[Animals] A school in Barcelona conducts therapy with dogs to prevent 'bullying'

[FNX Magokiler]

The León XIII school, a private concerted center in Barcelona, is the first in Spain to have incorporated a program with therapy dogs to prevent bullying and work on respect in the classroom.

Throughout a trimester and once a week, these students have "class" with dogs from the Affinity Foundation and their handlers, usually in the courtyard of the center.

There, students and dogs do activities and games together in which they learn to "speak in a respectful and low tone, to listen and tolerate others and to work collaboratively in a group."

This was explained to journalists this Monday by the therapist of the Maribel Vila Foundation, who assured that this is the only school in Spain that has opted to include therapy with dogs in the subject of Culture and Values, which greatly helps students because "animals are like a mirror".

get rid of labels
With the help of the dogs, the school seeks to influence the acceptance of differences, the improvement of self-esteem, respect for others and oneself, enhance empathy, redirect inappropriate behavior and tolerate frustration, Anabel has indicated. Valera, pedagogical director of the León XIII school.

"The labels that students may have in class vanish when they are with the dogs, which bring out everyone's sensitivity," she explained, adding that the activities with the animals are completed with tutorials and interviews with the families .

Vila has pointed out, for his part, that when the students follow the classes with the dogs "everyone is the same", which is a basis for starting to work, precisely, on the differences and possible situations of discomfort that may exist in the group.

In this sense, Valera has added that "sometimes they do not dare to express in class they do when they are with the dogs", as a student who indicated that it affected her that they did not choose her to be part of work groups.

 

 

Inclusion of newcomers
The experience is also helping the inclusion of students who have just arrived at the center, explained the educational psychologist María Luz Martínez, as happened at the beginning with several students of Chinese origin, who fled from the dogs out of fear.

"Many boys and girls find it short the term they spend with the dogs because they generate good humor and a pleasant atmosphere in the class", have indicated the pedagogical director and the psychopedagogue of León XIII.

The cost of the classes with the dogs is assumed by the Affinity Foundation itself for sixth-year Primary students and the school for third-year ESO students, both teachers explained.

Pilot test in 2018
This experiment began in León XIII in 2018, with a dog training course for third-year ESO students, and later the program was assumed as part of the Culture and Values subject by the school, which has become in an example to prevent bullying in the classroom.

Several students attending the class with the Affinity dogs this Monday have told journalists that they learn to speak with respect to others and in a pleasant tone and that it is "very fun" to be with the animals.

Therapy with dogs is used not only to work on students' respect, self-esteem and frustration management, but also as a way to improve relationships between them and their social skills and have an interest in others, Maribel said. Vila, who has also considered that, without knowing it, therapists and dogs may be working with alleged aggressors and aggressed, together, which offers a different perception of the other person.

 

 

https://www.elperiodico.com/es/barcelona/20220502/colegio-barcelona-realiza-terapia-perros-13599166