Stop Bullying Magazine  

Helpful Hints

-         Tell someone.

-         Stand up for yourself.

-         Stay in a crowd if you are scared.

-         Don’t start a fight.

-         Tell your friends.

-         Tell the bully you are tired of it!

Dos and Do Nots for Parents:

Don’t ignore your children if they say they are getting bullied.

Be involved in school.

Know who your children’s friends are.

Ask them about school everyday.

Be alert if they are acting different.

Advice Column 

• Don’t bully someone it may cause them to bully back.
• If you are bullied tell an adult immediately.
• Stay with a group of friends.
• If someone else is being bullied help them.
• Try to tell the bully to stop and why without using violence.

Top Ten Things Bullies Do 

Start a fight

Take money      

Make fun of people       

Pick on kids       

Tease people       

Disrespectful to teachers       

Low grades       

Lower people’s self esteem        

Mental abuse       

Physical abuse      

Letter to the Editor:  

Dear Editor,

      Our class really enjoyed this book. It showed us how people are affected by bullying and how they can solve the problem without fighting. We see how people can stand up for themselves and end bullying. It was great. Thanks.

Mrs. Mathis Tap Group

Tap groups self-selected a project to complete after reading The Revealers. Here are some of their ideas:

Bully Out Plan 

Stand Up!  Stop Bullying!  

 Our ideas:  

•  Student newspaper monthly or quarterly to express views and opinions of students.
• Student jury of peers to handle small incidents.
• Peer Mentoring when a new student comes to school.
• Consistent punishment with no tolerance policy as with weapon and illegal substances.
• Anonymous hotlines could get reports of bullying when kids do not want to be a snitch.

We are so pleased with the success of our new Tiger Advisory Group Program “Stand Up!  Stop Bullying!”  Here are a few comments made by students after completing their reading of The Revealers:

Post reading – Students’ Reactions/Thoughts:                                                      

I think this book has taught me a lot about the affects of bullying. Many people don’t realize how it can affect people’s lives, such as the bullied kids can get physically sick before they go to school because they are so scared to go to school. Also many kids could commit suicide. In fact it has happened so much in the U.S. that it’s called bullyside. These are only some of the affects bullying can have on people.

This book has taught me so much about bullying. It made me realize how much it has happened here at school and everywhere. Not only is it taunting its physical bullying and online. Most people end up getting killed by going home and committing suicide or seriously injured.  Most people bully because they have a low self esteem and want to make themselves feel better. Bullying can be over many things. This is a serious problem that does need to be dealt with.

I learned many things from the book. I learned that bullying can lead to really dangerous things. Bullying can lead to death, broken bones, and suicide. But what people really don’t know is that bullying can affect the people who are doing the bullying. They could be suspended from school, put in jail, and many other things. This is a few things that I have learned from Revealers.

I did not know that bullies get picked on too. Also I did not know that bullies can cause suicide. People do not know how other people feel and how much it can hurt.

This book was an excellent book. It makes you realize what can happen at your school. It shows people how kids feel when you bully them. It also shows you how to resolve problems about bullying. I am so glad I read this book. It helped me to make sure I never bully anyone. This book shows me different ways kids bully. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

This book shows students how people effected from bullying stand up for themselves. It also shows how bullying can effect kids. It is not right and we should stand up for ourselves and others. The book gave us a great example of everyday problems.

Bulletin boards:

A special thank you for the Greer Partnership for Tomorrow…  Due to the funding received from this partnership, we were able to purchase The Revealers and incorporate the Stand Up! Stop Bullying! program at DR Hill.

from – http://www.the-revealers.com/resources/questions.html

At school, what is the most comfortable room (or class) for you to be in? Why?

  Questions from http://www.the-revealers.com/resources/questions.html

Do students in your classes treat each other with enough respect? How can you tell?

In The Revealers, Russell, Catalina, and Elliot feel that they cannot go to their teachers or parents about being mistreated at school.

Why do they decide to handle the situation themselves?  What do you think a teacher or administrator should do when he/she receives a report from a student about being bullied?

What are some reasons why a student may bully another person?

Russell, Catalina, and Elliot are considered outsiders at their school.

If you attended school with these three characters, would they be considered your friends?  Why or why not?

"I had known Elliot since we were in kindergarten, and I had seen a lot of stuff happen to him. I never really joined in, but I never tried to stop it either, not that I could have." (Page 17)

"…everyone knows about feeling alone…If a few people persecute somebody, most of us pretend it isn't happening, right? We don't want to see it." (Pages 85-86)

• Why do you think Russell watched Elliot get bullied for years, but never did anything to help? What causes us to "not see" bullying or to "pretend it isn't happening"?
• Are those who don't get involved partly responsible for bullying even though they are just bystanders?
• What do you think prevents students at your school from standing up for others? What would it take to create an atmosphere of support?

"The new girl stood up. People started whispering. "I am from near Manila. In the Philippines," she said, and sat down. The whispers turned into giggling." (Page 27)

Questions:

"For some reason, sometimes when you are new or different in some way, people decide to tell lies about you. I don't know why…I'm somebody people have been telling untrue things about." (Page 63)

Discussion:

• People often think of bullying as physical harassment, but telling lies and spreading rumors can also be bullying. What other forms does bullying take? Which are most problematic at your school?
• Do you think one form of bullying is worse than another? What do all types have in common?

"Middle school…was basically a place you tried to survive…Everybody was rushing around and you hardly knew anybody, and there were predators. Even some of the kids you knew started turning into them. Plus, a lot of kids at our school were changing and making these tight little cliques, and if you didn't fit in somewhere you could be in trouble." (Page 9)

  "…the whole place is an obstacle course of kids alert for someone they can pound on or ridicule. If you have no hope of being accepted in a cool clique, or any clique for that matter, you're safest if you can manage not to get noticed at all." (Page 10)

"You know how there's always one kid in school who's the dirty one, one kid who's the smelly one, one kid who throws the ball over the backstop…and one kid who it's okay for anybody, absolutely anybody, to trash? In our school that last kid was Elliot…I wasn't really sure why he was the one, but the fact was that in Parkland School seventh grade, no matter who you were, Elliot Gekewicz was lower on the social scale than you." (Page 17)

Russell describes middle school as a place with "predators" that you "try to survive."

Can you relate to his experience?

How was your transition to middle school similar or different?

Why do you think fitting in to "tight cliques" or groups is important to people?

What types of people are considered "cool" at your school?

Theme: Feeling like an outsider/the importance of "fitting in"

http://www.adl.org/education/

Russell states on page 3 of The Revealers:

"…when seventh grade started I found out I was out. It was like everyone else took a secret summer course in how to act, what to say, and what groups to be in, and I never found out about it." (Page 3)

"I wanted people to say, "Hey, Russell! Sit with us!" But I'd open my mouth and what would come out would be loud and clanky and wrong. And they would give me that quick, flat, puzzled stare that is the stock weapon of the cool seventh grader and seems to ask, "What species are you, exactly?" And I would go away thinking I was hopeless." (Page 3)

Russell describes feeling "out" and "hopeless."

Do you think he is the only seventh grader who feels this way? What feelings and experiences might Russell have in common with his peers?