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We have heard so much about bullying in the media lately. Bullying is intentional, aggressive behavior that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Typically, the behavior is repeated over time. Bullying comes in many forms and occurs daily in our schools, school yards, homes, and on the Internet. Bullying among our youth and young adults should concern us. Victims of bullying who do not get help have, on occasion, tragically taken their own lives. At a minimum, a victim’s social relationships and performance at school or work suffer. Troubled youth also act out more and can hurt others in the process. In an effort to curb bullying, my office recently spearheaded the production of several anti-bullying videos by fourth and fifth graders through an anti-bullying contest that we ran. One student produced a “pledge to stop bullying” video that offers bullies help to stop their bullying. Others created rap songs to get out their message that bullying is not okay. Peer pressure can be very effective. If more young people were to take a stand against bullying, then the phenomenon would likely diminish over time. In addition, for the past three years staff from my office have been training Brooklyn teachers, school administrators, students and parents about how to prevent or address various types of bullying. To learn more about this program, or to request a workshop, ask a question, get help, or report a new bullying trend, please call my office’s hotline at (718) 250-3395. Let us all help put an end to bullying.
For additional information visit www.brooklynda.org. To have your questions answered in a future column, send them to asktheda@brooklynda.org. |
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