The cure for bullying

Photo: Contributed

Want to know the secret formula to stop bullying?

It's kindness, says Dr. John Tyler Binfet.

Binfet, an assistant professor at UBC Okanagan, is speaking this morning at the Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs' Pink Shirt Day breakfast at the Laurel Packinghouse.

“I see a shift underway in schools and in the office place, where organizations are moving away from anti-bullying initiatives to embrace efforts that promote prosocial behaviour,” he says.

Pink Shirt Day began in 2007 when classmates wore pink T-shirts to school in support of a student who had been bullied. Since then, it has grown into a nationwide movement.

Binfet will talk about his research on kindness in schools, and how intentional acts of kindness and positive psychology is crucial in creating happier, kinder and stronger communities.

“Our efforts to be prosocial, to show care and concern for others, must extend beyond special events," he says. "We must encourage intentional kindness year round. Kindness has a way of bringing people together – it is a great bridge, and the more bridges we build, the better off we’ll all be.”

Binfet makes kindness part of every day.

He runs the BARK (Building Academic Retention through K9s) program at UBCO, which he describes as “the manifestation of kindness on campus.”