By Lauren Getuiza
Educators, consider this scenario:
Jandell is a 15-year-old student who you’ve known for years. He seems like a typical adolescent in every way. He has a group of friends, gets decent grades, and is involved in after-school activities. He appears to get along well with teachers, parents and other students.
Over the summer, he was involved in a serious auto accident with his older brother. They both recovered from their injuries; however, Jandell doesn’t seem like himself this year. He is not as engaged in class, though he still manages to keep up his grades. He also seems a bit more emotional than before and he no longer hangs out with his friends. Instead, he only wants to be around his brother.
Blog
March 14, 2014 - 3:16pm
Hate crimes against Hispanics triples from 2011-12
Hate crime attacks against the Hispanic community have more than tripled between 2011 and 2012, according to a report released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The study shows that the total nonfatal and property hate crime victimizations data does not statistically differ from the year 2004, meaning that the number of hate crimes hasn’t increased, but the targets of the crimes have shifted to Hispanics and, to a lesser degree, Muslims. Mark Potok from the Southern Poverty Law Center believes this increase in Hispanic-targeted attacks is “...pretty clearly related to the continuing and rising anger over [the] country’s demographic changes, the loss of the white majority.”
March 13, 2014 - 5:06pm
We met Eran Thompson when he came to the first Not in Our Town National Leadership Gathering in 2006 in Bloomington, IL. Eran was in high school during the time of the original events in Billings in the early 90s, but he became a community organizer and was asked to join in an effort to renew the local Not In Our Town group. After the Gathering, he went back and did just that!
The Not In Our Town Billings group has thrived under his leadership. Not In Our Town National took notice and invited Eran to serve as a member of our board of directors. It is because of Eran that we are all returning to Billings this June to celebrate the 20th anniversary with the second National Leadership Gathering. Oh and when you meet him, ask him to perform your favorite Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote—he will nail it.
—Rhian Miller, co-founder of Not In Our Town/The Working Group
March 12, 2014 - 5:29pm
By Micaela Presti
A child is not born a bully. It is a learned behavior and adults need to make sure they are role modeling for the children of our communities the importance of respect, tolerance and empathy.
In the book, Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashlee Merriman, there is a chapter on race and tolerance. The authors point out that white parents, in particular, feel that because their child may live in a community that is racially diverse, their children accept the differences. Parents then don’t feel they need to talk about differences.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We need to talk about differences because children do notice that someone’s skin, sexual preference, etc. is different from theirs and they need to understand why.
March 7, 2014 - 11:37am
Elementary students create “upstander” club
Students of Elm Grove Elementary school in Bossier City, LA created an anti-bullying club with the motto “Be an upstander not a bystander.”
A dozen students who have felt the effects of bullying meet twice a month in Robin Webb’s 5th grade class to learn how to stand up against bullying, according to KSLA News.
“It helps me know that I have other members that will help me if I’m being bullied,” 9-year-old Mathew told KSLA News.