District 99 Musical Tackles Bullying, Drug Abuse as Part of 'Red Ribbon Week'

The public is invited to a showing of "Stand Up! Change Teen Statistics" at 7 p.m. Thursday at Downers Grove South High School.

With teenagers across the country facing an ever-growing list of challenges—from drug and alcohol abuse to bullying and self-esteem issues—Downers Grove high school counselors think it's the perfect time to spark a new way of thinking for students and their parents. On Thursday night, District 99 will host "Stand Up! Change Teen Statistics," a live musical theater production that tackles themes related to bullying, mental health, substance abuse and relationship issues that affect high school students. "Stand Up!" is written by professionals from the R.Ed.I. (Reach, Education and Inspire) Foundation, a music theater organization dedicated to prevention education through the use of performing arts. The show travels to high schools across …

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When the Teacher Is The Bully: Mom Talk

Veteran teacher John Rosi put a 13-year-old student in a headlock.

When I was in fifth grade, I changed schools mid-year. In my new reading class, our teacher, Miss Theodore, picked on one little girl named Maryann every day. Picked on is an understatement. The teacher was relentless—and mean! It seemed like a vendetta. I remember feeling embarrassed, and even maybe ashamed. I was the new kid, and was shocked that all the others seemed to think it was normal for this teacher to verbally abuse this poor little girl day in and day out. In fact, some days, she spent most of the hour complaining about how stupid Maryann was. Those days, not much teaching was going on. For the entire year, 40 kids listened to a teacher beat up on poor Maryann. It became so commonplace that we learned that it was OK. I can only…

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When Teachers Bully: Mom Talk

Teachers outside San Antonio reportedly taught kindergartners how to hit.

"Friends don't let friends get huffed and puffed," Big Bird told Slimey the Worm who was blown around by the Big Bad Wolf. That is my favorite anti-bullying message ever. What would happen if we saw Gordon or Maria or Luis doing the bullying? That's exactly what may have happened in Texas. A teacher at Salinas Elementary School lined up kindergartners. Instead of instructing them in manners or etiquette, she reportedly taught them how to hit a classmate. If the news stories I've read are correct, a younger teacher had a problem with a 6-year-old boy in her class. She asked for help from a more experienced colleague on how to deal with a bully. The older, but apparently not wiser, teacher then attempted to teach the boy a lesson by having …

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Born To Bully? Mom Talk

A Canadian school isn't going gaga over Gaga.

She kinda freaks me out a little. Maybe it's because I'm, ahem, older. Maybe it's because I just don't get it. I'm no longer cool. Not hip to the current jive. I no longer slip skin or get down. Whatever the reason, Lady Gaga is off my radar. Except for one thing: her anti-bullying messages. She has used her fame to bring attention to an epidemic in our schools. This is Fonzie cool. Some parents disagree. A Canadian school in a town called Burnaby has a gay-friendly policy. The school is trying to post a YouTube video of its students dancing to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" song to promote anti-bullying. In Canada, Feb. 29 is Pink Shirt Day to stop bullying. A civic group, called Burnaby Parents' Voice, is trying to block the video. …

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Erin Goes Blagh

Beaten Teen & Dr. King: Mom Talk

What would Dr. Martin Luther King say about the six youths who brutally ganged up on another guy? Are parents to blame?

While much of the country was getting ready to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, a group of hoodlums jumped a 17-year-old boy in a Chicago. They called him the N-word and Asian slurs. Someone recorded Sunday's 3-minute attack, then posted it on YouTube. This is bullying to the extreme. I can't help but ask myself "where are the parents in all this?" First of all, we don't know yet how old these thugs are. Still, that doesn't seem to sway my opinion if they are 16 or legally adults. Where did they learn that it was OK to call people racial slurs? Where did they learn it was OK to hit defenseless people in the face with shoes, knees and chunks of ice? Maybe the parents didn't outright teach these things to their sons. Yet, they aren't off the …

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Ethan Klabunde

9:48 am on Saturday, January 21, 2012

Most definitely   more ›

Lace Students Pledge to Make School a Bully-Free Zone

A chat with third-grade teacher Emily Heise about the schools bully prevention initiatives.

Lace Elementary School is making a special effort this year to ensure its students feel safe in the classroom. During the year long anti-bullying initiave, students will take part in monthly assemblies and work with teachers on special lessons on the importance of kindness. Third-grade teacher Emily Heise is heading this year's anti-bullying program. Patch sat down to chat with Heise on the students' latest project — signing a pledge to treat each other with respect. Patch: How did you get the idea for the bully pledge ribbons? Emily Heise: October is National Bully Prevention month. We wanted to do something that would make a statement in the school — something that the students would see every day as a reminder that our school is a Bully…

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Eisenhower Students Unite Against Bullying

Students wore orange Wednesday to show their support of students who are victims of bullying.

Before Tytus Sally came to Eisenhower Junior High, bigger kids picked on him by pushing him into his locker.  Sally is a confident seventh-grader, who seems to shrug off the incidents now. But from his own experiences, he learned a lesson in sticking up for others. When he saw some other kids threatening to hit his younger brother on the school bus, he intervened. And he said he’d do the same for others, even if he didn’t know the bully’s victim. “I’d tell them, ‘You’re better than that,’” Tytus said.  Tytus is one of hundreds of EJH students who wore orange on Wednesday during the school’s first Unity Day against bullying. Unity Day is a national event designed to bring students, teachers and staff together to show support for students …

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Eisenhower Students Share Stories of Surviving Bullying

The student council members spoke at an anti-bullying assembly Tuesday at Lace Elementary School.

Eisenhower Junior High eighth-grader Eddie made a brave confession Tuesday during an assembly at Lace Elementary School. “When I was 11 years old, I was a bully,” he said. “I really regret it.”  Eddie bullied a classmate named Sylvia by calling her names — until one day he realized how hurtful his words were.  Bit by bit, Eddie worked to make amends, and Sylvia stood behind him at Lace as a friend while he told the younger students his story. Eddie was one of several EJH students who shared their stories of bullying or being bullied during a Character Counts assembly for the third- through fifth-graders at Lace.  As part of a new anti-bullying initiative, Lace’s students will gather each month this school year for an assembly with a …

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Lauren Williamson

4:26 pm on Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Thanks so much for sharing your story, Annette. We're going to have another story tomorrow about how Eisenhower is tackling bullying. Hopefully some of these initiatives will make a difference and kids will start being kinder to one another.   more ›

District 66 Now Has Bullying Hotline

Center Cass District 66 installed a private hotline for students and parents to report incidents of bullying.

Students and parents in Center Cass School District 66 now have a new way to help stop and prevent bullying at school. The district has installed a phone hotline (630-783-5210) to report incidents of bullying at any of its three buildings: Elizabeth Ide Elementary, Prairieview Elementary and Lakeview Junior High. District Superintendent Jay Tiede said bullying isn't a big problem, but the district wants to be prepared. "Sometimes, if there is an incident, we don't get all the information until it's hit a crisis stage," Tiede said. "We will ask why didn't you say something? And the parents will say they didn't want to risk retaliation against their child." The hotline is on a dedicated private line that rings directly into the District 66 …

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Cyberbullying Brings Teasing Off the Playground and into the Home

Eisenhower Junior High School presented a program Tuesday night featuring bullying expert Judy Freedman to help parents find answers about cyberbullying.

In this day and age, most every parent of a school-aged child has heard the term “cyberbullying” and knows its practice—the sending of hateful e-mails or posting of hurtful comments on Facebook—is damaging to kids. But beyond that, many parents face difficulties in understanding all of the behavior associated with the term and, more importantly, how to prevent or stop it from happening to their child. Today’s youth are almost always more technologically savvy than their parents, which can make monitoring texting and social networking sites difficult. A few parents raised concerns over this very topic during a recent District 61 PTA meeting, which prompted a program Tuesday night at Eisenhower Junior High addressing cyberbullying and its …

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