The month of October is designated as National Bullying Prevention Month. It was begun in 2006 by the Pacer Center in Minnesota. The Pacer Center is known as “Parents Helping Parents” and they focus on being Champions for Children with Disabilities.
Don't Laugh at Me
Children with disabilities seem more prone to bullying than other children, but, sad-to-say, over the years bullying has become more widespread and often affects any child who is 'shy' or 'small for their age' or 'overweight' or just different in some way.
Don't Call Me Names
I don't remember bullying being a 'thing' when I was a child, although I do remember one particular incident that affected me strongly in second grade; enough that I never forgot it. And not long ago I remember having a discussion with my grown children who worry about bullying affecting their own children. I said that didn't seem to be a problem when they were young and in school and all three related incidents of bullying they had experienced that they never told me about.
Therefore, bullying is not new, but today's awareness is bringing it into the open. So much so, that programs have been, and are being, developed to eliminate bullying ~ which is mean, aggressive and potentially life-threatening. It occurs in schools, on the playground, and now we have 'cyberbullying'.
Don't Get Your Pleasure From My Pain
Bullying can be as simple as teasing a child because she has freckles or as terrible as calling names or shunning a child for being different. It all has the same impact!
Things to Do to Help Prevent Bullying
- Students can be taught to practice empathy by befriending someone who is being bullied and report bullying when you see it.
- Teachers can reward students who show respect for others and who demonstrate thoughtfulness for their classmates, for adults, and for their school.
- School administrators can plan bullying prevention programs that help parents, teachers and students understand the problem and how to handle it.
Wear and Share Orange – Unity Day
On the third Wednesday of October (October 19th in 2022), wear orange to show unity for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. It also sends a visible message that no child should ever experience bullying.
*This orange Unity Shirt, and others like it, is available on Amazon.
Operation Respect
In 2000, Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary fame) began Operation Respect (OperationRespect.org), a nonprofit organization that brings to children, in schools and camps, a curriculum of tolerance and respect for each other's differences.
In God's Eyes We're All the Same
Someday We'll All Have Perfect Wings.
The idea came about when Peter's children, Bethany and Christopher, heard the song “Don't Laugh at Me”. The song was written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin. The idea for the song came about when Allen's daughter came home from school in tears because her peers were teasing her about her freckles. The song is a ballad about various characters (children and a crippled homeless man) who have been teased and are just asking for acceptance from others.
You don't have to be my friend,
But is it Too Much to Ask?
Don't Laugh at Me
I heard Peter Yarrow sing this song at a concert in Savannah, Georgia in October 2013. It made a big impression on me and I can see why Peter uses this song as the theme for his “Operation Respect” organization.
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*National Bullying Prevention Month review written by Wednesday Elf