Who Gets Bullied?

Identifying Conflict starters...

Readers, as we take the issue of bullying seriously we must be realistic. Many of us know bullies. They may be in our classrooms, work places or even our homes. The best thing that we can do is to educate young people on how to deal with conflict and anger to prevent them from being bullies. When kids feel equipped to deal with the hard stuff they can navigate problems in a respectful way and become solution-oriented.
Here are some common conflicts that young people face:

1.) Being teased
2.) Being caught in the rumor mill
3.) being called names
4.) being accused
5.) being treated unfairly
6.) Being excluded
7.) being picked on for being different
8.) Being cheated
9.) Being threatened
10.) Mean notes/texts or cyber bullying

It is obvious that many conflicts can lead to bullying but if we can prep young people on how to identify these situations and have a planned response they may be more equipped to deal with them in a positive way. Do you have any ideas on how to deal with bullying? Have you ever helped a bully to reform? What can you share with the readers of this blog to help them continue to build an atmosphere of self-esteem? Your ideas are appreciated. If we all ban together we can eradicate this behavior and move towards a more peaceful future for our kids and adults. If you are free on Friday October 22nd we are having a Anti-bullying Townhall to disucss solutions and strategies to overcome this growing problem. We will be meeting at 118 S. Main Street, Ann Arbor, 48104 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
-Read Something Great!

Careful with the labels...

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to meet so many diverse, creative and talented people. When I go to schools I see kids that have their own style. I love when young people feel comfortable enough to spell their names in a special way and express who they are. The books that I write support this type of thinking. Something incredible happens when we are able to let ourselves evolve into the art of expression. We are not meant to all look alike, act alike or talk in the same way. It is so important that we sincerely celebrate our differences.
How accepting are you of those who are different than you? Have you ever been labeled for being dressed a certain way or because of your personality? I have been labeled so much in my life that it is hard to count.
I created the Breaking The Pattern Anti-Bullying project this Fall. This project helps people to have healthy dialogue about their experiences with bullies and solutions to end this problem that is attacking not only our youth but our adults as well. We will be having many online forums including informal polls and up close and personal meet-ups where we discuss this topic thoroughly.
If we don't talk about it-we can't change it.
-Read something great