"My daughter is 11 years old.The boys and the girls at school call her names that shouldn't even exist. They tell her she's ugly, that her face is like a pancake smothered in poop. They have created a 'We hate Brittany' club. I tell myself all the time -- 'this has to stop. And it has to stop now. Today.' But it never does."
Since Manitoba's religious schools receive over 50 per cent of their funding from the province, they are all being mandated to comply with the proposed legislation: Bill 18 -- required to implement an anti-bullying strategy that includes gay-straight alliances. Our rights cannot exist in a vacuum, isolated from the reality around them. Rights engage with other rights. Not only does our Charter have a built-in provision to permit the limiting of rights in certain situations, but also, the transactional nature of our public lives dictates that different rights will come into contact other rights. Those who oppose Bill 18 should read the Charter in its entirety; it doesn't stop at freedom of religion, nor is there a hierarchy of rights.
Looking back, I'm proud to say I never bullied anyone, but I'm a little regretful I didn't step in to try to help the kids who were being harassed. Of course, any young person reading this post knows this is much easier said than done. Helping out a kid who's being targeted could potentially turn the bullies onto you, right? But I encourage you to somehow find the courage to try.
Cody Simpson is not your stereotypical teen star -- self-entitled or shrouded in scandal. Cody is thoughtful and genuine. Even after his rise to super pop stardom, 3.4 million Twitter followers and a sold-out "Welcome to Paradise" headline tour, Cody still travels with his Dad -- he is, after all, just 15 years old.
The anxiety and depression that resulted from cyber-bullying were too much for Amanda Todd, resulting in her suicide. And yet a large faction of the public, is reticent to the notion of legislating on this issue. In an interview Christy Clark made it clear that her preferred avenue to combat bullying is through education and not legislation. I am unable to comprehend why education and legislation have to be mutually exclusive, but perhaps when the next teen commits suicide, I can have Christy explain it to me. We have attempted to educate children on the detrimental effects of bullying, and yet, they do not seem to be learning. Perhaps it is time we change the lesson plan.
October is anti-bullying month and the beauty and fashion community is doing something about it. If you read tabloids and devour articles about your favorite celeb's weight gain, cellulite, and acne you are part of the bullying. While I get you may still buy that magazine, you can help innocent kids get comfort when they are bullied. How? By shopping of course. Here are some fab products so you can do your part.
There's a reason kids tend to not speak up about bullying, which is that doing so will most likely result in further bullying. A better plan of action is to teach your kids how to fight back. There are a lot of losers out there and one must learn to live with the losers because they are for some unexplainable reason a part of life. This approach offers the added bonus of serving your child well as he or she eventually grows to become a working stiff and undoubtedly encounters adult jerks, like that useless lump of a coworker who resorts to insults to overcompensate for his lack of intellect and ability.
Craig and Marc Kielburger are founders of Free The Children and Me to We, a social enterprise. They are authors of "The World Needs Your Kid: Raising ...
Charles McVety is concerned about how a Muslim teacher may feel enforcing the anti-bullying policies. McVety is now speaking out for Muslims? Is this the same Charles McVety who welcomed conservative Dutch politician Geert Wilders to Canada and called Islam a danger? My Islamic values teach me to embrace pluralism and that Allah loves us all -- gay or straight.