THANK YOU ALL for loving our kids enough to discuss this serious topic!!! Please check out my ANTI-BULLYING SCHOOL ASSEMBLY! I am currently in front of over 150,000 students every year! Check it out at www.DestroyIllusions.com
As a survivor of bullying and now a grown man i am well aware of the damage that bullying can do to you as a child. It is something that i would not wish on anyone. From my experience of bullying i went on to create my own program that builds confidence in children, helping them to speak up to their teachers about this serious issue because until they do, bullying will continue to destroy lives.
You can check my work out here.
Johnny
Regarding the Anti Bullying programs out there, our PTO funded the Rachels' Challenge and it is a great program but the problem is that a week later the kids have forgotten the importance of the message. My schools administration invited me to a seminar they had that was given by Barbara Colorossa what an inspirational woman she takes the bullying program for what it is. A child is taught good behavior and bad behavior if they are a Bully and mean they were taught to be in that some way. That same child can be taught to be nice. I have been an advocate not so much for Bullying for many years but the actual meaness and uncaring in people, so with this inspiration and ideas I received from Mrs. Colorossa I have started a Glee club w/ an anti bullying platform. Every school aged child today has an i pod or some kind of musical device. They love to sing, dance and be a part of it some way. This club is open to the whole school K-12 and I have alot of varied ages. I know that if a person has confidence in themself they can't be bullied, it won't happen as much. You can't in reality make every bully type kid a nice kid so I take the kids in my club and teach them that they are the bystander and that makes them the decision maker in a bullying situation. They have stood up for someone else and taken that power away from the bully. My kids are learning about compassion, not just the word but the feeling deep in their heart. We do all kinds of community events with our entertaining, we have been in our local newspaper and Radio. Our local college is doing a conference on Bullying and has asked us to be a part of their interview (film) project and we will be doing our performance for them. Yes we are doing Mean by Taylor Swift and Born this way by Lady Gaga. These kids are so proud of themselves and strong against any meaness they witness in their day!! I would be glad to help anyone looking to start a Glee club or Art club anything that can be their own, it has to come from that one child so they are proud of their accomplishment. Let me know if you want more info.
Thanks,
Joanne
The TRUTH about reporting bullying
Visitor
12 years 3 months ago#159473by The TRUTH about reporting bullying
It sickens and saddens me every time I see forums such as this. Don't get me wrong. I know you all mean well, but the truth is that the victims of bullying have absolutely NO REAL ADVOCATES. And stuff like this gives them false hope. I know. TRaffo is right. I followed all the appropriate channels to report a major bullying incident. What I got was a lot of paperwork to fill out and the school 'pretended' (I'll explain later why I say it that way) to investigate. They said they had so many days to respond and of course they took the maximum allowed. Nice, huh? Several people were interviewed by a company who was in it SOLELY to PROTECT the liability of the school. Is that an advocate for the victim? It most certainly is not. Big surprise: the official report came back deciding that there was no bullying taking place. Really? I didn't think the investigation needed to determine if there was bullying, but simply who was at fault and what was going to be done about it to stop it/protect the victim. Because I'll tell you what, if a person feels bullied, s/he has been bullied. Who the heck has the right to say how a victim feels when they are ostracized, called names, and told everyone hates them? (Facts that were in fact admitted by the people interviewed, believe it or not!!) (Those of you reading this--does that sound like the victim was bullied? Yes or no?) And those involved in fact included some of the more popular people in the school--with parents who volunteer all over town, so the school was also acting to preserve that asset as well. Same as the local DA who will only investigate cases that will put $ into the local coffers upon winning them. So the school then also followed up by saying the report is now public record and guess what? The victim is then retaliated against with more threats and ostracizing. But the Superintendent says: With the official investigation decision, the School Board decides this matter is closed. Go figure. I intend to start a charity designed to educate victims that THIS is the TRUTH about what happens in bullying cases. Legislators decide that schools have to have a bullying policy in place, but guess what? They aren't prepared to sanction the school who violates the policy by withholding funds or anything else! It's a totally meaningless feelgoodaboutyourself for making the legislation/posting 'like' on an anti-bullying site/wearing a silly T-shirt It's all meaningless. There isn't even an entity set up to investigate bullying cases impartially. NONE. What happens in Vegas stay in Vegas and the school and bullies know that. Innocent children should not die. But they are and they will because of all this fakery. PARENTS: PLEASE TAKE NOTE!
I was chosen to work with a committee to find the best anti-bullying program out there. I was very disappointed in what I found. Every program I looked at did very little to help and most took 3 or 4 years to even do anything. The best results out there are a 50% reduction in bullying. What about the other 50%, do we just leave them stranded out there in the cruel old world ? It soon became clear to me that these programs are designed to make a lot of money and provide some camoflauge if the district is sued over a bullying incident. Sadly, most are just scams. I did hear of a new one out there that is outstanding, but, I don't remember the name of it right now. I remember it was developed by a guy with a strong southern accent and he knew what he was doing. I saw an interview with him somewhere. I'll try to find it and post it. It is the only one I have seen that really works.
