FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 18, 1998
For more information contact:
Kathleen Carpenter (kat@teachers.net)
Bob Reap (breap@teachers.net)
Teachers.Net http://teachers.net/
JULY 8th WITH AUTHOR KATHY KNOLL
SAN DIEGO, CA -- Bullies in school will be the topic when Kathy Noll, author of Take The Bully By The Horns, appears for an online discussion at www.Teachers.Net on July 8 from 9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT. Researched with support from child psychologist/author Jay Carter, Noll's self-published book looks at the causes and cures for the bullying problem that she says plagues our school population. The self-help book written for readers from elementary to young teens explores different ways children and teenagers are bullied, how the bully becomes a bully, how the victim becomes a victim, and what can be done about it.
According to Noll, 6.5 million boys and 3.5 million girls are involved in fights every year on school grounds in America, 4.5 million students are threatened with bodily harm each year, with almost 2 million students being robbed. She says that children between the ages of 5-11 begin using verbal abuse, and are capable of some physical abuse such as fist fighting, kicking, and choking. "However," claims Noll, "once a child reaches the age of 12, psychological changes take place and the bullying becomes more violent. This might include the use of weapons and sexual abuse."
Recent incidents of school shootings prompted Teachers.Net to focus attention on the issue of school violence beginning with the establishment of a new "chatboard" forum on the topic. The popular web site recently hosted a live meeting with the authors of Crises Response Planning, a program published by Balance Group to help school personnel plan for and react constructively to tragic events within school communities. According to site director Bob Reap, "Teachers.Net will continue to examine the issue of school violence because it is one of the greatest concerns of the many thousands of educators who rely on our web site for advice and support."
This event, like all Teachers.Net online events, is open to anyone interested in taking part in the live discussions which are held in their "Conference Room" (http://www.teachers.net/conference).