By Dr. Becki Cohn-Vargas, Not In Our School Director
Not In Our School was honored to be part of the SF Bay Area Stop Bullying Summit, the kick-off event in a series of anti-bullying activities across the Bay Area.
The summit was part of a larger initiative where thousands of students—literally all middle and high school students in the San Francisco Unified and Oakland School Districts—viewed the Bully documentary directed by Lee Hirsch. Students in San Mateo County will view the film in October. NIOS participated in planning, served on a panel of effective strategies, and also facilitated a Q&A for Oakland students who viewed Bully.
Blog
October 2, 2012 - 10:46am
“It’s not just, oh, you get bullied and the next year it gradually tapers off and you’re a normal person. It sticks with you your entire life. I still get these occasional feelings, like I’m not good enough. I never felt anything like that before the ninth grade.” Mike Nelson, now a successful ad agency producer, knows how devastating bullying can be. He brought his own experience to a video PSA, "Break Bullying," that shows how shockingly degrading and harmful bullying can look if seen it from the perspective of an adult. (See Nelson’s bullying story below.)
“Kids aren’t going to accept something that’s watered down,” said Nelson, head of production at MAKE. “Let’s get real about this.”
October 1, 2012 - 3:43pm
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. NIOS is joining organizations across the country that are taking a stand against bullying.
Not In Our School is kicking off National Bullying Prevention Month with a powerful anti-bullying public service announcement, “Break Bullying” (above) donated to Not In Our Town by MAKE, a professional ad agency.
The PSA depicts adults in an office environment re-enacting the director’s personal bullying experience from middle school. His point: If we would not stand for this in the office, why do we stand for it happening to kids in schools? It is a call to action for everyone to take bullying seriously.
Students and teachers alike are reporting visceral responses to the PSA. You will hear a few bleeps—but those bleeps, unedited, are what kids experience daily in their schools.
Join the thousands who are taking action during bullying prevention month.
September 28, 2012 - 5:38pm
Light in the Darkness is on PBS’s Hispanic Heritage Month programming lineup, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
Check your local TV listings for broadcast times, but also consider bringing the film home to your community. Nearly 200 communities nationwide have come together to watch Light in the Darkness and discuss issues relevant to their communities.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a wonderful opportunity to discuss the safety and inclusion of new immigrants to your town. When you host a screening, you also get access to our comprehensive Screening Kit, that includes a planning and discussion guide as well as press materials to get the word out.
Sign up for a screening today.
Preview the opening of Light in the Darkness, featuring narrator Alfre Woodard.
September 27, 2012 - 5:14pm
That's why we talk. That's why we have dialogue: to learn about the things that we are unaware, they said. We all come from different backgrounds, and it takes a collective effort to weave a tapestry that paints an accurate portrait of our community.
By David Alexander, Staff Writer at the Times-Republican
Sister Chris Feagan said people are like M&Ms: they come in a variety of colors, but they are all the same inside.