Week of 11/15/10: Safe schools snippets

Choking game sparks another close-call

9News follows up on the latest incident involving the so-called “choking game.”

WHEAT RIDGE – Just a week after 9NEWS aired a story about a 9-year-old Colorado boy who died after playing the choking game we’ve learned of another incident. This time a 13-year-old girl from Wheat Ridge played the game in school and fell on her face, breaking several bones.

The girl says she and four of her friends went into the bathroom during lunch at Everitt Middle School on Monday and played the game.

The girl survived and is now showing her bruised and bloodied face to make a point.

N.J. Senate advances stricter anti-bullying law following suicide

The Star Ledger newspaper reports on a Senate panel’s decision to advance a bill its sponsors say would give New Jersey the strictest anti-bullying law in the nation.

The bill would require training for most teachers and other school employees on how to recognize bullying, and would mandate all districts form a “school safety team” to review complaints. School administrators who do not investigate reported bullying incidents would be disciplined, while harassment, intimidation and bullying would be upgraded to conduct that could result in students being suspended or expelled. School employees would also be required to report all incidents they learn of, whether they took place in or outside of school.

How schools can stop bullying

Psychology Today offers this column by Ugo Uche, a licensed professional counselor who specializes in adolescents and young adults.

“During the past several weeks, there seems to have been an awakened sense of conscientiousness in the news media and by extension, the public about the impact of bullying on children and teenagers. Most notably would be the recent incidences of gay teenagers taking their own lives out of shame and hurt, due to excessive harassment and ridicule.

In the past I have written about bullying and the best ways parents can help their children cope with bullying. In this blog post I am proposing another aspect to parents. If there is excessive bullying going on in your child’s school you will probably want to consider making an effort to understand the administrative culture of your child’s school….”

About our First Person series:

First Person is where Chalkbeat features personal essays by educators, students, parents, and others trying to improve public education. Read our submission guidelines here.