Anti-bullying townhall meetings in Alabama

Two large townhall meetings will be held in Alabama this month, organized by K.A.R.M.A., which stands for Kids Against Ridicule, Meanness and Aggression.

See the December 18th article on this blog (below), and see today's article on www.woodstockadvocate.com/ for more information about the townhall meetings. The dates are January 23 in Montgomery and January 24 in Birmingham.

For more information about K.A.R.M.A., go directly to www.TheKarma.org

K.A.R.M.A.

Kids Against Ridicule, Meanness and Aggression (K.A.R.M.A.)

When I was traveling last week in Florida, I happened to catch a radio program and interview with Jessica Brookshire, who is a 2009 honors graduate of Auburn University with a degree in International Trade and Spanish and a minor in Political Science.

Jessica created a grassroots crusade to end bullying in school-aged children across the nation.

To learn more about K.A.R.M.A., visit www.thekarma.org

Jessica is a young woman with a dream and a mission. She is surely going great places! Three cheers for Jessica Brookshire!

Bullying is alive and well in schools

Whatever happened to "thinking" in schools, especially when it comes to dealing with kids in special education?

A friend wrote about her son's experience in his new school. He was doing very well in adjusting to his new school, and they seemed to really understand his disability - for the first time, in a long time. Now, we're not talking Woodstock here...

Okay, so today the boy comes home and has been kicked off a field trip because he hit another student at school.

The back story? The other kid had been teasing this boy and also thrown his Math book into the stair well (according to the school counselor). And the discipline for the other kid? Nothing. He didn't get bumped from the field trip.

Yes, there ought to be zero tolerance for hitting in school, but there should be zero tolerance for teasing, too, since it's a form of bullying. It's not just a "form" of bullying; IT IS BULLYING.

If I were the Principal, either they'd both get kicked off the field trip or, better yet, sit them down and have them work out their disagreements, and provide some strong coaching to both. And then send them both on the field trip.

Isn't this what we want our kids to learn? Work out your disagreements.

If they don't do it this way, then the kid who didn't go on the field trip will have it "in" for the one who teased him, and there will be more "occurrences." Duh.....