SAUGUS — In recognition of October’s designation as anti-bullying awareness month, Saugus Karate Kung Fu is providing free lessons to all students in Saugus’ public schools.
“A lot of children have no clue whatsoever what to do when there’s a bully bothering them,” said owner Jason Scaduto. “While we’re doing floor exercises and stretching, we talk about a variety of subjects, including bullying. It’s amazing the input that I get back from the students.”
A week of free classes will focus on the principles of respect, self control, etiquette, effort, character, and sincerity. Children are offered to take up to three during any week from now through December, including Monday at 3:45 p.m., Thursday at 4 p.m., and Saturday at 10 a.m. A class for teenagers is offered Tuesdays at 3:30 p.m.
“I want to make them feel comfortable,” said Scaduto. “The second one kid hears a story about bullying, it’s like the floodgates open and another kid speaks up.”
Scaduto said part of the process is earning the trust of his students. Many are afraid to talk to their parents or teachers because they think it will make the problem worse. He encourages them to ask the bully to stop. If they don’t, they should tell the teacher, then a parent when they get home and leave a paper trail.
“We do a lot of conflict resolution strategies and stuff like that and teach them that fighting is the absolute last resort,” said Scaduto. “If somebody is being physically harmed, they defend themselves. It’s about talking your way out of the situation without any loss of self-respect.”
Administrative assistant Roseann Luongo said the studio’s goal is to build the confidence and self esteem of students and empower them to act responsibly, conduct themselves with the utmost integrity and help build their conflict resolution strategies, which is what they need to be able to fight bullying.
“We want our children to feel safe, first and foremost,” said Luongo.
A flyer advertising the offer was distributed in Saugus schools. It also included a list of tips for parents to help with anti-bullying strategies, said Luongo.
School Committee member Jeannie Meredith praised the studio for fighting the bullying problem. She said the recently released results of the youth risk behavior study showed that bullying has gone down since last year and cited a tool on the public school department’s website that allows victims and bystanders to report bullying instances anonymously, which she believes has been helpful.
