School is starting soon!

So it's time to look at a topic that is a bit uncomfortable for some people. But it's been brought up and rehashed a lot in the media, as well in schools. Today we're going to look at bullying. I know that many of you aren't worried about it. But here's the thing. Being aware of how something works and havig the knowledge of how to react to a situation is very important.

To start we should look at what the basic definition of the problem is. By knowing how something is defined we become more aware and our ability to identify it in action improves. Bullying is defined by StopBullying.gov as follows.

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.

Which isn't necessarily clear about what can be percieved as bullying by various individuals. This isn't necessarily science, as each of us are unique individuals and have our own quirks. But the site also gives a clear break down of 3 specific types of bullies that people may have the bad luck to encounter. Verbal, social, and physical bullying are the three kinds that they give rather extensive elaborations on.

What they don't look at though, which has become a real problem since so many kids are spending so much time attached to technology, is cyber bullying. Of course you can argue that cyber bullying is a combination of two out of the three offered types. Verbal and social. This is something to think about when you're posting on facebook or other social media.

So really when you go to interact online you should think about what you're writing or making available indefinetly. Things that go out into the digital world are never completely gone. So be aware that something you may say off handedly, without thinking about it, could come back to have negative repercussions. Yes you have the freedom of speech, but what you say and do should not be done with the intention of hurting someone.


Poster a resource from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

Now I know that most of you aren't going to find this interesting or useful. But in truth there's specific people that this is intended for. I'm really hoping that they find the time to read and look this over. But for those of you that might be interested in looking further into the topic, or have a strong opinion on the matter I'd like you to think about the following.

HeyUgly.org looks at various ways to prevent bullying, as well as looks at the topic of suicide prevention. They offer a variety of perspectives and resources for both students and adults for raising awareness as well as how to campaining against both societal problems.

HeyUgly.org also runs various contests that can help youth to think about the topics. By participating, it helps to make them think deeply about the ideas, as well offers them the opportunity to win a prize. Currently they have contests running for the following: acronym, essay, photo, poetry, songwriting, and video. If you want more information go to their site. It's the thirteenth year that they're running the contests. So if you're between the ages of 7-17, you may want to look into them.

If you have another resource that you use or find interesting, please feel free to share it with us in the comment section below. I'm always interested in learning about new programs. Being informed, after all, is half the battle.