Bullying is nothing new to kids, but it has come into sharp focus, with stories of cyberbullying, text threats, and what seems to be the growing number of victim suicides. Schools and school districts are beginning to deal seriously with bullying, and are putting anti-bullying policies into place. The recent release of Lee Hirsch’s documentary Bully—in which he shows the brutal realities of several kids who are the targets—has generated a mountain of press, specifically for its initial “R” rating rooted in the explicit language that kids hear every day. When Hirsch and the MPAA ratings board reached an agreement to mask two expletivies, the movie then gained a PG-13 rating, making it easier for teens to see it—and learn a few things about behavior that research shows they simply may consider “drama.”
After seeing the film, Barbara Greenberg, author of Teenage As a Second Language: A Parent’s Guide to Becoming Bilingual, wrote in The Huffington Post, “He [Hirsch] captured these moments not only as I remember them in my middle school days…but also as reported to me by the many middle schoolers I have worked with for two decades. Believe me, the main characters have changed but the plot lines do not.” Read her article “Middle School, and What We Should Do Now,” here.
DonorsChoose.org, the online fund-raising location where public school teachers can post their individual classroom needs and find donors to support them, teamed with Chase and Townsend Press to give public school classes a chance to see Bully for free. One teacher posted her students’ reactions on the DonorsChoose.org blog. In a nutshell, the students were profoundly moved—in some instances recognizing for the first time how some of their own behaviors are “bully-like.” Read the blog here.
On May 4, more than 800,000 students across the nation are set to combat bullying during Stand 4 Change Against Bullying Day.
- Every 7 minutes a child is bullied
- 1 in 7 students is either a bully or a victim of bullying
- 160,000 student stay home from school every day for fear of bullying
The brainchild of the anti-bullying organization DefeatTheLabel.com and Hollywood honcho Ken Kragen, Stand 4 Change Day hopes to raise awareness by asking every student in every American classroom in stand up at 12 pm EST on May 4 to set a record for the largest group of people standing for a single cause at any one time—drawing national attention to the bullying crisis.
DefeatTheLabel.com’s ongoing efforts include a weekly challenge for students, a social media campaign, and ways students can incorporate ongoing anti-bullying campaigns in their schools. Celebrities involved include Lauren Potter from the hit TV show Glee and pop idol Cody Simpson. Students can also shop the online store for official DefeatThe Label tee shirts and hoodies to build awareness. Visit defeatthelabel.com for information.
ISM offers Michael Dorn’s powerful Weakfish: Bullying Through the Eyes of a Child book as well as his keynote address video in the Bookstore. Check them out here. You can purchase and download our three-part Webinar series, Bullying in the 21st Century.
