Stories from the Not In Our Town network. This week: Mike Schlesinger is an upstander in his community of Marshalltown, Iowa (pop. 28,000). Watch his story.
anti-bullying
In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, Not In Our School has partnered with alternative rock band Galvanized Souls. Southern California is buzzing about the band, not only because of the impressive caliber of their original music, but because they are also a young band that takes a stand. They have produced some of the most powerful music videos to convey the message to their peers to believe in themselves and to carry on.
Galvanized Souls is a rock band whose core members are comprised of four young Southern California musicians, whose music is influenced by decades of rock music. While a relatively new band, they have played many shows at high profile venues, fairs, fundraisers and music festivals throughout Southern California.
Having endured bullying themselves, the band members bring awareness and advocate against bullying. They were inspired to write their upcoming original song, “Carry On,” when they heard about an 11-year-old boy named Colin who faced bullying in an extraordinary way. Colin is even featured in the music video.
By Dr. Becki Cohn-Vargas
Not In Our School Director
In a recent NIOT blog, we shared how student leaders from the Not In Our School anti-bullying campaign at Marshalltown High School in Iowa were the ones who spoke up and averted a school shooting. In this four-part series, we will explore the issues of school violence, show one elementary school's activities to stop school violence and offer a two-part exploration of the restorative justice model, a promising strategy for interrupting and ending cycles of violence.
Youth Violence
Adults distinguish between brutal teasing, bullying, fighting, and a school shooting, but all these behaviors are part of a continuum of youth violence. Behaviors on this continuum can easily escalate.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) considers youth violence a public health issue. In 2010, 4,828 young people ages 10 to 24 were victims of homicide—an average of 13 each day.
Smartphone app combats hate crimes
Victims and bystanders can anonymously report cyberbullying and hate crimes with the CombatHate App, available now for iOS and Android, according to CSNChicago.
Users can report hate crime incidents to law enforcement, and are referred to stopbullying.gov for information and advice on coping with bullying. The app was developed by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles based human rights organization.
Superior Court Judge David Wesley and Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Michael Downing released the app along with representatives from the Wiesenthal center in February 2014.
By Micaela Presti
A child is not born a bully. It is a learned behavior and adults need to make sure they are role modeling for the children of our communities the importance of respect, tolerance and empathy.
In the book, Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashlee Merriman, there is a chapter on race and tolerance. The authors point out that white parents, in particular, feel that because their child may live in a community that is racially diverse, their children accept the differences. Parents then don’t feel they need to talk about differences.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We need to talk about differences because children do notice that someone’s skin, sexual preference, etc. is different from theirs and they need to understand why.
There are important lessons on both bullying and speaking up that are happening right in front of our eyes. Recently, leading anti-bullying expert Emily Brazelton shared the results of the bullying investigation for the Miami Dolphins, after the pro football team’s bullying scandal. It serves as a case study to help everyone understand tackle Jonathan Martin’s courage to speak up and open his personal struggles to the world, which will help all of us learn the terrible impact of bullying, hate, racist and homophobic teasing.
After reading the article, watch this new film “Auto Body Shop Owner Repairs Hearts After Hate Attack.” It features Quality Auto Paint & Body owner Richard Henegar, who hears that a local college student is the victim of an anti-gay hate attack and decides to help. Not only does Richard repair Jordan Addison's vandalized car, he brings his entire community together. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres featured the two men on her 10th season premiere. Richard is also honored by his alma mater, Lord Botetourt High School who highlighted how one person can make a difference.
“White-Out was that handy product used to wipe out mistakes, eliminate errors, and allow users of typewriters to begin anew.
White-Out against Bullying is a movement, effort, and initiative to wipe out practices that demean, embarrass, belittle, or hurt others.”
—Eleanor Matthews, The Echoes-Sentinel
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A PSA from KutRoc to prevent bullying and help young people everywhere become UPSTANDERS!
Dear NIOS Friends and Supporters,