The Adventures of Karen Klein

I’m sure everyone by now has seen the video that has been posted online about a 68 year woman named Karen Klein who was bullied by a pack of middle schoolers.  Their insults are so brutal it brought the poor woman to tears.

Little did one of the kids know that when he commented that she does not have family because "they all killed themselves because they didn't want to be near you” that her oldest son took his own life 10 years ago.  This is the ignorance of bullying at its best, and I can guarantee it will be something that kid will regret saying for the rest of his life. 

I myself had to ride the middle school bus when I was that age and I don’t remember having the need for bus monitors.  I guess the times have changed.  Sure there was bullying back then, but I remember a time where we respected our elders.  Sure we might have made fun of the bus driver, but never to the point where you would drive them to tears.  Don’t any of these kids have grandparents or common sense?  I understand the needing to fit in, but respect is something you teach at home.  I guarantee not one of those kids would let anyone talk to their grandmother that way.  Yet there they are ganging up on her like a pack of wolves on an injured lamb.  I know I must sound like the crotchety old man waving his fist in the air, but there has to be a line drawn in the sand. 

Kudos goes out to the kid who recorded and posted the video online for others to see.  It is individuals like that who help the world see how this bullying trend has to stop.  That person should get an award because you very well know that they had to take heat from other bullies on the bus and at school for being a “snitch”.  It definitely took a lot of courage to come forward.  I’m sure the last thing that whistle blower needed was to have the profanity laced bullying directed at them instead.

The police department that is handling the matter is treating it as a harassment case and not a crime.  I can understand the reasons why, and the woman in question just wanted an apology.  Well as of today she has gotten those apologies, and then some.  There was an online petition started to send Karen Klein on a vacation and that has raised over 500,000 dollars!  It is a shining example of human kindness, and one that I hope will be passed along to others.  I look forward to the future news reports of Karen Klein taking her whole family on a nice vacation and getting to hear about some of those amazing adventures.

Hopefully, the kids in question learned their lesson and they did not just give her empty apologies. Only time will tell if they continue their ways, but at least the public was notified that such behavior was going on.  Bullying like this can only be helped if people become aware that it is taking place, and can only be rectified if we continue to care.  For those of us out there that are still being bullied, stay strong.  And for those that are witnesses to such behavior take a lesson from this and remember that it is okay to stand up for others.  After all, if Karen Klein was your grandmother, wouldn't you do the same? 

See how The Prevention Team  helps to stop bullying in your neighborhood.

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Comebacks for Victims of Name Calling

Just about every person has found themselves the victim of name calling at least once in their lives.

A kid with provocative name becomes a victim of school bullying throughout the childhood. 

How to help a child to stand up for himself, 

to remain self-confident and stop bullies. 

Find out few tested comebacks from bullystoppers.com, first free bully reporting web site.

Comebacks are not for everyone!  

Comebacks can be helpful when dealing with mean kids, however, kids should practice comebacks with an adult. Comebacks don't stop bullying, BUT they can increase confidence, which can discourage bullies.  

Comebacks is not a return insult! Never use a comeback if a kid may become challenged or violent!   

Here's an advice on using comebacks from bullystoppers.com:  

  

The key to comeback lines is to remain COOL and AVOID the temptation to trade name calling or personal insults with the bully or teaser.  A great comeback line is brief and to the point and leaves the bully or teaser feeling that they did not get to you!  Don't forget to always look them in the eye and keep cool - anger is a sign to them that what they are doing is working.  Try some of the following, however always remember:  if another student is threatening physicalviolence toward you, don't say anything to him or her - do your best to get away from the situation and to where a teacher or other adult is located. 

Perfect Comebacks:

"You - You're good!"

"Very good!."

"Ok, I'm hurt."

"What? Again?"

"Is this your goal in life or something?"

"Not getting tired of this?"

"This....... again?"

"Thank you!"

"Grow up."

"Great try."

"That one hurt."

"Sticks and stones."

"Mission accomplished."

"You are wasting my time."

"Funny..... funny.  Laugh....laugh."

"And with a smile on his face...."

"You're the KING"

What? Are you talking to me?

"Blah  - blah"

"New material?"

"The real you can't be this mean."

"You used to be a good kid."

Or just wait a bit and change your name!

There's a reason Lea Michele is so convincing as a bullied teen on the hit show 'Glee,' -- the star reveals she was the victim of bullying in her real life, too! The taunts were specifically hurtful when they came to Lea's original last name, "Sarfati." In fact, the teasing got so bad that Lea took it upon herself to change her surname altogether!

"I don't use it a lot because I got 'Lea So Fatty' and 'Lea So Farty' in school,"  -shared the star of the movie 'New Year's Eve'. 

See how The Prevention Team helps school kids stop bullying

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Babies Are the Best Weapon Against Bullies, Research Found

Around babies tough kids smile, disruptive kids focus, shy kids open up.                       
In the previous posts I mentioned that bullying is actually natural. Animals fight each other, the stronger species get to stay, while the weaker ones must die - an evolutionary law.We humans are the part of the nature and it seems that we are also hardwired to be aggressive and selfish. Well, the researchers from Princeton University found there is a biological reason for compassion.


Brain scans reveal that when we contemplate violence done to others we activate the same regions in our brains that fire up when mothers gaze at their children. It suggests that caring for strangers may be instinctual. When we help others, areas of the brain associated with pleasure also light up. Research by scientists Felix Warneken and Michael Tomasello indicates that toddlers as young as 18 months behave altruistically. 

More important, we are beginning to understand how to nurture this biological potential. It seems that it’s not only possible to make people kinder, it’s possible to do it systematically at scale – at least with school children. 

That’s what one organization based in Toronto called Roots of Empathy has done.

Roots of Empathy, a Toronto-based organization is doing incredible work in the hopes of reducing bullying worldwide, by increasing empathy in schoolchildren. 

At the heart of the program are a neighbourhood infant and parent who visit the classroom every three weeks over the school year. 

A trained Roots of Empathy Instructor coaches students to observe the baby's development and to label the baby's feelings. In this experiential learning, the baby is the "Teacher" and a lever, which the instructor uses to help children identify and reflect on their own feelings and the feelings of others. 

This "emotional literacy" taught in the program lays the foundation for more safe and caring classrooms, where children are the "Changers". 

They are more competent in understanding their own feelings and the feelings of others (empathy) and are therefore less likely to physically, psychologically and emotionally hurt each other through bullying and other cruelties.

In the Roots of Empathy program children learn how to challenge cruelty and injustice. Messages of social inclusion and activities that are consensus building contribute to a culture of caring that changes the tone of the classroom. The Instructor also visits before and after each family visit to prepare and reinforce teachings using a specialized lesson plan for each visit. Research results from national and international evaluations of Roots of Empathy indicate significant reductions in aggression and increases in pro-social behavior."

Watch baby Sydney visiting the high school within Roots of Empathy program

So far our researchers have evaluated ROE’s impact on children up to three years after program completion. Results show an increase in social/emotional understanding and pro-social behaviour and a decrease in aggression compared to children who do not participate.  Children become more caring, helpful and kind, and feel more accepted by their peers. 

The program has gone into 13,000 classrooms; when writer David Bornstein investigated, he said: “What I find most fascinating is how the baby actually changes the children’s behavior. Teachers have confirmed my impressions: tough kids smile, disruptive kids focus, shy kids open up. In a seventh grade class, I found 12-year-olds unabashedly singing nursery rhymes.”

So maybe babies are the answer. And since kids don’t get to experience babies at home anymore, I guess we need to bring babies to school.

See how The Prevention Team helps school kids stop bullying here: 
http://thepreventionteam.com/

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