The topic of bullying is prevalent in the news these days. It’s even the subject of a major new movie now playing in area theaters. It’s called, simply Bully.
This year, over five million kids will be bullied at school, online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones and on the streets of their towns, making it the most common form of violence young people in this country experience.
We begin this week’s Local Show by introducing you to an unexpected bullying prevention resource in our metro…Wayside Waifs. What, you might ask, does an animal shelter know about bullying? Well, as you’re about to see, it seems quite a lot.
As statistics show, many bullies begin their harassment hurting animals. Wayside Waifs provides a unique violence prevention curriculum for grade school kids that involves bringing dogs into the classroom to teach some important lessons. The program is called No More Bullies.
Last September, we devoted an entire Local Show episode to bullying and hate. Since then, KCPT has been working behind the scenes with area schools to produce their own anti-bullying messages. This week, we feature the message produced by the Fairfax Learning Center, a high school in Kansas City, Kansas.
Here is a look at another spot that was produced by students at FL Schlagle High School in Kansas City, KS:
The tale of the bully has been depicted many times and in many ways in movies and televison, but for many these tales are far from entertaining and seldom have a nice neat resolution. While the bully has been around for generations, many feel that the actions and means for causing emotional and physical pain have escalated in an alarming way. The Local Show presents a look at how hatred has affected people in our community and examines efforts to stop hatred before serious damage is done.
Help educate others: Spread the word by talking to the people in your community who have the power to put an end to bullying. Here are a few groups you may want to visit or call:
Your family: If you have kids, teach them that bullying is wrong. Use the government resources provided for bullied kids and bullied teens to help them come up with a plan for what to do if they experience bullying as a victim or an observer.
Your friends and neighbors: Take a few minutes to share this bullying information with people in your neighborhood. Encourage adults and children to speak up and stop bullying wherever they see it.
Your local schools: StopBullying.gov has a wealth of free anti-bullying material aimed at helping teachers, school administrators, and students recognize and prevent school bullying. Print some of the school bullying articles and give them to your local school district or email officials the link. You may also want to suggest that school children take the Anti-bullying Pledge from Bullying.org.
Stop bullying when you see it: By now, you know what to do. The next time you see an innocent child being victimized by a bully, don’t let the abuse continue. Your actions to stop bullying will help victimized children have hope again and will pave the way for others to stop letting senseless bullying harm young lives.
