Workshops aim to cut bullying
Bullying, name-calling and an increase in school violence are key reasons the "Respect for All" project was established. Next week, the program brings anti-bias education resources to educators and youth-service providers during workshops at Hawaii Children's Discovery Center.
Respect for All
Workshops: 4:30 to 8 p.m. Sept. 27 and 28
Place: Hawaii Children's Discovery Center
Admission: Free to educators and youth service professionals; registration required
Call: 800-405-3322 or visit the Web site www.respectforall.org
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The workshops will center on the award-winning anti-bullying film "Let's Get Real" and the family-diversity film "That's a Family!" -- both aimed at reducing school violence and promoting understanding and respect among students. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Debra Chasnoff, executive director of Women's Educational Media and co-founder of "Respect for All," directed both films.
"That's a Family!" -- to be presented Sept. 27 -- cover the many types of families today, including the traditional two-parent family, as well as kids raised by grandparents, parents of different races and religions, divorced parents, single parents, adoptive parents and gay or lesbian parents.
"Let's Get Real," showing on Sept. 28, encourages youths to speak openly about issues surrounding bullying and school violence. It covers issues of racial tension, sexual harassment, anti-gay taunting and more.
The workshops are part of the work of the "Respect for All" National Education Coalition. Participants include the National Education Association, the Child Welfare League of America, the National Association of School Psychologists, the Afterschool Alliance and the Association of Children's Museums.
Consequences of bullying
» An estimated 160,000 children miss school every day for fear of attack or intimidation by other students.
» One out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying.
» Victims are more likely to suffer physical problems such as colds, poor appetite and night waking.
» Those who are bullied are five times more likely to be depressed and far more likely to be suicidal.
Unchecked bullying can escalate to more serious violence:
» Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75 percent of school shooting incidents, including the fatal shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado and Santana High School in California.
» Nearly 60 percent of boys whom researchers classified as bullies in sixth through ninth grades were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24; 40 percent had three or more convictions by age 24.
» Among boys who said they had bullied others at least once a week in school, more than half had carried a weapon in the past month, 43 percent had carried a weapon in school, 39 percent were involved in frequent fighting and 46 percent reported having been injured in a fight.
Source: womedia.org
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