SLANT 45 teams take a stand against bullying

If you've watched the news lately, you've no doubt seen the stories of children who were so bullied and harassed at school they were driven to take their own lives.  It's a national epidemic that affects the lives of many North Texas children daily.

The Department of Education recently issued guidelines urging schools to do a better job of protecting students from bullying. 

President Obama recently said in a statement, "We've got to dispel the myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage, or an inevitable part of growing up.  It's not.  We have an obligation to ensure that our schools are safe for all our kids.  Every single young person deserves the opportunity to learn and grow and achieve their potential, without having to worry about the constant threat of harassment."

The task of educating parents, teachers and students in every school to prevent, identify and stop bullying seems daunting, but several SLANT 45 teams have taken the initiative to put an end to bullying, one school at a time.

Girl Scout Troop 1273 of North Richland Hills, Brownie Troop 1296 of North Richland Hills, Barbara Jordan Elementary in Dallas, Bishop Elementary in Everman and Souder Elementary in Everman have all launched anti-bullying programs in their communities or schools.

"If we can lower the statistics on bullying in our community even a little, we have made a difference.  We expect all of our members to be able to end the major bullying around them and their friends.  Every positive touch our girls have will grow exponentially over time.  Being nice is contagious!" said Girl Scout Troop 1273 leader Angela Davis.

From making educational videos and leading role-playing games to creating posters and holding assemblies, all of these SLANT 45 teams have developed creative ways of educating their classmates about practical ways to prevent bullying and the importance of doing so.

Stacy Wells, SLANT 45 coach at Barbara Jordan Elementary, said, "We believe that bullying is not only a problem in our community but throughout other communities as well, and that if a change in attitude and behavior toward others is going to happen, it can begin in our community."

We're proud of all of these SLANT 45 teams for being champions of peace, kindess and tolerance in our schools!

Members of the Bishop Bulldogs SLANT 45 team stand proudly in front of some of the anti-bullying posters they created.