Buck Up, Kid!
I'm sure we have all been bullied in one form or another and I'm sure we were all told to buck up. As a parent, it is hard to see my child being bullied. Just the other day, my daughter cried because a couple of girls called her anorexic and bulimic (my daughter is tall and bony). Now that kids have access to cell phone, Internet, blogs and texting, perhaps saying "Buck Up!" is not enough. As a concerned parent, I wanted to do a little research.
My children, ages 8 and 11, enjoy reading the series called Diary of a Wimpy Kid and this weekend we saw the movie. The journal, while written to be humorous, chronicals a 6th grade student who relentlessly is bullied by his older brother and fellow students. The story is exaggerate, but lends itself to discussion at home and the classroom.
Maryland is launching a program that several states have used and have reported decreases in bullying. Maryland has adopted the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) that was started in Sweden. The Maryland Association Of Elementary School Principals is working in conjunction with Hazelden and the National Bullying Prevention Initiative.
I find this relevant after recently reading stories of students harassing and humiliating fellow students. In several cases, bullying has been linked to suicides. I also just read about a case of a North Carolina teacher who reportedly threw a student's pencil box down a hallway. There is also evidence that this teacher wrote "-20% for being a loser" across the child's assignment.
19% of students nationwide have reported being bullied. This translates to 1 in 3 Maryland students being involved in a form of bullying. The goal of OBPP is to educated students, parents and teachers about the forms of bullying, the impact, and actions we can take to prevent and defuse.
To find out what is considered bullying and for more information about OBPP visit:
http://www.olweus.org/public/faqs.page
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