At White House Conference, President Obama, First Lady Focus on Bullying

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: ABC News

Parents, Teachers and Students Invited to Talk About Ways to Educate Americans, Prevent Bullying

The tragic stories of Phoebe Prince, who hanged herself after repeated bullying and Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University who jumped off the George Washington Bridge after he was allegedly filmed during a "sexual encounter" with another man by his roommate who later posted the footage online, brought renewed attention to an issue that in the past may have been dismissed unavoidable - simply part of growing up.

But now bullying is more widely recognized as a significant problem for young Americans and today President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will get involved, hosting a first of its kind White House conference on bullying.

"It's something that we care about not only as president and first lady, but also as parents," said Mrs. Obama in a message posted on Facebook. "It's tough enough being a kid today and our children deserve a chance to learn and grow without constantly being picked on, made fun of or worse."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-turns-attention-bullying/story?id=13097724

[northoftheborder]

1. Some bullies not being addressed: Republicans

[snappyturtle]

3. My thoughts exactly! I'd be happy if the President and First Lady

would explain that if bullying isn't nipped in the bud at a young age, bullies grow up to bully adults...hence some of what we're seeing today.

[glinda]

7. +1

[AngryAmish]

2. THis is exactly what is needed in light of last nights events in Madison, Wisco.

[KurtNYC]

12. Where Teachers, and by proxy, kids are being bullied by billionaires

[Angry Dragon]

4. More words ....... no action

[LiberalEsto]

5. Will they call out Scott Walker?

I an NOT holding my breath.

[neoralme]

6. No, this looks like more vicariousness.

[JohnnyLib2]

8. It's subliminal chess, y'all!

:evilgrin:

[Demeter]

9. Because it's easier than doing the nation's Executive Job

Promoted above his level of incompetence, Peter Principle.

[kiranon]

14. Bullying is a huge problem in the schools and correctly addressed by

the President. My autistic son is subject to abuse every day as are many special needs children and other children for whatever reason the bullier decides to focus on.

[Demeter]

18. So was my autistic daughter

But I expected local school officials to deal with it.

[Larkspur]

10. Obama needs to take a course on how to see a bully

He fails to see the Republicans as fascist thugs. What Scott Walker & Co are doing in their states is building a fascist infrastructure and Obama ignores it because it's not politically correct.

[sarge43]

11. Oh. like what the Rethugs did to the workers of Wisconsin, Mr President?

Yes bullying is an important issue and thanks for focusing on it. However sir, if the Rethugs get their way the children of this country will have far bigger problems.

[Fearless]

13. Governor Walker = bully. Deal with it Mr. President... Oh right, you're on his side.

[truebrit71]

15. This is the most important topic to be dealing with right now...bullying?

Hey, it's a serious issue, but when you have Libya in full melt-down mode and Fascist Governor's usurping individual's rights in four states I think the focus needs to be more on those issues than getting kids to play nice...

[Freddie Stubbs]

17. When, exactly, would be a good time for it?

There will always be something more important. But that doesn't mean that the President can't multi-task.

[rocktivity]

16. A White House conference on bullying?

I thought that's what Congress is for!


rocktivity

[JanDutchy]

19. Good action: Anti-Bullying ad

An example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWJut7KQhI4

--



Good morning,

As a mother, it breaks my heart to think of any child feeling alone or afraid in their classrooms, on the playground or even online. But every year, nearly one third of school-aged children -- upwards of 13 million students -- are bullied.

Bullying in our schools and communities isn't a rite of passage or part of growing up. It's unacceptable.

Today, the President and I are attending a White House Conference on Bullying Prevention to talk about how we can work together to make our schools and communities safe for all of our children.

You can watch the Conference live online, participate in special online discussions throughout the day, and watch a special video message from Barack and me:



Every child deserves a chance to grow up happy, healthy and safe. Kids who are bullied are more likely to have challenges in school, abuse drugs or alcohol, or have health and mental health problems. As adults, it's up to us to send a message that bullying of any kind for any reason isn't OK.

Parents, teachers, coaches, faith leaders, elected officials, and anyone else involved in our children's lives have a responsibility to set a good example through our own behavior and to take action when we see bullying in our communities.

That's what today's Conference on Bullying Prevention is all about – working together to find solutions to keep all of our children safe. I hope you'll take some time today to tune in and join the conversation:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/Bullying-Prevention

Sincerely,

Michelle Obama
First Lady of the United States

P.S. To learn more about what you can do in your community to prevent bullying, visit StopBullying.gov.