Bystander: A Portrait in Apathy

04/25/2019

04/11/2019

Please remember, it is equally as important to stand up, and take actions against cyber bullies on social media platforms. You can take action by sharing your words of positivity and kindness with the victim. Let them see that they are not alone, because one ally can make all the difference.

Approximately 15% of US high school students report that they've been bullied online in the past year, according to the CDC. A Pew Research Center survey found that the number could be even higher: 59%.
"Cyberbullying can be especially difficult for kids," explained Dr. Neha Chaudhary, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Brainstorm: Stanford Lab for Brain Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship. "Unlike in settings like schools, it can fly under the radar without anyone knowing it's happening and without the same repercussions for the bullies."

The number of children and teens in the United States who visited emergency rooms for suicidal thoughts and su***de attempts doubled between 2007 and 2015, according to a new report.

01/30/2019

This is such a beautiful and inspirational message! This program allows young girls to share their stories with one another, and find empowerment in learning that they are not an anomaly. Opening up communication barriers, and fighting through the silence is how change will occur. Finding allies, and straying away from the misconception that you are alone through it all.

Let’s advocate to remind our youth that they are never alone, and that we are here to support and guide them.

Professional tennis player Madison Keys is an ambassador for FearlesslyGirl, an internationally recognized anti-bullying organization dedicated to empowering...

01/23/2019

Our program is fully student centered. Your students will address the underlying issues and scenarios they face day to day as victims, and bystanders in an extremely powerful and thought provoking performance. At the end of the week the students will perform for their peers, teachers, parents, and administrators in a school wide assembly. The bullies do not get a voice in Bystander: A Portrait in Apathy.

Please read these four monumental steps that can be used to address bullying in your middle school community!

In this article we explore dealing with middle school bullying. Bullying in schools is common so read here the 4 keys to dealing with bullying.

01/14/2019

Educators, parents, siblings, and community activists, let’s open up a dialogue with our students about what types of bullying they are experiencing. It is our job to create a safe environment for all students so that they can learn. If a child does not feel safe, they will not be successful. Period. Check out the post below, and watch these teachers open up the dialogue with their students!

In What Can We Do? students share put-downs that they hear in school: “You’re gay.” “Your skin is too brown.” “Fatty.” “Your religion is fake.” “Estúpido.” W...

01/07/2019

Students surprise their classmates by expressing all the wonderful, and kind things they truly think about them. Clearly, we don’t hear these wonderful traits about ourselves enough. Let’s start teaching our youth to point out the positive traits in one another, and to share them with each other freely.

This video is part of the NSW Department of Education antibullying strategy and addresses the power of positivity to drown out bullying. More information: ht...

01/03/2019

How can we help students, if we don’t understand the breakdown of what it means to be a bystander in today’s social climate?

This TEDx talk breaks down what it means to be a bystander in today’s society, and what we can do as citizens to help solve the problem.

Check it out!

Jennifer McCary of Gettysburg College talks about encouraging bystander intervention to prevent violence. Civility, she argues, is an essential decision that...

12/20/2018

Students need to understand what it means to have empathy, and to be empathetic. These kids seem to have it down. Having empathy is the key to understanding others. Teaching and fostering this character trait in the classroom, will help students value its importance.

We asked some students at PS in the Bronx what empathy meant to them. Here are their answers. Learn more about empathy and why it matters at www.startempathy...

12/19/2018

This Edutopia article shares incredible tools we can teach our students, and children, to use when they come face to face with different bullying scenarios at school. We have to be proactive and interrupt the bullying cycle. It is time to create change. We must be role models, and acknowledge the affect bullying has on our students, and spin these situations into powerful teachable moments.

Standing up to bullying can be frightening, but students can use these low-risk strategies to support peers who are bullied.

11/12/2018

Do you know what it means to be a bystander?
Check out our new blog post about it!

Feel free to comment about a time where you may have seen the bystander affect in action.

It is time to speak up, and be silent no longer!

“What hurts the victim the most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.” – Elie Wiesel In today’s climate bullying has become a major forefron…

08/02/2018

Opening the lines of communication is necessary. Bystander begins the conversation.

Contrary to myth, talking about su***de CANNOT plant the idea in someone's head. It actually can open up communication about a topic that is often kept a secret and can even be seen as a relief by your child if they are suffering from feelings of hopelessness and depression.

Watch our free online video, Not My Kid: What Every Parent Should Know, which answers frequently asked questions parents have about teen su***de. http://www.sptsusa.org/not-my-kid/

06/14/2018

An amazing performance by the students at Grice Middle School!! After only four hours with their scripts, they moved audiences to tears with their powerful delivery of their lines. Blows me away every time!