Bully Bill Letter of Support

Thu, Mar 3, 2016 10:18 am

Jodi Harvey

To rep.margaretdoherty rep.margaretdoherty@state.or.us

Ben Bowman,

I have had the pleasure of serving on a number of community task forces and committees with Gordon Clay of Brookings, Oregon. I have always been impressed with his interest and efforts in family and community enhancement and accountability, especially regarding youth services and public education. He informed me of recent initiatives to improve school response to bullying. I applaud his efforts and wish to reinforce the need for concrete progress in this area.

I ran a youth development center in Brookings, Oregon. I coached middle and high school volleyball. I advised the high school Rotary Interact Group. I heard from the students of the Brookings Harbor School System recount numerous stories of bullying that occurred on a regular basis. Friends and acquaintances of Dorothy Shull talked openly with me that her suicide in 2012 was due to her being targeted and discriminated against for her sexual orientation. I was motivated to home school my daughter her 6th grade year so that she wouldn't go into Azalea Middle School. I then decided to move my family away from Brookings, Oregon due to the lack of educational choice, the lack of youth recreational/developmental opportunities in the community, and the high drama and bullying evident in the school system.

I've worked in violence prevention. Colleagues reassure me that the only thing that will prevent bullying is a system wide response and everyone in the school system needs to be educated and held accountable for their own bullying behavior. Where do the kids learn to bully? From adult, older kids, from parents, from peers.

Our society doesn't place a high priority on prosocial skill development. In the school system, if we did prioritize our kids learning conflict resolution skills, assertiveness training, and emotional and behavioral management, we'd be setting aside an hour a school day to intentionally teach these skills. Instead of the 3 Rs of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, we'd add a 4th: Relationships. Kids would learn social and emotional intelligence and grow up better able to meet their needs and respect the needs of others. Teachers and administrators will say they already teach these skills or that they don't have time to set aside one period a day to dedicate to interpersonal / personal skill training. Many parents and employers would argue that we can't afford not to give this area more attention.

Most of our kids are at school a great deal of time every day. It's a huge opportunity for us to deliberately teach the skills that will help them keep a job once their degrees get them employment. Pro-social skills training will help them be healthy and happy their whole lives, not just know how to calculate the area of their living rooms. These happier and healthier kids grow up to be happier healthier adults who have happier and healthier families.

I live in Bend, Oregon now and I'm working in the mediation field. We're voluntarily implementing peer mediation and problem solving programs in the school system on our own dimes so children can learn to solve their own problems and work together to solve their own conflicts. It's exciting and promising work. So many of us are doing what we can but out efforts lack large scale coordination and financial support.

I applaud Gordon Clay's efforts. I applaud your efforts. Thank you for your time and consideration with this issue. May you always recognize it as a priority.

Jodi Harvey
Bend, Oregon