"MORRIS - What can the Morris Area School District do to take a stronger stance against bullying?
That was one question posed by Cali Lebrija, a parent of seven children who are attending or will be attending school in the district, during the visitor comments time during the School Board's meeting on Monday night.
Lebrija told the board she was concerned about what she sees as an increase in bulling, particularly at the high school, citing instances she's seen or heard about related to name-calling, pushing and stolen backpacks.
“From a parent's standpoint, it seems like the zero tolerance [policy] isn't working,” said Lebrija. “You have a zero tolerance policy, and yet the bullies can still do it and the victims can't fight back.”
Lebrija suggested that the district may need to look at a new method to combat bullying, since teachers and staff can't be everywhere or do everything. She also suggested more aggressive monitoring and more clear-cut consequences for students who bully other students.
“I think there has to be a safety net for these kids so they're rewarded for standing up against bullying,” said Lebrija. “I think if you empower kids to speak up, other kids will follow.”
“This is a conversation we have quite often, as far as the bullying and the issues and what we can and what we should do,” said Board Member Brett Fuhrman.
“Bullying does leave life-long scars,” said Board Member Laura Carrington. “I definitely hear what you're saying and I hope we can do something about it.”"
"KASSON, Minn. - The small hamlet of Kasson is covered in purple. Purple ribbons on street signs. Purple ribbons on lamp posts. It is a sign this community is coming together, following the loss of a young life.
Thirteen-year-old Rachel Ehmke, a 7th grader, took her own life recently. Her parents, Rick and Mary Ehmke, say she was the victim of bullying. "She tried to deal with it. We thought she was dealing with it and the school thought she was dealing with it," Rick said. "Words can hurt. Words can kill," Mary added.
Fifteen miles west in an upstairs office in Rochester, Minn., Vangie Castro talks candidly about the issue the Ehmkes are bringing to the forefront. "Saying that, 'Oh maybe because we're talking more about it, more kids are committing suicide.' That's not true. Kids have been committing suicide and we just didn't talk about it," Castro told KARE 11. She is part of the Rochester Diversity Council and she's also on Governor Dayton's task force on bullying.
Parents have been asking Castro what they should do if their child's being bullied. She says the first step is to contact the school or the school district. She also explains that if that contact doesn't amount to any help, feel free to contact the state's Department of Education, a human rights commission, and if the problems are serious enough, your local police department.
Castro says PACER and Stopbullying.gov have a number of very helpful resources.
"It's important that they have proof, some sort of form of proof, like this has happened on this day with this student and I have other students that can back me up on it," Castro said. She also noted that bullying is prevalent and keeping it all inside perpetuates it. "I think the silence can be deafening and harmful. If you saw somebody steal something or vandalize something, you would report it; you would say something, right? Well, bullying is kind of the same thing."
The Rochester Post Bulletin, realizing this is a community wide concern, did something they haven't done in 20 years. They put an editorial on the front page of the paper, with the bold headline: "PLEASE CAN WE STOP IT?"
"The goal was to grab people's attention, say something's happening in our schools that is profoundly important. Its life or death for our kids," Managing Editor Jay Furst told KARE 11.
In Austin, Danielle Borgerson-Nesvold says she's glad to see the community stepping up. Two years ago, she started Community Against Bullying (CAB) after learning her son was bullied. Last week, Rachel Ehmke's sister reached out to her group, addressing members in their bi-monthly meeting.
"When you hear of a 13-year-old, and my child's 12, it was really heart wrenching because you think about what drove her to do it. She must have been in so much pain that she just couldn't... she didn't want to deal with life anymore," Borgerson-Nesvold said, holding back tears.
Nesvold addresses bullying head-on every day; often answering Facebook questions from people from every corner of the country. Recently, she's been getting requests for a community action plan that will help others start CAB groups. Those requests have come in from local communities and from places as far away as Pennsylvania and Idaho.
"It only works if you have the entire community. So this means talk to everybody; the mayor, the city council members, the school board, and churches," Borgerson-Nesvold explained.
The conversation has begun in Southern Minnesota, where almost 1,000 people have signed up for a "Walk for Rachel." It'll be held on May 19 in Austin and money raised will be used to fight bullying.
Rachel Ehmke's parents have broken the bullying chain of silence. "We found a card just last night that says 'I'm alright equals I wish I could tell you how I really felt," they concluded.
(Copyright 2012 by KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) "
"...Bully. What does the word make you think of? For some people, it's that girl at school who always makes fun of them. For others, it's the biggest guy in the neighborhood who's always trying to beat them up or take their things. Sometimes "bully" means a whole group of kids, ganging up on
someone else. No matter what situation or form it comes in, bullying can make you feel depressed, hurt, and alone. It can keep you from enjoying the activities and places that are part of your life. ...
Ryan Halligan Story on Frontline - Today's Christian Videos
"Think cyber-bullying to be just a big joke, eh? You had better think again. Like real-life harassment it can destroy self-esteem and even push a hurting person over the edge to suicide. You need to hear this true story."
"Bullying can happen anywhere: face-to-face, by text messages or on the web. It is not limited by age, gender, or education level. It is not a phase and it is not a ..."
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Lyrics to the song Hero (red pill version) by superchick
Many people are bullied....you never know how bad you can hurt some one by bullying one person. I have been bullied, and trust me, it hurts really bad, not just emotionally, but sometimes physically. You should think first about how bad you may be hurting some one before you do what you do or say what you say. Always think before you do or say. Bullying is wrong....no matter what anyone says, it's wrong. Bullying is wrong even if your friends do it or someone you know does it, it's wrong. If you know some one who is being bullied or who is bullying someone, you should really tell some one before it gets worse."
Bullied Teenager Makes Simon Cowell Choke Up! - Inspirational Videos
"Posted By yabbadabbadoo 16 days ago Jillian Jensen has been the victim of horrible bullying for years. Her bravery to stand on the X Factor stage, share her struggles and fight through the tears to deliver the performance of her life completely wowed the judges and brought them to tears. WOW! Gotta love a story like this
"
Rock
Hero Music Video
"Credit goes to Matt Black. It's amazing!"
Hero by SuperChick - Today's Christian Videos
"Lyrics to the song Hero (red pill version) by superchick
Many people are bullied....you never know how bad you can hurt some one by bullying one person. I have been bullied, and trust me, it hurts really bad, not just emotionally, but sometimes physically. You should think first about how bad you may be hurting some one before you do what you do or say what you say. Always think before you do or say. Bullying is wrong....no matter what anyone says, it's wrong. Bullying is wrong even if your friends do it or someone you know does it, it's wrong. If you know some one who is being bullied or who is bullying someone, you should really tell some one before it gets worse."
"..If you suspect your child may be the victim of bullying ask him or her to tell you what's going on. You can help by providing lots of opportunities to talk with you in an open and honest way. ..
"
Karen Huff Klein, a bus monitor for the Greece School District in Greece, N.Y., is receiving an outpouring of support after a ten-minute video of her enduring vicious bullying while watching over students on a bus ride home was uploaded to YouTube.
WARNING: The above video contains explicit language and may be upsetting.
After the footage surfaced, Reddit user razorsheldon posted a call to arms in support of the school official who was brought to tears by the group of children.
From Reddit:
Now, as awful as this was, there was a silver lining in not only the universal condemnation of the actions of these kids, but also in a call for support for this poor woman. Her name is Karen Klein, and if you are so compelled, please feel free to reach out to offer support. She has been a widow for 17 years, has lived in the same town she grew up in and is about to have her 50th high school reunion in the same school district, and deserves so much better than the actions shown by those in this video. Let's show her that there are still good people out there...
In the disturbing video, the children can be heard yelling at Klein, calling her an "ugly fat ass" and telling the widow, "you don't have a family because they all killed themselves because they don't want to be near you."
Now, under pressure from the local community, the Greece School District and Greece Police Department are launching investigations into the incident, telling WHEC-TV that the children involved will "face disciplinary action."
The Reddit call to arms has generated many comments showing support, including one that summarized a local radio show's admiration at Klein's lack of response. The call to arms also included an email address in case users wanted to reach out to Klein."
LUIS RECIO, Jr. (Making the Bus Monitor Cry, Cameraman) Speaks Out
Karen Klein: Bus Monitor Bullied By Students On School Bus Speaks Out On 'Today Show' June 21, 2012
"Two middle school bullies have issued lukewarm apologies to the 68-year-old school bus monitor who they tormented, threatened and ultimately drove to tears.
Appearing on Anderson Cooper’s show Thursday night, Karen Klein, a bus monitor in upstate New York, spoke about the verbal abuse she endured when a group of students from Athena Middle School targeted her on the bus ride home Monday afternoon, then uploaded video of the cruel harassment to the Internet.
..
"
Every day thousands of teens wake up afraid to go to school. Bullying is a problem that affects millions of students, and it has everyone worried, not just the kids on its receiving end. Yet because parents, teachers, and other adults don't always see it, they may not understand how extreme bullying can get."
"For bullied high school sophomore Whitney Kropp, looking good was the best revenge.
Earlier this month, the West Branch, Mich., teen said she thought about killing herself after some classmates told her she was nominated to homecoming court as a joke.
On Friday, Kropp had the last laugh.
Local businesses rallied around the teen, donating her dress, shoes, jewelry, hair styling and makeup.
The 16-year-old was escorted by her father and grandfather to the field, where she confidently took her place in the Ogemaw Heights High School homecoming court.
Students on the opposing team cheered Kropp on with banners.
"It's just so much right now for me," Kropp said. "I had thoughts about not coming but I actually changed my mind and came out. I just thought maybe I won't have fun. But I'm having a lot of fun right now."
Kropp said she doesn't know who decided to pull the cruel "prank" on her, but had a message for other students dealing with bullying.
"The kids that are bullying, do not let them bring you down," Kropp said. "Stand up for what you believe in, and go with your heart and go with your gut. That's what I did, and look at me now. I'm just as happy as can be."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Also Read..
"Over the last few weeks, the news cycle has been filled with tragic stories, of gay teens, committing suicide. And we've had to listen to politicians like New York's Carl Paladino bash homosexuals. It's a larger trend of prejudice and hate, and one that often starts with bullying. Well now the documentary 'Bullied' aims to teach schools and teachers, to teach understanding, and realize that bullying against gays, is turning into a life threatening problem. Jamie Nabozny, a Safe Schools Advocate, and also the main subject of this new film. He discusses how harassment can escalate in schools. He says that every student has a constitutional right to be protected."
BBC News: Christians forgive dead daughters bullies
"Uploaded by christianorguk on Nov 20, 2009
The Christian parents whose adopted daughter, Rosi, was bullied to death have forgiven the teenage girls who were this week found guilty of her manslaughter.
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Religion
MY NAME IS KHAN PART 1 - HD FULL NEW HINDI MOVIE OF SHAHRUKH KHAN AND KAJOL-Trailer.mp4
Movie Review: My Name Is Khan (2010), swaleff.wordpress.com "..Another lame scene when bully boys killed his son by kicking a soccer into his chest, Yeah I didn’t know that!!! punching him two times and the third one was using a ball. At that point, the story get to be in the most lame situation. like the black people village, and how the accepted him into the church and lived happy times, seriously what the hell was that...
