Parents invited to anti-bullying workshop

An Anti-Bullying Workshop, geared toward the parents of elementary and middle school students, will be held at Sam’s Auditorium on Thursday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by Times Well Spent, Inc., in partnership with Fayette County schools, local law enforcement and the Association of Village PRIDE.

The workshop is an opportunity to gain insight into the world of bullying and will focus on helping participants become better informed and better equipped to assess, manage and respond to bullying behaviors and situations. The focus will be on prevention and how to decrease bully/victim behavior at home and at school. The rise of the Internet has opened up new doors for those who wish to bully other children. Chat rooms, social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, email, instant messaging and other online tools have all helped create the cyber bullying epidemic.

Michael R. Carpenter, PhD and author of Waging Peace will conduct the workshop. Dr. Carpenter is a Nationally Certified Olweus Bullying Prevention Program Trainer, as well as a violence, drug, and student assistance consultant who lives in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. He has worked with public and private schools for more than thirty years, statewide for the Departments of Education and Human Resources, and as a consultant in the United States and internationally. The workshop will include a panel of local experts and a parent panel for Q & A.

Some bullying statistics parents need to be aware of include:

• 77% of kids are bullied mentally, verbally and physically.
• Only 10% of kids tell their parents that they have been bullied.
• Each day 160,000 students miss school for fear of being bullied.
• Playground school bullying statistics show that every 7 minutes a child is bullied. Adult intervention – 4%. Peer intervention – 11%. No intervention – 85%.
• 33% of students report being bullied at least once a month.
• 6 out of 10 students say they witness someone being bullied daily.
• 3.2 million Students in 6th-10th grade say they’re a victim of bullying each day.

The recommended donation for attending the event is $5, with proceeds benefitting Promise Place. Promise Place exists to prevent domestic violence through awareness programs, educational training and providing safe environments for the victims and their families, utilizing legal advocacy, emergency shelters and transitional housing.

Tickets are available at Fayette County’s middle and elementary schools, the Peachtree City and Fayetteville public libraries, and at the door.