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Overview
Bullying has been around
for as long as there have been children, but Connecticut parents are
increasingly concerned about it. A 2005 survey revealed that more
than one-third of high school
girls in the state and nearly one-third of the boys had been bullied
on school property in the
previous year. That’s why the Commission, the state Office of the
Child Advocate, and their partners organized ‘Stand Up to
Bullying!’, a forum to learn the causes of bullying and explore
strategies for making Connecticut safe for learning.
The forum, held on October 22, 2007 at the Legislative Office
Building in Hartford, drew more than 250 people, ranging from
children and their parents to teachers, school administrators,
police officers, and social workers.
The keynote address was given by Ken Rigby, Ph.D., an
internationally acclaimed expert on
bullying prevention. Dr. Rigby, an adjunct research professor and
consultant based at the
University of South Australia, is the author of "Bullying in Schools
and What to Do About It,” a
book regarded as a standard text on the subject. He was also
scheduled to be the featured keynote speaker at an International
Bullying Prevention Association conference set to be held shortly
after the forum, in November 2007.
Following Rigby’s address, a panel of other experts, mostly from
Connecticut, discussed
various aspects of bullying, including cyberbullying, children with
special needs, immigrant
children, GLBTQI issues, working the legal system to prevent
bullying, and weight bias and
body image.
CT-N coverage
The
forum was televised by the Connecticut Network
(CT-N). You may watch a recording of it on
the
CT-N website, check the
CT-N listings to see if it will be
televised again, or
purchase the program in DVD or VHS
format.
Forum materials
These documents will be handed
out at the forum. You may download them here in PDF
format.
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Agenda |
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Proclamation of
Anti-Bullying Day in Connecticut by Gov. M. Jodi Rell |
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"The Key to Bullying Prevention," a two-page primer by the
Commission |
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"Brave Enough to Be Kind," a Commission booklet |
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Biography of
keynote speaker
Ken Rigby, Ph.D. |
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Dr. Rigby's PowerPoint presentation |
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Contact information and resources |
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"Bullying
and Students with Disabilities: Summary Report of Parent
Focus Groups,"
by Leslie F. Hergert, Ed.D. |
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"Weight
Bias in Youth," by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and
Obesity at Yale University |
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"Talking
to Your Kids about Weight," by the Rudd Center for Food
Policy and Obesity at Yale University |
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"How
to Address Weight Bias in Your Classroom," by the Rudd
Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University |
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South Carolina's
Safe School Climate Act |
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"Bullying, Harassment, and Children from Immigrant
Families," by Randy Ross, MS, MA |
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"Filing
Civil Rights Complaints," a document supplied by William
A. Howe, Ed.D. |
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"My
Name is Osama," a short story by Sharifa Alkhateeb and
Steven S. Lapham |
Comments
Those who registered here to attend the forum
were asked to relate episodes or success stories about bullying.
They also had a chance to
ask what they wanted to learn at the forum.
Here's what they had to say.
Web links
Our e-mail list
You may:
Of course, you can also do both! In
any case, click your reply button for the e-mail -- no need to write
in the body.
Photos
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge. All photos by Pat Estill.
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Representative Andrew Fleishmann, co-chairman of the
legislature's Education Committee, welcomed the audience. |
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The
audience included these students from the Jamoke Academy in
Hartford. |
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Cerrone Bell, now a student at North Haven High School,
described being bullied as a 12-year-old. He was part of a
panel of students and adults who gave first-hand accounts of
bullying. They were brought together by the Anti-Defamation
League. |
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Guilford parent Jane Olsen, also on the ADL panel, describes
how she reacted to learning that her daughter had sent a
bullying e-mail. |
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ADL
panelist Nicole Allison talks about the anti-Semitism she
encountered in Fairfield schools. |
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Branford High School student Brady O'Keefe, another one of
the speakers on the ADL panel, talks afterward with an
audience member. |
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Dr.
Ken Rigby gave the keynote address. |
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The panel of experts included,
from left: Chelsea A. Heuer of Yale University; Dr. William
A. Howe of the state Department of Education; Kevin Borrup
of the Violence Prevention Program at the Connecticut
Children’s Medical Center in Hartford; and Karen Zrenda of
the Connecticut Family Support Council. |
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Another member of the expert
panel, Debbie Colucci of the Anti-Defamation League,
gestures as she discusses cyberbullying. |
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Representative Bruce Morris was one of several lawmakers who
discussed possible future steps at the end of the forum. |
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