Category Archives: anti-bullying

Stand Up Against Bullying Youth Summit – U.S. Virgin Islands hosts anti-bullying advocate, Bruce Langford

I am heading to the U.S. Virgin Islands today to share the anti-bullying messages I have been teaching in Ontario for nine years. It is interesting that, after presenting bullying prevention assemblies at thirteen St. Thomas Ontario Schools, I now have the opportunity to share my stay-safe strategies in the other St. Thomas; Virgin Islands, that is.

I will be keeping you posted with the details. On Thursday I will have the honour of delivering a key-note address and workshops to over two hundred grade 7 to 12 students from the island’s public schools. On Friday I will offer a very different kind of key-note address to grade 5 and 6 students. I will be playing the role of DJ, BennyDL.
Stay tuned for more details.

BennyDL aka Bruce Langford

Contact Bruce at www.brucelangford.ca or 1-800-901-8831

Confidence can be your shield to ward off bullying: 4 Tips

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Today I am offering four tips to protect yourself against bullying behaviors using your own abilities to build confidence.

To grow confidence, here is my advice:
1/ Have a purpose, a project or a goal. You may be surprised how this one tip will help you develop confidence.
2/ Block out negative thoughts and feelings. This can be tough, but we have the ability to control our own thoughts, so make sure they are positive, upbeat and encouraging ones.
3/ Be yourself. Try not to be phony or fake. Know yourself for who you are and don’t try to be something you’re not
4/ Be honest. This is huge. It will help you be yourself but it will also help you to feel good about yourself and be respected by others.

Bruce Langford offers workshops about virtues and bullying prevention – Stand Up Now Productions www.standupnow.ca

Anti-Bullying Song Stronger by Megan Landry

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Canadian Singing Sensation Megan Landry Pixel Dust

Hear 15-year-old singing sensation Megan Landry perform her anti-bullying song on YouTube
You are awesome, Megan!
Here are the lyrics to Stronger by Megan Landry

Stronger Megan Landry

Go ahead and load a gun with all your bitter words
Guarantee it’ll be the loudest gunshot heard
Sticks and stones will break your bones
but one day they will cure
nothing hurts, nothing’s worse
than the taste of hurtful words

No need for bullets, no need for knives
Your sharpest weapon is your drunken lies

You taught me to be stronger
To stand a little prouder
Yell a little louder
You taught me to look right over your head
To smile instead, forget where I bled in the first place

Go ahead and huff & puff and blow my house down
Go ahead and sink my boat but you’re never gonna see me drown
Go ahead and mark me up with bruises and scars
Go ahead and push me but you’re gonna be behind bars

No need for bullets no need for knives
Your sharpest weapon is your drunken lies

You taught me to be stronger
To stand a little prouder, yell a little louder
You taught me to look right over your head
To smile instead, forget where I bled in the first place

Tear me down, I won’t fall to the ground
Don’t say my name, like it belongs in your mouth
Don’t try to break me, don’t try to shake me today, yeah.

You taught me to be stronger
To stand a little prouder, yell a little louder
You taught me to look right over your head
To smile instead, forget where I bled in the first place

See Megan’s amazing YouTube video by clicking here:
http://youtu.be/Nf_7hfA5Pgk

We offer musical school bullying prevention talks, workshops & assemblies:
www.standupnow.ca

6 Ways To Stand Up Against Bullying During Bullying Awareness Week in Ontario

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Nov 13 to Nov 19 is Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. The theme is ‘Stand Up To Bullying’. You can ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ by getting actively involved. Here are some things you can do:

Write a song and share it with your family, school, radio station or You-Tube
Talk to an expert and find out ways you can volunteer with their organization
If you are a student, talk to your student council rep about having a ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ day at your school
If you are employed at a school, start a poster campaign to raise awareness
If you are being bullied – talk to someone; write about it and then try to make changes in your life so the bullying will stop.
If you bully people, take a vow to stop this destructive behaviour – it not only hurts others, it hurts you.

Together, we can all help stop bullying!
Visit www.standupagainstbullying.com

Winston Churchill and how to Stand Up Against Bullying Using 5 Key Character Traits

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Winston Churchill was a man known for his strong character traits. When we talk about ways to beat bullying, just imagine how Winston Churchill would have done his part to ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’.

He had
COURAGE. He was willing to move forward regardless of whether the majority of people agreed with him or not. That kind of courage requires an underlying
CONFIDENCE that is gained from experience and strength of character. Confidence can also be built through self-talk, study and
DETERMINATION. Think of a laser beam pointing in one specific direction and never wavering from its target. That is like the determination of Winston Churchill when he became Prime Minister at the age of sixty-five. It is also like the determination of a person who is focusing on making the world a better place by eliminating bullying. Winston Churchill also had tremendous
PERSEVERANCE as he wasn’t willing to give up easily. His perseverance helped him move through his election defeat in 1945 when he was voted out by the same people he had earlier led to victory. In spite of that defeat, he remained grounded and stayed on as leader of the opposition. Later he was elected as prime minister again in 1950.

Think of Churchill and these four character traits when you deal with bullying situations. What would Churchill have done? Would he have given up, or continued to persevere?

We visited Winston Churchill Public School in Chatham yesterday and were impressed with the students and the serious attitude they had in regard to Standing Up Against Bullying. Principal, Leslie Boulton was very pleased with the three assemblies and told us they were “even better than our last visit to her school”. That was when she was principal at Harwich Raleigh Public School (Lambton Kent District School Board) in 2005.
Remember to ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’.

Blenheim Neighbourhood Watch Hosts Anti-Bullying Speaker, Bruce Langford

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Bullying will decrease when everyone starts to care. That is the belief of the Blenheim Neighbourhood Watch Group which started looking for a guest speaker on the topic last spring. Kim Dagenais is the president of the group and was instrumental in locating a speaker with experience and knowledge in the field of bullying prevention. Bruce has been presenting workshops in Ontario for a number of years.

The information covered in the Neighbourhood Watch workshop was cyberbullying, family dynamics, facebook and how to cope with tough bullying situations.

Here is a tip that Bruce shared during the talk in Blenheim:

Sit with your children and discuss the ground rules for internet use in your home. Talk with your family about expectations on the web and regarding the use of cell phones.

This tip can make a big difference later, if a complicated challenge arises involving cyberbullying.
Visit Blenheim Neighbourhood Watch on Facebook!

Bruce Langford does talks and presentations across Ontario on the topic of bullying and cyberbullying. He can be contacted at 1-800-901-8831 or through ‘Stand Up Now Productions’.

Ottawa School Welcomes Stand Up Against Bullying Assemblies

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Charles Hulse Public School in Ottawa

Charles H. Hulse Public School in Ottawa is filled with enthusiastic children and a friendly, welcoming staff. That was certainly our impression when we visited yesterday while on an Ottawa tour. The children understand bullying and want to do something about it. We shared songs and videos as well as stories and role-plays. After the assemblies we talked to the children and asked them what they learned.
“I learned what to do if someone calls me names.”
“Now I understand what to do if someone leaves me out of a game and they keep being mean to me.”
These are some of the comments we received. One teacher came out of her classroom to speak to me and said, “I just want to thank you for what you do with these assemblies. This is really needed”.
Principal Suzanne Denney obviously pours herself into her work at Charles Hulse. Staff members talked about her exceptional efforts with the children and gave specific examples of how she goes over the top to make hers a caring school.
Thanks to Charles H. Hulse Public School for your warm welcome and generous spirit!
Stand Up Against Bullying Assemblies are designed for children in Kindergarten to grade 8.

Mississauga Public School has MAGIC formula to beat bullying

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Meadowvale Village Public School in Mississauga recently hosted Stand Up Now Productions with speaker Bruce Langford. We focused on bullying with emphasis on Meadowvale MAGIC. What a great way to help focus on important concepts that all kids need to live by. Here is the ‘magic’ formula:

M anners
A chievement
G ood Sportsmanship
I nitiative
C ooperation

Meadowvale Village MAGIC Logo

We shared our ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ songs and videos with the students who were filled with enthusiasm. Later, one of the teachers came back to comment on the show.
“I loved it! It was great. You kept me and my class totally engaged for the entire time.”
Barb Linton, Grade 2 Teacher, Meadowvale Village Public School, Mississauga.

We talked about initiative and how it related to our role plays where one person takes the initiative to make a difference. The outcome of a scenario can be totally changed by the decision of one person to handle things differently from the crowd.
Meadowvale Village Vice-Principal, Sara Damasco said she was very pleased with the bullying prevention assemblies presented by Stand Up Now Productions.

Contact info is: www.standupnow.ca or 519-269-9837

Action Steps to Stop Being Bullied

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List all the places where you have ever been bullied
Describe how you dealt with the bullying each time
Write down different ways you could have dealt with each incident
List places where you have never been bullied
Name the activities that give you the happiest feeling

Vow to stand up against bullying by making the decision to speak to someone you trust following any upsetting bullying experience.

Read over your answers to the above and be determined to work toward a better life by letting others help you.