Inuvik - Bullying has been a problem at Samuel Hearne school for generations, but students are talking openly about their feelings now thanks to a workshop held last week.

The school was visited by a team of inspirational speakers who are experienced in dealing with the problems of youth.

David Jones of Turtle Concepts, left, and his teammate Jamie Corston, centre, receive shirts from Samuel Hearne principal Roman Mahnic. The two presenters were in the school last week to hold workshops on dealing with bullying. - photo courtesy of Angela Young

David Jones of Turtle Concepts was in town to talk with the students about bullying and teasing.

"Turtle Concepts is about motivational speaking and leadership training," he said.

"We're helping people change it up."

The team of speakers worked with four groups of students at the school.

Grades 7, 8, 9 and 10 all had an 80-minute session each day.

The program ran for four days.

Jones said he recognized a need for someone to speak positively to youth, from experiences back home in Ontario.

"I couldn't understand why people put each other down over positive things," he said.

"I found that teasing was getting out of control."

Jones earned his undergraduate degree in sociology and another in education.

"I knew I had to teach people how to change it up, instead of just telling them," he said.

After becoming a teacher, Jones realized there were kids who weren't trying their best in class.

"Some of them just looked like they gave up," he said.

"I thought to myself that someone needs to talk to the kids about their issues."

Jones said he talked with the students of Samuel Hearne about confidence issues and bullying.

"People become so hurt and devalued that they don't know how to get out of it," he said.

It was during one of the initial sessions that Jones was able to identify the source of the mockery and teasing.

"It's something they call 'I lie,'" he explained.

"I think that needs to be looked at, because all that joking has harmful effects."

He added that it is important to smile in everyday situations.

"Everyone walks around without a smile and they look crabby," he said.

Jones talked to the groups about their childhood and how they have changed.

"When they were little kids, they were happy and didn't care what people said about them," he said.

"We worked with them to restore that happiness and confidence."

By the third day of sessions, Jones had the groups talking candidly about their relationships and feelings for each other.

"I think one of our biggest struggles in the world is trusting people with our feelings," he said.

"I think we're all confused about what friends are these days."

Jones said that he wants the students and staff to think about how they treat each other in the community.

"I want them to remember that everyone has the right to feel good about themselves," he said.

The need for an intervention like this was something that was identified by the school community counsellor, Samara Carvell.

Carvell has been a member of the staff since February 2007. She said she noticed the negative communication between some students in the halls.

"We needed something to help us deal with this, from an outside source," she said.

Carvell attended one of Jones' workshops three years ago, in another community.

"He talked about building confidence to make good decisions," she said.

"What I remembered was how interactive their presentation was."

Carvell was one of the teachers who sat in on most of the sessions.

"I was happy to see the changes in the students, the progress they made from the first day," she said.

Carvell said it proved to be a good opportunity for the youth to break character and identify the real problems in the school.

"They all know what is going on and talked about it with each other," she said.

One of the students who noticed a big change in the group of youth was Grade 10 student Hayley Rogers.

Rogers said the sessions were interesting and helped a lot.

"I thought it was a great thing for our school because we have such a big problem with bullying," she said.

"We talked about how some people might have problems sticking up for themselves."

Rogers said she noticed a bigger change in the younger grades.

"I think it really hit home for the Grade 8 class," she said.

"I think this made everyone a little more mature than what they were."

The sponsors for the event were the Gwich'In Tribal Council, the Inuvialuit Community Corporation, Municipal and Community Affairs, the Lion's Club and Canadian North.

"Without those sponsors, we wouldn't have had this for the youth," said Carvell.

The school is looking for more funding to bring the group back in April 2008 for further sessions with the students.