Article: The Harder They Fall: Research shows that high status kids go after each other more than they go after misfits.

The Harder They Fall

New research shows that high-status kids go after each other more than they go after misfits. The targets say they suffer more, too.

Who are the kids who get picked on by other kids—and who suffer most as a result? We are used to worrying about the socially isolated misfits, the tweens and teens who are far down in the pecking order and can’t really defend themselves. We should still worry about those kids, especially if they’re disabled, or gay at a school where that’s not accepted. But they are not the only targets of teenage cruelty. The surprising finding in a new study is that it’s kids with social clout—the popular kids—who report the most distress when they say they’re victimized by their peers.

READ MORE HERE

I find this interesting. When I was in jr. high school, it was the "outsiders" or the "loners" who were victimized and picked on most. I know this, I was one of them. But nowadays, as a teacher and as a mother of a tween girl, I have noticed that it is very much the "popular crowd" who bully each other, gossip and pick on one another. Perhaps this is about power or control of their group? or being jealous of the threat from someone in their group to have the power? I don't know, but this article is interesting to me as my daughter moves on to middle school in September and as I continue to teach middle school and observe the behaviour of my students.

UBC News: Gay-straight alliances in schools reduce suicide risk for all students

Gay-straight alliances in schools reduce suicide risk for all students

Canadian schools with explicit anti-homophobia interventions such as gay-straight alliances (GSAs) may reduce the odds of suicidal thoughts and attempts among both sexual minority and straight students, according to a new study by University of British Columbia researchers.

Gay-straight alliances are student-led clubs that aim to make the school community a safer place for all students regardless of their sexual orientation. Their members include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their straight allies.

“We know that LGBTQ students are at higher risk for suicide, in part because they are more often targeted for bullying and discrimination,” says Elizabeth Saewyc, lead author of the study and professor with the UBC School of Nursing. “But heterosexual students can also be the target of homophobic bullying. When policies and supportive programs like GSAs are in place long enough to change the environment of the school, it’s better for students’ mental health, no matter what their orientation.”

LGBTQ youth and heterosexual students in schools with anti-homophobia policies and GSAs had lower odds of discrimination, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, primarily when both strategies were enacted, or when the polices and GSAs had been in place for three years or more.

Key findings:

In schools with gay-straight alliances implemented three or more years ago:

• The odds of homophobic discrimination and suicidal thoughts were reduced by more than half among lesbian, gay, bisexual boys and girls compared to schools with no GSA.
• There were also significantly lower odds of sexual orientation discrimination for heterosexual boys and girls.
• Heterosexual boys were half as likely to attempt suicide as those in schools without GSAs.

In schools where anti-homophobic policies have been in place for more than three years:

• The odds of suicidal thoughts and attempts for gay and bisexual boys were more than 70 per cent lower. Suicide attempts among lesbian and bisexual girls were two-thirds lower.
• Heterosexual boys had 27 per cent lower odds of suicidal thoughts than heterosexual boys in schools without such policies.

 

Read more at Source

Coquitlam Centre Anti-Bullying Flash Mob Video

Love is all you need? Short Video

This short video is amazing. It looks at "heterophobia" and shows the real pain of hate by showing a world where "gay" and "straight" is reversed.

The Bullying Games this weekend at Terry Fox Theatre

I am excited to check out Bullying Games this weekend.

The Bullying Games is a show based on research completed in selected SD43 schools by the Leadership Group from Terry Fox Secondary. The group went into Elementary, Middle and Secondary Schools and selected students were asked a series of questions on bullying. Using these real life incidents, the show looks at these bullying issues from the victims’ point of view as well as the bullies.

Day of Pink in British Columbia - Anti-bullying day

Tomorrow I will wear pink. To stand up to bullies. To celebrate diversity. To teach acceptance. TO raise awareness. To make a positive change. Tomorrow I will wear pink.



My post last year talked about how I use my experiences being bullied and even bullying as discussion openers with students.

Tomorrow my class, along with dozens in our district will attend "Kindness Rocks" concert at Gleneagle Secondary School. Also (I stole this idea from a teacher friend on facebook) I am going to fill little candy bags in pink tissue paper with a note that says "Some kids are gay, and that's okay"

Day of Pink

February 27, 2013 marks the Day of Pink in British Columbia, and April 10 is the International Day of Pink. It is a day where communities across the province, across the country and across the world can unite to celebrate diversity and raise awareness to stop bullying in all its forms, including homophobic and transphobic bullying.

The International Day of Pink got its start in Nova Scotia when two straight high school students saw a gay student wearing a pink shirt being bullied. The two students intervened, but wanted to do more to prevent homophobic and transphobic bullying. They decided to purchase pink shirts, and a few days later got everyone at school to stand in solidarity by showing up in pink. The result was that an entire school came together to stop homophobic and transphobic bullying.

People wear pink on these days to remember that positive actions make a difference, and each one of us can make positive change to end bullying. Homophobic and transphobic bullying have not always been addressed as widely as other forms of bullying, but change is possible.

• Elementary teachers and schools can focus on gender role stereotyping, teasing, and homophobia by using some of these practical classroom strategies.  
• Secondary teachers and schools can use some of these classroom strategies.  
• Watch this video to see how Day of Pink originated. 
• LGBTQ lesson plans 
• LGBTQ posters (includes elementary and secondary Day of Pink posters)
• LGBTQ video resources  

[[Via BCTF]

Anti-Bullying Game 'Face Value'

I always have a deck of cards. I do so much with a deck of cards, games, groups, classroom management strategies. A deck of cards, like a bean bag ball and some dice, can be miracle workers in any level classroom.

Here is a fun game/activity that can address bullying with intermediate and middle school students, but also for a lesson on class systems for up to High School level. I found it at PE Central

A good activity to use if you have time as a TTOC or if you have your own class, at the beginning of the school year, or when you observe bullying taking place in your school.
Begin with every student receiving a playing card, face down.

Explain to the students the following:

• You are to not look at your card or tell anyone else what their card is.
• Everyone should place the card on their forehead (or walk showing the card, but not looking at their own card!) with the face of the card facing away from their heads
• Begin to mingle with each other but treat everyone based on the "face value" of their card. For example, low cards (2-5) don't get much attention or are avoided, mid-range cards (6-10) are treated with respect but not overly lauded, royal cards (J, Q, K, A) are the best of the deck--those cards are the ones you try to hang out with, treat well and are "super cool"
• Allow students to mingle for several minutes treating others based on face value. Call for their attention and then have students divide into groups based on how they have been treated, low cards, mid-range and royalty. Discuss how it doesn't take very long to figure out what "group" you belong to based on how people treat you.
• Ask members from each group why they felt like they belonged in that group and how people made them feel. Lead into a disucssion about the "Golden Rule" and how everyone should expect to be treated like royalty, but in return should treat everyone else like royalty as well, not as "low cards."
• Have students take the cards off their foreheads and check to see if they are correct in guessing which level card they have. After this activity you can easily lead into a bullying discussion where you identify and define what bullying is, types of bullying, why people bully, what to do if you see bullying or are bullied and how to avoid becoming a bully themselves.

At the end, always remind students that bullying stops with them. It has to be a personal and individual choice to make it stop and to treat all those around them as if they were all royalty cards.

Anti-Bullying Websites & Teaching Suggestions:
http://www.stopabully.ca/
http://www.pinkshirtday.ca/
http://www.stopbullying.gov/
http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=24700&tid=108
http://www.bullying.org/
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cp/res/bully-eng.aspx

Bully Movie Review

Today I saw 'Bully' the movie, previously called 'The Bully Project' directed by Lee Hirsch

There had been controversy over the rating (originally rated R) but I am glad they made it PG (in Canada, PG13 in USA I believe) by only removing a couple swear words.

I want to share this movie! I want children to see this movie. I want educators to see this movie. I want parents to see this movie WITH their children... and to talk about it...
Bullying needs to stop! It is killing our children, physically and emotionally.

There are some things to be aware of about this movie. There is talk of suicide. Both 'f' words are used a few times. There is some physical violence, though nothing with blood or graphic. It is very emotional. You will cry.
With that knowledge, I still want to share it with kids! The message is worth it!

This documentary introduces and follows the lives of a handful of families and their experiences with bullying. From the parents who's son commit suicide, to a young girl who was pushed too far and reacted and is now in juvenile detention, the stories are very real and very moving.

What I liked about this movie was the honesty. Parents and kids speaking about the reality of bullying.

I would have liked to have seen the "girls" side of things, but thought the stories shared covered a broad spectrum of circumstances...

A young boy who is socially awkward and desensitized to the severe bullying he endures, the lesbian teen who's parents pull her out of school after repeated harassment, the parents of a teen who commit suicide, the best friend of an 11 year old, yes 11 year old, who killed himself, the young girl who brought a gun on the bus after being bullied and gets put in juvenile determination.

What was hardest for me about this movie was the administration and politics of it. Assistant Principals who do nothing, superintendents who talk the talk but don't act to stop a problem... or worse.. deny there is a problem! I was so angry listening to these people, especially when heartbroken parents came to them for help.

I cried, I laughed, I smiled, I got angry.... the movie was real. I want you to see it!

The end brings many of them together. It sends the message that children need to reach out to that lonely kid who is at risk of being picked on.

So go see this movie.....

BULLY Movie

I really want to see BULLY. The trailer alone leaves me in tears. It is a documentary on bullying and coming to Vancouver April 13.

I will not let the government bully me....

Today I wear pink to stop bullying.

What started as a students message against homophobia and bullying, then grew to represent a stop to all bullying has an especially strong message today for me...

Yesterday the BC Liberals once again took a stab at the heart of public education.

Our government is trying to bully teacher's and Bill 22 is their latest weapon.

I will not be bullied!

How can I teach my students to stand up to bullies then allow George Abbott to bully me and all teachers in BC?

Teacher's put everything they have into their students and into their classrooms, yet have been bullied into a corner once again by a government that does not care about public education. Our rights taken away and threats made on us if we don't do as we are told.

We tell kids to talk about their issues, not fight about them, "use your words" we say... but teacher's won't even be given a chance to "use their words" because mediation can't occur whole heartedly because of BCPSEAs imposed rules prior to even entering mediation.

Teacher's are backed into the corner by the bully and about to lose more than just their lunch money.

Do we want to walk-out and miss days in our classes with our students?
NO

Do we want to have to fight with every ounce of strength for our students right to better learning conditions?
No.

We would rather be in our classes teaching our students.

We would rather the government put "families first" and give every student the opportunity to learn.

...but instead, we are assaulted with a sham of mediation, a bill that strips away even more rights and a government that pushes it's desire for a privatized province onto the people, with the most vulnerable of all British Columbians suffering... the children.

I have always said children are our future, it may be cliche, but it is the truth.

I wonder what message we are sending the 'citizens of the future' when we allow a government to bully us into submission?

Do we want our students to think it is ok to say one thing and do something different?

What lesson is George Abbott teaching us?

Certainly not lessons I wish to share with my students. It is not the way I want to live and that is why I am taking a stand.

I will not allow this government to bully me so that their not-so-hidden-agenda can be achieved.

I will not sit around while people who have never walked a day in MY shoes dictate how my job should look.

I will not sit back knowing that the decisions this government is making will negatively impact students I teach... negatively impact my own daughter's education.

Last night's announcement of Bill 22 made me angry. It made me feel betrayed. It made me upset!

How could 'good-faith' bargaining have ever happened when this kind of legislation was always looming? Why pressure is there for BCPSEA to bargain under these current conditions? And how will true mediation happen with these kinds of parameters set around it?

Teacher's need to take a stand against the bullies!

The rules, regulations and penalties set out in Bill 22 are harsh and intimidating, but I won't be bullied.

I will fight for my students, I will fight for our citizens of the future, because I will NOT let them grow up with the lesson that bullying is ok.


Bill 22
BCTF Press Release

Wear Pink for Anti-Bullying Day Wednesday February 29, 2012

As a teacher, I am hyper-aware of bullying because as a child, I was bullied.

I tell my students this, because many students think their teacher's are confident, strong and could never have been bullied. It is a good discussion opener and it allows students to feel they can talk about bullying in a safe environment.

I also show remorse when I admit I have bullied others in the past too. This conversation often gives students courage to admit times when they have mad poor decisions and reflect on those times in hopes to make more positive decisions in the future.

I think pink shirt day is a great way to bring awareness to the problem of bullying and a great day to discuss the topic and ways to prevent it.

Visit www.pinkshirt.ca for articles, lessons, resources and information on Anti-Bullying Day.