Name:Bullying.org “Where You Are NOT Alone!â€
Brief Description of the Site:
Everyone has heard of the Columbine shootings, but how many have heard of the Taber, Alberta shootings just a week later? In both incidents the shooters had been the victims of consistent peer-bullying. Although Taber resulted in only one fatality, fortunately, its impact was just as powerful as Columbine’s. The incident motivated an Alberta parent to create this site dedicated to helping the victims of bullying. The site tries to help victims deal with their situation and to understand why bullies behave as they do. Especially important is its recognition of the relatively new phenomenon called “Cyber-bullying,†in which unseen attackers use Email, Web pages, and cell-phone messages to attack their victims’ reputations. An especially useful feature is the “I Want to Share†segment in which students (or teachers) can submit drawings, poems, stories, etc. on the themes of bullying, alienation, etc. and others can then respond. There are also segments entitled “I Want to Learn†and “I Want to Help.†The overall message is that victims of bullying are not alone, it is not their fault, and there are things that can be done about it.
How to use the site:
This is an excellent teacher resource for anyone about to deal with the topic in his/her school, group, community, etc. It offers the background information that an adult needs if he wishes to help the children dealing with being bullied. The “I Want to Share†segment is also valuable for student expression. People can contribute their personal stories, poems, images, oral stories (audio files), music and even animations and movies. Finally the “Helpful Resources" section that features a huge listing of articles for those wishing to delve deeper into this topic, which is a very real and present part of just about every school society.
Submitted by:
Bill Belsey
