School Dedicated Full Day To Anti-Bullying

Schools in St. Louis are dedicating a full day to anti-bullying. The Parkway's Southwest Middle School has decided to screen the 2011 movie Bully for their students. The movie follows around 5 students who got bullied on a daily basis. Though it was originally rated R for some strong language, it was eventually dropped to PG-13 so that it could be seen by the younger students who it affects the most. 

The school is showing the film as part of a special anti-bullying program. The school had it's 8th graders watch the movie last year at the St. Louis film festival and after got to meet the producers. It had such a positive influence on the students, they decided to screen it to the whole school. They also had group discussions about bullying before and after the film.

It's not often that a school will dedicate an entire day to anti-bullying, but if the students gain from the experience, it might be something to look at for schools around the nation. 


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Shane Koyzcan's "To This Day" Anti-Bullying Video/Poem

This is 110% worth the watch. It will be the best spent 7 minutes of your day. 


Click Here to watch the video.


Shane Koyzcan's video has been viewed over 4.3 Million times since being posted on YouTube on February 19th. It is a heart wrenching poem telling the story of three kids being bullied and how they overcame the emotional scars.

Kids who are bullied are at a higher risk for depression, anxiety and panic disorders years down the line.

Slate called the video "beautiful," Yahoo! News dubbed it "powerful" and Mashable promised that it will "reshape your views on name calling, harassment and pain."

House Passes Anti-Bullying Bill

This is a huge step for fighting bullying in Indiana. An anti-bullying bill has passed the House in a 77-17 vote and is now headed to the senate. 

The bill, if it passes, will make it mandatory for school systems to run anti-bullying seminars for students and training programs for teachers. In addition, schools would have to report all incidents of bulling in a report at the end of the year. There would also be better and more detailed procedures when it comes to investigating an incident. 

This is a huge step toward doing something for bullying! There are so many schools that turn a blind eye toward bullying, or who's hands are tied when it actually comes to stepping in. This could help change all that, and if it works out could very easily pass to other states. 

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"Growing Up Gay" Themed Play At The Boston Children's Theatre

An anti-bullying/gay rights play will be opening up at the Boston Children's Theatre based on the true life events of Rhode Island native Aaron Fricke. Aaron is a gay rights activist who is best known for suing his high school back in the 80's for not letting him bring his boyfriend to prom. Aaron grew up being ridiculed for being gay and was depressed and suicidal for a long while. After fighting his school he really came into his own and gained the support from much of the community.

"Reflections of a Rock Lobster," a critically acclaimed play based on Fricke's life. After premiering in March of 2012, the show returns this March to the Boston Children's Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts.

Left: Aaron Fricke and his boyfriend Paul Guilbert at Prom

Right: Actors Ian Shain and Felix Teich from "Reflections of a Rock Lobster"

"I was overwhelmed by the reaction to the piece from the public and from school groups," says Aaron. "I think everyone is able to relate to what I experienced. The fact that bullying and prejudice still exist today in our society, makes this play even more relevant and powerful."

"I applaud Boston Children's Theatre for producing a play that addresses issues that have such a profound impact on our community," said Mayor Menino. "Bullying, prejudice and anti-gay sentiments cannot be tolerated in our schools or in our society.  'Reflections of a Rock Lobster' teaches us all the importance of acceptance and tolerance in an entertaining, creative and powerful way.  I congratulate their efforts and I encourage everyone to experience this ground-breaking production."  

If you get a chance to head down to the BCT, the show will be going on  March 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17. Tickets are $35.00 and $25.00 and can be purchased by visiting the BCT website. 


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Cyber Bullying Video

This a great video about a kid being cyber-bullied just for being a good student. It's a reminder of how ruthless kids can be, and how much one's actions can really affect another. Don't just stand by while someone is being bullied, and DON'T be a bully.

School Legislation and LGBT Teens

Bullying is extremely detrimental to the mental, and sometimes physical, health of it's victims. That increases even more with LGBT teens. They suffer from an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts. School doesn’t only feel unsafe – though that’s the experience of 71% of rural and 62% of suburban kids. School is unsafe for nearly one of five, who have been physically assaulted.

There aren't many schools that have legislation in place to help these students either. However there are two bills that are expected to be reintroduced. Both bills amend existing law. First, the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) would amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. It would require federally-funded schools to prohibit bullying on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It would also require states to report cases of bullying to the Department of Education. The second bill is the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SDNA). It is modeled on Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Likewise, the SDNA would prohibit discrimination on the basis of perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. But both bills have failed before.

There’s reason to believe legislation could help fix the public health problem. Not only do most states not protect LGBT students, but some states have statutes or policies that staff must “remain neutral on matters regarding sexual orientation.” But these neutrality policies are often only neutral in name. Recently, Tennessee’s ‘neutrality’ policy resurfaced. Commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the proposed bill would ban any discussion of homosexuality – except, in its latest incarnation, for teachers who must report suspected homosexuality to a student’s parents. Even though the bill’s official title is the “Classroom Protection Act,” it’s obvious that the bill would subject LGBT teens to increased stigma, social isolation, and eliminate safe pathways to report harassment.

It's time to step up. Students who don't feel safe going to school won't go to school, or won't do as well while there they're because they're always going to be looking over their shoulder. Every state should have legislation protecting a student's rights to an education in a safe environment. Likewise, they should be more strongly reprimanded when they're caught bullying. Acting is the key to prevention. 


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Rockingham County School Have Anti-Bullying Plan

Rockingham County Schools have been working on an anti-bullying program that they put in place about a year ago, and so far it seems to be working great.

The Anti-Bullying committee will be working on a few things over the next month or so. They want to tackle bullying by age group. 

Anti-Bullying Committe of Rockingham County

"It looks different than it does in the elementary than it does in the middle and the middle looks different than it does in the high school, and there's always cyber-bullying, so we're hopefully going to catch all those things this month," said Scott Bojanich, the Director of Secondary Instruction.

Bontz says this will be good for teachers and students because bullying can come in many different forms.

"In high school, 'looks' is a big one, you know just kids staring at each other, and you know your self-esteem is built or broken down, based on how your peers treat you," Debra Bontz said, teacher at Massanutten Technical School.

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