Sharing the message

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I hope everyone wore their pink shirts today! I know I did and I hope that many of you did too.

I have been very lucky with this blog to be able to share something I belive in, and the response from readers has always been overwhelming to me. As I have said before I would love to be able to write more.

This is my last semester as a non-traditional adult student. I am about to graduate from college, May 14th, 2011, almost twenty years (just shy by three weeks) from the day I graduated high school.

As much as love writing this blog, and writing in general (I’d love to find someone who would pay me to do it :)), school is something I just cannot put aside. My experience in school as a child was miserable. From “kick me” signs, to fake friendships, to name calling, to spitting at me, to physical abuse, to stealing homework and more. School was a nightmare. Well not school itself, I loved learning, but the social experience was more than I could really stand and my grades suffered. Plus, it was no fun to be smarter, or have the right answer all the time. So I didn’t and I couldn’t wait for the day I graduated high school. I swore I was never going back. Besides, no one had told me I deserved to go to school.

But here I am, graduating. With honors and a 3.72 GPA, which I think is pretty good. This semester I am writing a thesis, and I hope to get accepted to a Master’s Program in Geographic Information Technology. That is what I am spending my time on, (and a little political unrest in our state), and as much as I do love writing I haven’t been able to devote the time it deserves.

That is why I was so surprised when I was invited to be part of a new site about to be launched called Paperblog. I checked it out and it seems like it will be a great site, so added my blog, and my membership to the Paperblog site has been confirmed by the Communications Manager. We will see how it all works out and as soon as it launches I will let all of you know. It promises to be a great site where information can be found all in one place.  Now if only I could get someone to pay me to write.  Oh well, for now I will write when I can and I’ll  stick to what I am good at, studying.  

In the mean time please remember that a bullied child may not be enjoying school, they may be able to get better grades, and they may just wish someone would notice the pain they are living with. It will get better, I promise, but I am sure they don’t realize that right now.

Have a great day!

Bullying is a part of life???

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I was talking with my neighbor tonight about the experience my daughter had that led to the creation of this blog.

Her response?

“Did you tell her that bullying is just a fact of life?”  

No, no I did not. Do I believe that it usually is? Yes. But I do not, not for one minute, belive that it has to be.  I do not believe that we should just look the other way.

 I do believe, that if we work together at an early age we can eliminate it, or at the very least reduce it, so  that perhaps our children could grow up in a less violent world. Maybe they might see less school shootings, instead of more, even though schools are “statistically” a safe place.

She also said well, it is a fact of life, it’s in the workplaces, high schools, it doesn’t matter. 

I know. I know it is. I also know that I used to work at a juvenile prison. I have seen kids taken away from their families, inducted to a life of crime, destined to a life of drugs, violence, poverty and the like.  Some were there because they were violent aggressors in their schools.  Some were clearly victims before they arrived, and continued to be victims after they got there.

Do we know any adults who may have been victims? Who maybe still are? Adult bullies?

Perhaps if we teach our children at an early age they could get along better; maybe in their lifetime they’ll have less war, because other communities, other places decide they no longer want to live like that.  Alright, maybe I am dreaming, but it couldn’t hurt to try.

Little victims

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Bullying in kindergarten occurs similarly to bullying at older ages.  However,  there is much less research associated with young children and bullies.  Bully awareness has increased in recent years due to school shootings and violent acts committed by peers, particularly in high school. 

Am I the only one who thinks it is ridiculous that the research is aimed toward older kids?  I would wager a bet the same students who take part in bullying in high school are likely the same children who are successful at bullying at an early age. They have had years to perfect their tactics, and are likely adept at not getting caught. Why are we not addressing this as young children? 

The research that does exist suggests that the children are virtually powerless to stop the bullying themselves.  That is why we as parents, educators, and adult observers must make a conscious effort to stop the bully before there is long-lasting harm done.   

Long-lasting? Surely if the action is stopped that is the end of it, right?  Not exactly.  The research shows that children who are bullied are less able to make friends, are less well liked by peers and the effects can last many years. Sometimes it takes extra adult support to break the cycle of victimization. 

That is why we need to be aware of bullying even in kindergarten (and likely child-care settings) to stop the cycle before it follows our children through their school careers. 

It is every parents worse nightmare to find out their child has been involved in a violent school incident whether they are the aggressors, or the victims. No one wants that for their children. 

No one wants their child identified as a bully or a victim. I suspect that perhaps some of us might find the prospect embarrassing.  Children do not deserve to be bullies or victims, and each sitatuion is likely equallydamaging to the psyche of a child. 

That is why I believe we must embrace all of our children aggressors, victims, and bystanders and help them understand that there are better ways to get along. Perhaps if we start at such an early age, maybe we could affect positive change on the world and raise less aggressive violence prone adults.  We can only hope. 

Source  Bullying in Kindergarten 

by Francoise Alsaker 

http://www.education.com/reference/article/kindergarten-bullying/?page=2