Summer Is Here!!

So, it’s  been a long time since my last blog posting and lots has happened.  School is now out for the summer and kids have a two month almost break from the daily torture they endured in school.  Of course, there’s beaches to hit, amusement parks to attend and summer gatherings all around.  It’s not just the time of year for fun and games though.  Countless students are recovering from a rough school year and preparing for what lies ahead. 

            So many people complain about today’s social media.  How can we stop bullying when it’s all today’s youth ever see?  Even in kids shows, there are incidents of violence that go without any kind of discipline and as the audience gets older, sometimes it’s even rewarded.  How can parents and adults of the community possibly compete with hit TV shows and actors/actresses that serve as role models doing the total opposite of what we try to instil in youth?  What exactly can we do about it?  It’s simple, folks.  All those top Hollywood writers need to do is include active bystander roles into their scripts.  Want a scene where a kid is being picked on?  Have someone else come in and effectively stop what’s going on, or remove the victim from the situation.  Popular children’s books can also focus on the need to handle such situations. 

            The most common, popular debate around bullying is that it teaches children how to deal with conflict.  Here’s the thing – conflict and bullying are two totally different things.  So, how do we teach our youth on the difference between conflict and bullying and how to handle and resolve both?

            A conflict is a disagreement where there is no intentional harm.  “The sky is blue”, “no, the sky is clear, the colour blue is simply the sun reflecting colours off of dust particles”.  That’s conflict.  Calling people names, such as “no, you idiot, the sky is not blue I can’t believe you’re so stupid” is bullying.  Bullying is a power thing.  The person is either bullying you because they have more power than you or they want to strip you of your power and gain some for themselves.  This can be done with actions, or words and is always, always intended to cause harm.