Friday, March 2, 2012

Re: Born to Not Get Bullied

liberals have finally found a cause that nobody can oppose or
criticize ... well maybe

What Are Bullying Laws?
Bullying laws are laws that aim to prevent bullying or address it when
it happens or both. Because they are against bullying, they are also
called anti-bullying laws for clarity. So far, there are only state
laws about bullying, but people have suggested a national law.
Bullying laws often focus on schools, which are the site of a large
amount of bullying behavior, with bullying being the most problematic
during the middle school years (grades 6-8).
Bullying laws have pursued different programs and agendas. Laws may or
may not criminalize bullying, some preferring to keep the handling of
such situations in the realm of families and schools (when
appropriate) rather than the courts. Laws may require reports of
bullying by school personnel who witness it, and prescribe responses
to bullying that includes investigation and imposing disciplinary
measures, notification for parents, and support and counseling of
targets.

Which States Have Bullying Laws?
The bullying laws in the United States are undergoing change. As of
October, 2010, 45 states had bullying laws, while there were no such
laws in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, North
Dakota, and South Dakota, with New York being one of the most recent
to pass legislation.
As new states continue to put bullying laws on the books, states with
existing laws review and revise them. New Jersey, for example, which
passed anti-bullying legislation in 2002, had an â€Ĺ“anti-bullying bill
of rights†law introduced to its legislature in October, 2010. The
new law provides for the training of public school staff in addressing
bullying, intimidation, and harassment, as well as in suicide
prevention.

Why Are Bullying Laws Controversial?
Some people question whether legislation specifically aimed at
bullying adds anything new to existing laws. While many people are
eager to see bullying addressed, others question whether existing laws
about harassment, safety, violence, and destruction of property are
actually sufficient. In addition, many individual schools have felt
compelled to come up with bullying plans that they feel are
appropriate to their situation. The particular wording of the bullying
law at the state level could redirect attention from where individual
schools have felt moved to place it based on their experience.

On Mar 1, 1:43 pm, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Born to Not Get Bullied
> By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
> Published: February 29, 2012
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> CloseDiggRedditTumblrPermalink CAMBRIDGE, Mass.
>
> Damon Winter/The New York Times
> Nicholas D. Kristof
>
> On the Ground
> Nicholas Kristof addresses reader feedback and posts short takes from
> his travels.
>
> Go to Blog »Go to Columnist Page »
> Related
> Times Topic: Lady GagaReaders' Comments
> Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
> Read All Comments (228) »
> When she was in high school, Lady Gaga says, she was thrown into a trash can.
>
> The culprits were boys down the block, she told me in an interview on
> Wednesday in which she spoke — a bit reluctantly — about the repeated
> cruelty of peers during her teenage years.
>
> "I was called really horrible, profane names very loudly in front of
> huge crowds of people, and my schoolwork suffered at one point," she
> said. "I didn't want to go to class. And I was a straight-A student,
> so there was a certain point in my high school years where I just
> couldn't even focus on class because I was so embarrassed all the
> time. I was so ashamed of who I was."
>
> Searching for ways to ease the trauma of adolescence for other kids,
> Lady Gaga came to Harvard University on Wednesday for the formal
> unveiling of her Born This Way Foundation, meant to empower kids and
> nurture a more congenial environment in and out of schools.
>
> Lady Gaga is on to something important here. Experts from scholars to
> Education Secretary Arne Duncan are calling for more focus on bullying
> not only because it is linked to high rates of teen suicide, but also
> because it is an impediment to education.
>
> A recent study from the University of Virginia suggests that when a
> school has a climate of bullying, it's not just the targeted kids who
> suffer — the entire school lags academically. A British scholar found
> that children who simply witness bullying are more likely to skip
> school or abuse alcohol. American studies have found that children who
> are bullied are much more likely to contemplate suicide and to skip
> school.
>
> The scars don't go away, Lady Gaga says. "To this day," she told me,
> "some of my closest friends say, 'Gaga, you know, everything's great.
> You're a singer; your dreams have come true.' But, still, when certain
> things are said to you over and over again as you're growing up, it
> stays with you and you wonder if they're true."
>
> Any self-doubt Lady Gaga harbors should have been erased by the huge
> throngs that greeted her at Harvard. "This might be one of the best
> days of my life," she told the cheering crowd.
>
> The event was an unusual partnership between Lady Gaga and Harvard
> University in trying to address teen cruelty. Oprah Winfrey showed up
> as well, along with Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and
> human services.
>
> Kathleen McCartney, dean of the Graduate School of Education here at
> Harvard, said that she and her colleagues invited Lady Gaga because
> they had been searching for ways to address bullying as a neglected
> area of education — and as a human rights issue. As many as one-fifth
> of children feel bullied, she said, adding: "If you don't feel safe as
> a child, you can't learn."
>
> Lady Gaga describes her foundation as her "new love affair," and said
> that, initially, she thought about focusing on a top-down crackdown on
> bullying. But, over time, she said, she decided instead to use her
> followers to start a bottom-up movement to try to make it cooler for
> young people to be nice.
>
> I asked Lady Gaga if people won't be cynical about an agenda so simple
> and straightforward as kindling kindness. Exceptionally articulate,
> she seemed for the first time at a loss for words. "That cynicism is
> exactly what we're trying to change," she finally said.
>
> Bullying isn't, of course, just physical violence. Lady Gaga's mother,
> Cynthia Germanotta, who will serve as president of the Born This Way
> Foundation, says that one of the most hurtful episodes in her
> daughter's childhood came when schoolmates organized a party and
> deliberately excluded Lady Gaga.
>
> Lady Gaga was reluctant to talk too much about her own experiences as
> a teenager for fear that her foundation would seem to be solely about
> bullying. Her aim is a far broader movement to change the culture and
> create a more supportive and tolerant environment. "It's more of a
> hippie approach," she explained.
>
> "The Born This Way Foundation is not restitution or revenge for my
> experiences," Lady Gaga told me. "I want to make that clear. This is:
> I am now a woman, I have a voice in the universe, and I want to do
> everything I can to become an expert in social justice and hope I can
> make a difference and mobilize young people to change the world."
>
> Yes, that sounds grandiose and utopian, but I'm reluctant to bet
> against one of the world's top pop stars and the person with the most
> Twitter followers in the world. In any case, she's indisputably right
> about one point: Bullying and teenage cruelty are human rights abuses
> that need to be higher on our agenda.
>
> More:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/01/opinion/kristof-born-to-not-get-bul...
>
> --
> Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> Have a great day,
> Tommy
>
> --
> Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> Have a great day,
> Tommy

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