October has arrived, which means National Bullying Prevention Month is here. This year, we're dedicating the month to Extraordinary Upstanders, ordinary citizens who see something wrong and do something to make it right. We believe that being an upstander, who speaks up and stands up for themselves and others, is a way of life.
We have some great new resources to share. Look forward to new films, new lesson plans and activity guides that you can use this month and throughout the year.
National Bullying Prevention Month is also a great opportunity to kick off a Not In Our School campaign on your campus with any of these new films. Get started with our Not In Our School Anti-Bullying Quick Start Guide.
Week 1: Film & Lesson Plan, White-Out to Erase Bullying
We begin the month with a new film, White-Out to Erase Bullying. It features a community-wide Not In Our School campaign led by student upstanders from Watchung Hills Regional High School who reached out to 13 feeder schools and civic leaders in the region.
Click here to watch White-Out to Erase Bullying and find the lesson plan.
Here’s what you can look forward to as the month goes along:
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In Week 2, we are proud to launch our first elementary-focused film about young upstanders Try It Out: Anti-Bullying Role-Play, with an accompanying lesson plan. In Week 3, we will be launching a series of 16 Upstander videos. We kick off this series with a profile on Eliza Riley, a disability rights advocate in Silicon Valley who has developed a youth leadership program for people with disabilities.
We end the month in Week 4, with another extraordinary upstander from the new series, DeMonte Smith. After being bullied for his small size and the pitch of his voice, DeMonte decided to join Safe School Ambassadors at his middle school to reduce the amount of bullying he saw at his school. As a leader in Safe School Ambassadors, a program of Community Matters, DeMonte uses the social skills of influential students to create positive change in schools.
About the Extraordinary People series: Each month, we’ll bring you a new short film in the Extraordinary People series. The series was originally produced by NIOS’s parent company, The Working Group, for the Institute for Advancing Unity. Each film profiles an upstander, a truly extraordinary person. These films create empathy with people from many backgrounds sharing different perspectives to inspire students to be change agents. Now all films are available to stream here.
National Bullying Prevention Month is a great opportunity to kick off a Not In Our School campaign on your campus with any of the new films above. Get started with our Not In Our School Anti-Bullying Quick Start Guide.
Comments
Truth
My name is Jonathan White. It is true, I have been subjected to other's opinions.
I was 15, 16, 17, 18 and teased by students and teachers alike. I couldn't even escape the cruelty of my principals. I was berated and ridiculed daily. I was jumped. I was laughed at. I put my head down in class, and got a text book thrown at my head. Yes. It is true. I was bullied. Heavily. These events aren't even close to all I endured. This is true, but I was not nor am I a victim. I am Brave. I honestly don't know how I survived. I know I had God and angels in my corner, and Jesus by my side. I did not rest well at night. I was suicidal. I was without a dad. He was not around...and he didn't care to be around. He still isn't. I was trying to figure out my life, as a young adult...and my mind was cluttered with other people's hatred and cruelty...as well as my own confusion. My dignity was in shambles. This was all because they thought I was gay. My mannerisms were and some still are feminine, because I grew up with nothing but girls. I was the only man in my house. I taught myself how to be a man; the best man I could be. I am better now. I am now 22 and I am living life as I want to. Quiet and un-disturbed by anyone who could infringe on my personal peace. I have taken on song writing as a healing process. I have adopted a stage name: Jonny Brave. I have forgiven all my enemies, and forgiven my past. I am moving to London in the fall of 2014 to pursue my passion for music. I will not forget my youth, or the people going through this now. I will not forget Bulling Prevention. I will come back a spokesperson and advocate with a platform of great recognition to promote this awareness. This is true. I am Brave. I am Jonny Brave. I was subjected to other people's cruelty and personal ideologies about what a man is. In them doing that, I learned how to be a good man. Loving, forgiving, peaceful, kind, generous, and tolerating. I pray this organization an abundance of success and breakthroughs. I pray for the young people and older people alike, disabled and LGBT community. I pray for anyone who feels disenfranchised just for being themselves. Which is all they can be. One fingerprint....one person...one name...one life. Each of us is divine...and supposed to live life to the fullest, in our own personal way. I pray that one day people can express themselves with pride without the prejudice.
-Jonny Brave aka. Jonathan White
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! you
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! you are so right
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