TULSA, OK (KJRH) — Bullying in schools today can be a difficult topic for teachers to discuss with their students, but a local group is working to make that conversation easier.
Jared Patterson is the school counselor at Eugene Field Elementary School. He works with his students every day on their problems - the worst of which can be caused by bullying.
"If you don't have someone to talk to, get that out, or report it to, that can create a sense of feeling alone," Patterson said. "That's something we don't want kids to ever feel - frankly that's one of the most dangerous feelings kids can have."
That's why 25 groups sent their experts to come up with a new four-week program to help teachers talk to their students about bullying. The program shows kids what bullying is, why it happens, how to spot it, and how to prevent it. It also covers cyberbullying and why kids will be exposed to it from the moment they go online.
"A lot of folks who are experts in their field, with child development, mental health, and youth development, coming together and saying we're doing this for our community, what we do counts and we can have an immediate impact for children right now," said Steve Hahn, Anti-Bullying Collaboration Director at The Parent Child Center of Tulsa.
The program runs through the month of October at eight different Green Country schools. After it's done, the goal is to spread it around Green Country, and even all of Oklahoma.
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