Introduction to Our Group

             Rachelle Lopez

Patrick

Theresa

Jennifer

Bullying is Not a Rite of Passage!

Bullying and more recently cyberbullying are a problem in our schools. The year 2010 had several public tragic suicides linked to bullying which caught the nation’s attention and focus on what has been a pervasive problem. Sadly, a child commits suicide as a direct result of being bullied once every half hour with 19,000 bullied children attempting to commit suicide over the course of one year.  Bullying is an age-old crisis and the question of how schools can be safer places to learn has even the White House talking. This month the White House held its first ever White House Conference on Bullying Prevention on March 10, 20111. President Obama made the comment that, "If there is one goal of this conference, it is to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up."

Middle School is hard enough without bullying and most bullying takes place in grades 6-8.  On a daily basis an average 160,000 children miss school because they fear they will be bullied if they attend classes.  Monthly, an average 282,000 students are physically attacked by a bully. These statistics are alarming. Selected below are books, videos, and websites which offer tweens real-life solutions on bullying. Tackled are myths and truths about bullying such as bullies are not only boys but girls as well. Questions such as What is bullying? How do you deal with a bully? What if I'm a bully? and What are the consequences of cyberbullying? are asked and answered. Philosphies on bully prevention, anti-bullying programs, and suggested readings and websites are presented so tweens know that Bullying Is Not A Rite of Passage!

References
School Bullying Statistics - The ABCs of Harassment. (n.d.). EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints. Retrieved March 21, 2011, from http://ezinearticles.com/?School-Bullying-Statistics---The-ABCs-of-Harassment&id=4616664

Casey Heynes Video Interview with A Current Affair

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-5jktFu4iE

Video Details
  On March 14, 2011, 15-year old Australian Casey Heynes fought back against his bully and it was all caught on a mobile phone video which has since spread like wildfire across the world. This YouTube video is a copy of the Sunday March 20, 2011 broadcast of the show, A Current Affair. The broadcast shows the first interview with Casey Heynes and his feelings on the world wide attention this altercation has received. Heynes told Australia's A Current Affair that years of being a victim finally caught up with him, and he just snapped. This bullying started in elementary school and he had hoped things would change when he got to high school, but instead, they got worse. After his friends left him, he was alone and isolated and contemplated suicide. Now, even though he was suspended for a few days, he has no regrets because this torment is finally over.
Review
  I admit that I was one of the millions who copied the YouTube video and placed it on my Facebook page. I was proud of Casey for standing up against years of bullying. As an educator and a parent, I don't condone fighting, but in this case, I see nothing but self defense. Of course, now the bully is an easy target for hate mail, taunting, as the tables have turned and the vicious cycle has begun. Where were the administration, the teachers, and the parents all of these years, and why was nothing done? Without education and positive role models, bullying will be pushing so many kids over the edge. This is a great video to share with tweens as they can see the true story and the affects it has on all those involved.

xEtHaNzz. (2011, March 20). Casey heynes full interview on aca. [ Video File ]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-5jktFu4iE.

Stop Cyberbullying Website

Website Details

  This website was created by the corporation Wired Kids and is headed by Parry Aftab and the Wired Kids Inc. boards and committees. Parry Aftab is a security, privacy, and cyberspace lawyer, as well as an author and child advocate. She is considered a world wide leader in the area of online safety and child Internet education. This group was awarded the President's Service Award from the White House and Points of Light Foundation. Stopcyberbullying.org provides children ages 7-17 years old and parents and caregivers information on cyberbullying. Sections offer details on what cyberbulling is, how it works, why people cyberbully, how to prevent it, how to take action, and what is the law against cyberbullying. There are also different icons that have information divided into age groups, parents and caregivers, educators, and law enforcement. Kids can also download a game called Alex Wonder Kid Cyberdetective to help stop cyberbullying.

Review

  This was such an easy to use website and it had a great simple interface with little distraction. All of the information was updated and factual as well as witty and appropriate for the different ages. I loved that aside from the important bullet points, sections were also broken down by age group. This allowed each age group to obtain information that was at their level, received information that pertained to them, and subject matter than interested them. Both parents and their children can search this website together and have starting points to engage conversation. Some subjects offer short quizzes and scenarios that open up kids and parents to conversation in a non threatening way. The icing on the cake was the downloadable game that appeals to the tween group and my daughter found it fun, easy to use, and got important points across about the dangers of cyberbullying.

Interest Age/Reading Level

7 years old- Adult/ 7 years old-adult

WiredKids Inc. (2011). Stop bullying. Retrieved from http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/contact_us.html.

Mean Chicks, Cliques, and Dirty Tricks: A Real Girl's Guide to Getting Through it All

Book Details

  This book is an ultimate survival books for bullies, backstabbing, and drama. Dr. Karres is a well known girl guru who has helped hundreds with tween and teen issues. In this book, Dr. Karres has interviewed over 1,000 tweens and teens and talked with them about topics such as bullying, mean chicks, cliques, and how this affects their life, education, and future. Included are first hand accounts, quotations, quizzes, fill in the blank questions, and quick fixes to every day problems that tweens face. 

Review

  Again, I wish this book was also written for boys because it is fantastic. Readers will be drawn to the first hand accounts, quirky language and straight to the point answers. Dr. Karres brings the seriousness of this hard subject down the the level of understandability to tweens and teens. Cyberbullying is also touched upon and both Facebook.com and Myspace.com are shown as drama makers if used inappropriately. Readers will not be subjected to sugarcoated faux made for television stories, but will be able to relate to real life accounts of kids just like them who are going through similar things. 

Interest Age/Reading Level

9-12 years/ Tween

Karres, E. (2010). Mean chicks, cliques, and dirty tricks: A real girl's guide to getting through the day with smarts and style. New York: Adams Media Publishing.

We Want You to Know: Kids Talk About Bullying by Deborah Ellis

Book Details

  Author Deborah Ellis collected more than 30 personal accounts of bullying taken straight from the mouths of children ages 9-13 years old. These kids have overcome being bullied, know someone who has been bullied, or have been a bully themselves and have shared their stories in this book as a part of an anti-bullying campaign in Canada. Bigger questions are asked such as why do educators and parents just stand by and let the bullying continue, and what makes a bully start bullying. The writing in this book is great for kids and for adults, and both will feel a deep connection to their stories. 

Review

  Katie stays home, Adam is beat up all the time and Amanda hides in the school closet during lunch to hide from a group of girls who call her ugly and fat. All of these first hand accounts are written about in this book created from author Deborah Ellis. The scenarios have real names, ages, locations, and pictures posted which gives readers a sense of intimacy. Readers will find at least one story that they can relate to and this book would be a great resource in classroom and library discussions. Although these stories are disturbing and distressing, it is a great book to share with children who are being bullied or are in fact, bullies themselves. 

Interest Age/Reading Level

9-12 years old/tween

Ellis, D. (2010). We want you to know: Kids talk about bullying. Canada: Coutea Books.

Stand Up for Yourself and Your Friends: Dealing with Bullies and Bossiness and Finding a Better Wa

Book Details

  This is a great book for tween girls to use to spot bullying, stop bullying, and to speak out against it. This book is an easy to read book that offers readers pull out quizzes, pages on real life experiences and quotes, as well as "what would you do" scenarios for the reader to fill out. At the end of the book, readers sign an anti bullying pledge and clever comebacks to bullying. 

Review

  The American Girl Publishing Company aims their non fiction books at real life obstacles that kids may go through. From making friends to learning how to defend yourself against bullies, this book goes all the way. This book is easy to read, fun to use, and is written in language geared towards kids. With bullying being so prevalent in the news today we see that kids are coming up against these challenges at an earlier than ever age and are unprepared how to defend themselves against bullying. Parents of kids who are being bullied find it hard to communicate with their children and this books offers kids and their parents opportunities to work together in fill in the blank scenarios and questions. The only fault that I found with this book was that it is geared just to tween girls. I know that this is the population it serves, but is anyone up for starting an American Boy collection?

Interest Age/Reading Level

9-12 years old/tween

Criswell, P. (2009). Stand up for yourself: Dealing with bullies and bossiness and finding a better way. New York: American Girl Publishing.