No Name-Calling Week in Schools Promotes End to Bullying

Bullying and name-calling are nothing new for kids in school.  But the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is hoping to change that with their annual No Name-Calling Week running from January 24 through January 28, 2011. No Name-Calling Week was invented to help schools explore ways to end bullying while also calling national attention to the problem.  The GLSEN website provides resources for teachers, students, guidance counselors. The program was inspired by the young adult novel, “The Misfits,” about four seventh graders who try to win a student council election by running on a platform eliminating school bullying.

Push for Harassed LGBT Kids to Take Action

There’s a new campaign that focuses on empowering lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students, as well as their supporters, to report incidents of bullying, harassment or discrimination to the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Education Department. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays has partnered with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to launch the Claim Your Rights campaign, which revealed some alarming statistics:

Approximately 85 percent of high school students report being harassed in school because of their real or perceived sexual orientation … and only 18 percent of LGBT students report their schools have policies [that] offer comprehensive protections. The campaign provides detailed information on how to file a report, as well as an easy to print fact sheet. To further check out the campaign, click here. To access the fact sheet, click here.