Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum Explores A Virtual Learning Environment

Kidsbridge is investigating the possibilities of teaching and exhibiting in the virtual world of Second Life.  One of our volunteers was recently interviewed about this by PrimPerfect Magazine.

 

Standing Up for What You Believe

Sometimes it is difficult to stand up for what you believe because it runs against the beliefs of other people.  Will Phillips, a 10-year old student at West Fork Elementary School in Arkansas, encountered this when he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, specifically because he felt that one phrase, “liberty and justice for all,” did not truly apply to gays and lesbians. His choice did not go over well with his substitute teacher and eventually got him sent to the principal’s office; yet the whole incident was sparked by the boy exercising his constitutional right not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

In spite of continued harassment by his peers for supporting gay rights, he is sticking to his beliefs.  We applaud Will for having the bravery and tenacity to exercise his freedom of speech and stand up for what he believes.  And we also applaud his supportive parents, who acknowledge that their son has opinions, has the right to express them, and that by doing so he can raise awareness and make a difference.

 

THE “R” WORD

 

Business Week writes about Hate Crimes: Teaching Tolerance Begins at Home

Business Week reporter Anne Newman writes: “Less than a week after President Obama’s Cairo speech urging peace and tolerance in the Middle East, Wednesday’s murder of a Holocaust Memorial Museum guard in Washington is a chilling reminder of how active organized hate groups are at home. While our YouTube-Facebook-Twitter-texting-connected kids have unprecedented tools for finding common ground among cultures that have been at odds for millennia, the rantings of suspected shooter, white supremacist, and anti-Semite James W. von Brunn show how easily the Internet can be used to sow hatred. So how do we protect our children from such vitriol?”

Also, sad to say, Business Week cites this statistic: “…New Jersey is no stranger to bigotry: In 2008, it ranked first in the nation in reports of anti-Semitic incidents, according to the Anti-Defamation League. “

See the full Business Week article here

 

ANONYMOUS BULLYING HOTLINE ESTABLISHED IN FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICT

While this is a great idea, it does not take the place of teaching tolerance and character development in school and in the home.  See article here

 

A RECENT PRESENTATION ABOUT KIDSBRIDGE

Kidsbridge Tolerance Museum

View more OpenOffice presentations from LynneAzarchi.

 

Top Six Ways to Kill Piper: YouTube Video Cyber-Bullying by Adolescents

Here’s a report on a recent public cyberbullying incident perpetrated by two adolescent girls.  We need to work harder to educate our youth about the consequences of cyberbullying.

 

Cyberbullying: Tools and Tips for Prevention and Intervention

Educators and parents must provide a clear message to children that cyberbullying is bullying.  Many children have not had guidance on this.  To explore this further please take a look at this excellent webcast run on April 22nd by the Health Resources and Services Administration.

What Adults Can Do To

The HRSA also runs the Stop Bullying Now! Campaign Web site with one section created especially for adults and another section just for children. Here you’ll find valuable resources about bullying awareness, prevention and intervention.

 

Pass the Matthew Shepard Act – The Petition Site

Attacks against LGBT people are one of the more common forms of hate violence but, tragically, one of the least protected. Hate crimes as a whole declined one percent last year, according to the FBI, but LGBT hate crimes increased six percent.

Here is your opportunity to help get legislation passed to stop this violence:   Pass the Matthew Shepard Act – The Petition Site.

 

DEATH BY BULLYING

Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanged himself on April 6th, after enduring months of threats, harassment and anti-gay slurs. He was only 11 years old.

Carl played football and basketball, and was active in the Boy Scouts. But none of that protected him from the bullying he faced when he started sixth grade. Since school began, his mother said that other kids at school were harassing him. Kids taunted him and said he acted like a girl and they made fun of the way he dressed. They called him gay.  Carl did not identify as gay, but that just didn’t seem to matter to his tormentors.

So just before dinner, Carl wrapped an extension cord around his tiny neck and hanged himself. His mother had to cut him down. She said her son couldn’t stand another day of bullying in school.

On April 16th, just after school, Jaheem Herrera, a Georgia boy who had also endured relentless homophobic taunts at school, wrapped a fabric belt around his tiny neck and hanged himself as well. He too was only 11 years old. His 10-year-old sister found him.

In March, 2007, 17-year-old Eric Mohat shot himself in the head, after a long-term tormentor told him in class, “Why don’t you go home and shoot yourself; no one will miss you.” Eric liked theater, played the piano and wore bright clothing, and had long been subject to taunts of “gay,” “fag,” “queer” and “homo.” Teachers and school administrators, the Mohats’ lawsuit now asserts, did nothing.

To learn more about bullying and sexual identity, read Judith Warner’s blog post “Dude, You’ve Got Problems” (Domestic Disturbances,The New York Times)

There are several entities that failed these children, including their parents / guardians, the school administrators, the teachers, friends and parents that apparently let this abuse continue.

Breakdown in formal and informal support at schools is a pervasive problem that persists and continues in many schools and institutions. We need to get involved and do more to save more of our youth from relentless teasing and bullying. There are just a handful of local programs like Kidsbridge who teach diversity appreciation, conflict resolution and character education to elementary and middle school children.  A committed nationwide effort is sorely needed.

Please ask yourself, your community and your educators — How can we prevent tragedies like this in the future, and what are we doing about it now?