Bullying Part Two: The Pledge

In September The Thames Valley District School Board in partnership with CTV London (once the A channel) launched the pledge. Over 12,000 signatures are now on the petition, pledge, a commitment to end bullying. On Monday November 14th all schools throughout Thames Valley, public and Catholic school boards, will take the pledge in honour of Bullying Prevention Week. Click Http://www.ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge here to get to the page to sign the pledge. Because kids should always feel safe at school. Because parents should not feel stressed out about leaving their child at school. Because children should be first and foremost safe to learn. If you are a reader of this blog, then you probably are a parent or a person who cares about children. So do it for me.

I signed up one month ago and have been meaning to note this worthy initiative for some time now. In our own lives there have been many instances of bullying. Both of my girls have encountered this issue at school. Sometimes it has been dealt with promptly and other times not handled the way in which I might have wished. Bullying is an issue at every school. Nobody is immune. That’s why it takes all of us. Adults, children, students, teachers, parents and grandparents to battle and be vigilant about bullying. To read more on bullying and how to end bullying, or to connect with others and tell your stories you can leave a story on CTV News site, or you can leave your story as a comment on my blog. I often tell my story and the story of my children. We have all been victims of bullying at one point or another. My bullying post is here: Shining a Light on Our Bullying Stories

I think it is really important to note here too that while we are working on this complex issue there are some disabilities in which behaviours can appear to be bullying. Try to keep that in mind. Sometimes the bully is a child with autism or FASD or a learning disability. What appears as bullying in these cases can often be a medical issue in which the child misreads social situations or cues. Where that is the case question why it is happening and whether all parties involved need more support. Most parents of kids with special needs are aware that their children can easily be perceived as bullies. What they need is more support from the systems, not further stress, finger-pointing or blame and shame. Where that is happening at recess or down time I view it to be a failure of school supports. Doesn’t make it any easier if your child is getting hit, but perhaps helping them understand it isn’t personal may help. Always document incidents of aggression.

If you leave me your story with a name or even just a twitter handle, anonymous is good too, then I will use some of the details to post later a general update that will be dazzling on all of our stories…So what is your bullying story?