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