Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Quote of the Day
When people don’t like themselves very much, they have to make up for it. The classic bully was actually a victim first
Tom Hiddleston
Second Grade Bully Cameron Thompson Changes His Ways, Starts Club To Fight Bullying
Cameron Thompson was once a little bully, picking on a kid who was different from himself.
"I struggle to make good choices at times," admits the California second grader in a video posted online, saying he has both ADHD and ODD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiance disorder). "Recently I made the wrong choice."
When another boy in school brought a Barbie doll to show-and-tell, Cameron got his friends together to tease the child, he says in the video entitled "Confessions of a Bully."
Cameron was caught and taught why bullying is wrong -- and it's a lesson he's clearly taken to heart.
"He asked me why he still felt bad (a couple months later) and I explained shame to him," Cameron's mother, Jessica Southard, told Banning-Beaumont Patch. "He then told me he knew how he could make it better. He asked me if he could start an anti-bully club at school."
Cameron also requested that the boy he bullied start the club with him.
More than 75 kids turned up for the group's first meeting at Tournament Hills Elementary School in Beaumont, Calif.
"We may be different, but now I know that's a good thing," Cameron says in the video. "We can bring our differences together to help other kids learn about bullying."
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Quote of the day
“One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.”
― Michael J. Fox
Monday, May 26, 2014
Quote of the Day
“When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.”
Sunday, May 25, 2014
What are your thoughts? California city hopes to create bully-free zone with new law.
The city of Carson, California, is set to vote on a unique law that if passed would create one of the nation's first bully-free zones. The proposed anti-bullying ordinance would ticket someone who bullies another person between the ages of 5 and 25. Ben Tracy reports.
Quote of the day
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” -Desmond Tutu
Tips to help your child who is being bullied
Tips for Students
- Write down what has been happening to you by answering the following questions. When you and/or your parents report the bullying to school pesonnel, this will be valuable information. (1) Who is involved? (2) What was said and done to you and by whom? (3) What happened or usually happens immediately before the bullying occurs? (4) Who were the bystanders (witnesses) and what did they say and do? (5) When does the bullying occur? (6) Where does it happen? (7) Was there adult Supervions and if so, who were they? (8) Are there video cameras in the area recording activitie? (9) How did you respond? (10) What happened or usally happens after the bullying event? (11) Who has been told about the bullying and what have they done? and (12) How long has this been occuring?
- Report the bullying to an adult you trust. Talk openly and honestly with your parents and teachers about your mistreatment.
- Keep in mind that no one deserves to be bullied. Bullies have a need to have power and control over others and desire to hurt people. Sometimes bullies also feel bad about themselves, but not always. Sometimes bullies are bullied at home by their parents and are determined not to be bullied at school – they would rather bully others.
- Think of ways you can stay safe at school while the school investigates your situation. For example, avoid the bully as much as possible. Give the bully space. When possible, don’t go near the bully. Go down a different hallway, or when you are on the playground, stay away from the bully.
- Practice not looking like an “easy” target. Look and walk with confidence. Bullies usually pick on people who are smaller and physically weaker or whom they feel will not retaliate. Bullies look for potential victims who look like easy targets: smaller, physically weaker, nicer, and more sensitive than the bully. So practice not being an easy target. Stand up straight, hold your head up straight, hold your shoulders back, look into the eyes of the bully (not at the ground or somewhere else), stay calm, and walk away with confidence.
- Don’t let those who bully you make you feel bad. When they say something bad about you, say something positive to yourself – reminding yourself of your positive characteristics.
- Be assertive by moving closer to the bully (no closer than arm’s length – keep a safe distance), turn sideways, relax your hands and arms, and hold them down at your side. You do not want the bully to think you want to fight. Keep your feet about shoulder’s width apart – for good balance. When you stand this way, you are ready to walk away from the bully or even run, if you have to protect yourself. (see Assertiveness Skills under "Free Resources" on this website).
- Give your friends (the bystanders) the Assertiveness Skills for Bystanders" under "Free Resources" on this website.
- Never fight back, but let the bully know you are not an easy target. Stay calm, and tell the bully with confidence and determination to “Stop it!” and to “Leave me alone.” Or, you might say, “No! You can’t have my pencil. I need it.” Then walk off with confidence. Don’t stand there.
- Pretend you are a broken record (Ross, 1996). Look the bully in the eye and say, “That’s your opinion. That’s your opinion.” Then walk off with confidence.
- The bully wants to hurt your feelings. So, act like it doesn’t hurt – don’t reward the bully with your tears. You can do this by admitting the bully is right. For example, when the bully calls you “fatty,” look the bully in the eye and say calmly, “You know, I am overweight. I need to start working out with weights.” Then calmly walk off with confidence.
- Disarm the bully with humor. Laugh and walk away or don’t walk away (Ross, 1996).
- Use your best judgment and follow your instincts. For example, if the bully wants your homework and you think he/she is about to punch you, give up your homework and then walk off with confidence and appear like the bully did not hurt you. Then, tell an adult what happened.
- If possible, always walk with friends – never alone. If you are walking alone, join some other students or an adult and start a conversation.
- If you’re in danger, RUN.
- If you are out in the community and you are about to be bullied, walk over to some adults and pretend they are your parents.
- Being bullied can make you tired and make you feel sick. To deal with the bully you need to feel good. So, be sure to get plenty of exercise and eat healthy foods. Also, make sure you get plenty of sleep.
- Do not expect to be mistreated. When you are walking toward a group of students, think about them being nice to you, and do your best to be friendly to them. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
- Stand up for other students who are bullied, and ask them to stand up for you.
- Try to make friends with others, and make lots of friends outside school. Find things you can do with them.
- Develop a hobby or skill that will make you feel good about yourself and that other kids will think is neat.
- Take a good honest look at yourself. Are there any behaviors making it difficult for you to make friends?
- Make friends with extended family members: aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Do things with them that are fun.
- If you have tried everything you can think of and nothing seems to help, talk to your parents about the possibility of transferring to a different school system. Sometimes this helps, but sometimes it doesn’t.
The Most Beautiful Way To Stop A Bully I've Ever Seen
This guy started out as a bully. Where he ended up will surprise you. It surprised the audience too, so they went ahead and gave him a rousing standing ovation. It's worth watching every single inspirational minute of this.
SafeBook: How to be Safe on Facebook Infographic
How do you stay safe on Facebook, and other Social Media sites? This is an essential question that many are asking, hoping to avoid cyber-bullying, identity theft and loss of privacy. Yesterday, I found this excellent infographic that simply explains some of the key attitudes and behaviours that everyone should use when setting up and interacting on Facebook. The infographic was designed by Fuzion, a marketing and PR design company that wanted to help educate students on how to use Facebook safely and easily.
Awesome Quotes About Bullying
When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper; They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.
Nothing’s forever…everything you experience, every hardship and ordeal is a part of a master-plan intended to teach you something, or lead you somewhere. As hard as today maybe it will end, and there will be a tomorrow to look forward to. You just need the foresight and faith to see it.
Life is a fight, but not everyone’s a fighter. Otherwise, bullies would be an endangered species.
Fighting doesn’t have to be with your fist or mouth; the strongest battle is one where you use your mind- any idiot can use his hands, but what matters in the end is what you do with your head.
The common mistake that bullies make is assuming that because someone is nice that he or she is weak. Those traits have nothing to do with each other. In fact, it takes considerable strength and character to be a good person.
Who’s stronger? – The person who goes through bad experiences and can still see the good in life despite of it or the person who can’t control their impulses and imposes them on others?
Bullying consists of the least competent most aggressive employee projecting their incompetence on to the least aggressive most competent employee and winning.
It’s all about how you define yourself- you can be the weak one who was to busy wasting their life on petty endeavours (a sure turnout for 90% of bullies) or the person who actually made something out of themselves in the process. 
Inspirational Bullying Quotes: How to Save Yourself
If there are no heroes to save you, then you be the hero
Don’t expect others to come to your rescue, everyone’s too occupied with their own problems; if you can still muster the strength to help yourself or others despite that, then you’ll be a true hero in every sense of the word.
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
It’s good to evolve and want to change yourself for the better; but it can’t be for the sake of others- think long and hard if you’re doing something because others will accept you better, or because it genuinely feels right, and know that the people in your life will change and come and go; but how you see yourself is here to stay.
It is our choices … that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
It doesn’t matter if you can throw a wicked curveball; if it’s being aimed at someone, it doesn’t matter if you’re the star quarterback; if you do it to show off and rule others. At some point choices overpower abilities- and if you made the wrong ones, then even your abilities will fall into oblivion because you were dumb enough to abuse them.
Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
Don’t lose faith. Promise yourself that you will be a success story, and I promise you that all the forces of the universe will unite to come to your aid; you might not feel today or for a while, but the longer you wait the bigger the prize.
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
Work hard, give it all you got; and enjoy the show!
You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.
Know that throughout your life, not everyone will like you or wish you well- just because they want to- if you can manage to be a decent human in spite of them; not tainted and soiled by their wronging, then and only then you’ll have prevailed.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
You will have good days and bad days, but you’re the only one who can let the bad ones control your life.
A lot of people are afraid to tell the truth, to say no. That’s where toughness comes into play. Toughness is not being a bully. It’s having backbone.
Don’t let them get the best of you, don’t let them break you- show them that you’re fearless and that it’s not about who can take the best swing; but who can stand tall in the end.
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
Identifying the Effects of Bullying
As a parent, you may suspect your child is being bullied. If you are not quite sure, review these common signs to help you recognize if bullying is occurring. Your child may:
- come home with torn, damaged, or missing pieces of clothing, books, or other belongings
- have unexplained cuts, bruises, and scratches from fighting
- have few, if any, friends with whom he or she spends time
- seem afraid of going to school, walking to and from school, riding the school bus, or taking part in organized activities with
- peers (such as clubs or sports)
- take a long, "illogical" route when walking to or from school
- lose interest in school work or suddenly begin to do poorly in school
- appear sad, moody, teary, or depressed when he or she comes home
- complain frequently of headaches, stomachaches, or other physical problems
- have trouble sleeping or frequent bad dreams
- experience a loss of appetite
- appear anxious and suffer from low self-esteem
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Dealing with Bullies by Dr. Phil
Dealing with Bullies
Dr. Phil's guest, Katie, doesn't understand why she's picked on by girls in the neighborhood. It's gotten so bad that she's even asked her mom if they can move. Dr. Phil offers some advice to Katie, her mother, and to any parent or child dealing with bullying.Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Anti-Bullying Blog Quote of the Day!
People say sticks and stones may break your bones, but names can never hurt you, but that’s not true. Words can hurt. They hurt me. Things were said to me that I still haven’t forgotten.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
30 Greatest Bullying Quotes
Here are the top 30 quotes about bullying.
1) “When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.” – Chris Colfer
2) “Life is a fight, but not everyone’s a fighter. Otherwise, bullies would be an endangered species.” – Andrew Vachss
3) “With ignorance comes fear – from fear comes bigotry. Education is the key to acceptance.” –Kathleen Patel
4) “All I wanted to do was go back inside to the library and read a book.I used to spend all my time reading books, or watching television. It was safe. Nobody ever was hurt or teased or looked stupid while reading books or watching television.” – Kathryn Magendie
5) “What if the kid you bullied at school, grew up, and turned out to be the only surgeon who could save your life?” – Lynette Mather
6) “Bullying builds character like nuclear waste creates superheroes. It’s a rare occurrence and often does much more damage than endowment.” – Zack W. Van
7) “The common mistake that bullies make is assuming that because someone is nice that he or she is weak. Those traits have nothing to do with each other. In fact, it takes considerable strength and character to be a good person.” – Mary Elizabeth Williams
8) “Often the right path is the one that may be hardest for you to follow. But the hard path is also the one that will make you grow as a human being.” – Karen Mueller Coombs
9) “When you hold people up for ridicule, you have to take responsibility when other people act on it.” – Jay Asher
10) “If there are no heros to save you, then you be the hero” – Denpa Kyoshi
11) “By the time I came out, that kind of stopped it. The bullying stopped when I claimed myself and proved that I wasn’t afraid. A lot of it was when I was hiding when I was younger.” – Randy Harrison
12) “Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke.” – Benjamin Disraeli
13) “The bullying was hideous and relentless, and we turned it round by making ourselves celebrities.” – Julian Clary
14) “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland
15) “It is our choices … that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” – J.K Rowling
16) “Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” – William James
17) “He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.” – Lao Tzu
18) “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
19) “He who believes is strong; he who doubts is weak. Strong convictions precede great actions.” – Louisa May Alcott
20) “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
21) “You can have no dominion greater or less than that over yourself.” – Leonardo da Vinci
22) “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” – Winston Churchill
23) “People who say they don’t care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don’t care what people think.” – George Carlin
24) “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
25) “Bullying consists of the least competent most aggressive employee projecting their incompetence on to the least aggressive most competent employee and winning.” – Tim Field
26) “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.” – Tim Fields
27) “A lot of people are afraid to tell the truth, to say no. That’s where toughness comes into play. Toughness is not being a bully. It’s having backbone.” – Robert Kiyosaki
28) “I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: ‘The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that’s fair.’ In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.” – Bertrand Russell
29) “You will never reach higher ground if you are always pushing others down.” – Jeffrey Benjamin
30) “Liston is like most big bullies, if you can stay away and make him miss for a few rounds he’ll get frustrated. Once you strip away that feeling of invincibility, he can be had.” – Rocky Marciano
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Fosston Elementary Bullying: Anna Cymbaluk
Video of an 8-year-old girl's heartbreaking account of being bullied has gone viral, garnering more than 22,000 views in just a 24-hour period. Sarah Cymbaluk filmed her daughter Anna's testimony after getting bullied.
Bullying may have long-term health consequences
Bullied children may experience chronic, systemic inflammation that persists into adulthood, while bullies may actually reap health benefits of increasing their social status through bullying, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.
"Our findings look at the biological consequences of bullying, and by studying a marker of inflammation, provide a potential mechanism for how this social interaction can affect later health functioning," said William E. Copeland, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine and the study's lead author.The study, conducted in collaboration with the University of Warwick, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Emory University, is published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of May 12, 2014.
Earlier studies have suggested that victims of childhood bullying suffer social and emotional consequences into adulthood, including increases in anxiety and depression. Yet, bullied children also report health problems, such as pain and illness susceptibility, which may extend beyond psychological outcomes.
"Among victims of bullying, there seems to be some impact on health status in adulthood," Copeland said. "In this study, we asked whether childhood bullying can get 'under the skin' to affect physical health."
Copeland and his colleagues used data from the Great Smoky Mountains Study, a robust, population-based study that has gathered information on 1,420 individuals for more than 20 years. Individuals were randomly selected to participate in the prospective study, and therefore were not at a higher risk of mental illness or being bullied.
Participants were interviewed throughout childhood, adolescence and young adulthood, and among other topics, were asked about their experiences with bullying. The researchers also collected small blood samples to look at biological factors. Using the blood samples, the researchers measured C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of low-grade inflammation and a risk factor for health problems including metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.
"CRP levels are affected by a variety of stressors, including poor nutrition, lack of sleep and infection, but we've found that they are also related to psychosocial factors," Copeland said. "By controlling for participants' pre-existing CRP levels, even before involvement in bullying, we get a clearer understanding of how bullying could change the trajectory of CRP levels."
Three groups of participants were analyzed: victims of bullying, those who were both bullies and victims, and those who were purely bullies. Although CRP levels rose for all groups as they entered adulthood, victims of childhood bullying had much higher CRP levels as adults than the other groups. In fact, the CRP levels increased with the number of times the individuals were bullied.
Young adults who had been both bullies and victims as children had CRP levels similar to those not involved in bullying, while bullies had the lowest CRP – even lower than those uninvolved in bullying. Thus, being a bully and enhancing one's social status through this interaction may protect against increases in the inflammatory marker.
While bullying is more common and perceived as less harmful than childhood abuse or maltreatment, the findings suggest that bullying can disrupt levels of inflammation into adulthood, similar to what is seen in other forms of childhood trauma.
"Our study found that a child's role in bullying can serve as either a risk or a protective factor for low-grade inflammation," Copeland said. "Enhanced social status seems to have a biological advantage. However, there are ways children can experience social success aside from bullying others."
The researchers concluded that reducing bullying, as well as reducing inflammation among victims of bullying, could be key targets for promoting physical and emotional health and lessening the risk for diseases associated with inflammation.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Bystander Revolution: Nina Dobrev | Effects of Bullying
What kind of ripple effects does bullying have? How far does the negative energy reach? Thoughts and solutions from actress Nina Dobrev.
