stress that youth today are grappling with by incorporating the tenets of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC). The premise of TIC is to take into account past traumas and actively resist re-traumatization.
Behind the Scenes provides background texts for each character in a provided DFA video as an empathy-building activity to connect the reader to the circumstances, beliefs, and attitudes of others. The stories and associated role-playing activities inspire students to actively empathize with others and strive to understand opposing perspectives.
Break it Down provides students with the opportunity to evaluate what they have learned from the Quest through both written and discussion-based analyses. This activity helps students understand the role they play in their school community and at home.
Write to the Point allows students to reflect privately through a series of journal prompts, helping students to put their emotions, thoughts, and values into words.
We Got Game prompts students to take part in a collaborative project with the goal to create a school-wide mission statement committed to a positive community for all. Students engage in research on mission statements of historical movements, brainstorming of values and goals, outreach to the rest of the school community through a variety of multimedia projects, and the organization of a school-wide event to discuss and implement the resulting mission statement. See the full list of components here.
Every day, 160,000 students skip school to avoid being bullied. Bullies and targets are both at increased risk of suicidal ideation. 25% of students are bullied each year and face long-term mental and physical health problems as a result, while students who bully are more likely than their peers to face academic challenges and suspension.
Every year, 70% of students witness bullying in their schools, and recent studies indicate that these bystanders suffer the same negative effects as bullied students. Importantly, studies show that as many as 59% of incidents can be prevented by teaching bystanders to recognize bullying when it occurs and to prevent and intervene in the bullying cycle using restorative practices that include the whole community.
The National Urban Technology Center, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational corporation, transforms lives through the power of technology giving youth the capacity for positive behavior and educational success.
Phone: 212.528.7350
info@urbantech.org
25 Broadway, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10004-1010