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October 2011
choosinG aPReschool
Addressing bullying, theatrically {Page 22}
the okee dokee Brothers paddle the mississippi {Page 15}
12 diff erent
types—do
you know the
diff erence?
{Page 28}
issueThe
education
education resources {Page 32}
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22 October 2011
hen Minneapolis-based playwright Rita
Cannon started writing Mean, an original
musical about bullying, she found out that
she had a lot to learn. “When I was in
school,” Cannon says, “I certainly
witnessed and experienced playground-
type bullying. I’m only in my early 20s
now, but I was surprised at how social
media and cyberbullying have made the
situation so much worse.”
STANDING UPTO BULLYING
W
YPC play helps kids—and parents—
address bullying
By Julie Kendrick
issueThe
education
23
October 2011 23
STANDING UPTO BULLYING
Cannon’s view that bullying has become
bigger, faster, and meaner helped her to fi nd
a unique viewpoint for the play, which was
produced this spring by Youth Performance
Company, and will be reprised October 5
through 23. The musical play, which
features original songs by well-known local
performer and composer Kahlil Queen,
presents the stories of three teens: a young
woman teased because of her physical
appearance, a youth harassed for his sexual
orientation, and a devout Muslim teen
being tormented at school because of her
faith. The play uses plenty of technology,
hip music and high-energy dance numbers
to share a serious message: bullying can
stop, but only if we’re brave enough to step
up and say “no,” whether we’re parents,
kids, or teachers.
In this scene from Mean, a youth is harassed due
to his sexual orientation.
SubmitteD Photo
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24 October 2011
The production received considerable
media attention last spring, and this fall
will probably be no exception, especially
since it’s running in October, which is
National Bullying Prevention Month. “It’s
something that’s on everyone’s minds right
now,” says Jacie Knight, artistic director
of Youth Performance Company, who
initially approached Cannon and Queen
about joining forces for the play. “Every
day, there seem to be more stories in the
news about this issue, and people can feel
powerless. The great thing about this
show is that it’s not only entertaining, but
it’s energizing for people to feel they can
make a difference to stop the epidemic.”
the bullying epidemic“Epidemic” is certainly an apt description.
According to stopbullying.gov, a new
government website devoted to the issue,
56% of students have personally witnessed
some type of bullying at school. PACER’s
National Bullying Prevention Center
reports that things are no better in
cyberspace, with 42% of children
reporting that they have been bullied
while online, and one in four saying it has
happened more than once.
The government is taking notice on
many fronts, and recently held a White
House Conference on Bullying. Speaking
at the conference, Secretary of Health and
Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said,
“Students involved in bullying are more
likely to struggle in school, use drugs and
alcohol, and have physical and mental
health issues that can linger well into
adulthood. Young people who do the
bullying also pay a price—they are more
likely to be violent as adults and get
involved in criminal activity. Even
bystanders, the young people who are
witnesses to bullying, are more likely to
become depressed and anxious, and feel
unsafe at school. Bullying is not just
another stage of development and it
should not be accepted by anyone,
anywhere, at any age.”
To begin tackling this complex issue,
Cannon conducted original research in
the form of interviews with adults, kids,
and a seventh-grade class. That research
helped her uncover the stories that would
be woven into the production. One key
thing she learned was that kids often face
bullying alone. “Parents can underesti-
mate the extent of bullying, or think it’s
not an issue at their kids’ school,” she
says. “They assume that if there’s a
problem, their kids will tell them. But the
kids I talked to said they were too
embarrassed or scared to approach their
parents, or fearful that a parental
response could be clumsy enough to make
things worse.”
And if parents won’t believe that their
kids are being bullied, it’s even harder
for them to come to terms that it’s their
child who is doing the bullying.
According to LG Text Ed, a foundation
created by the mobile phone manufac-
turer to educate parents about the
dangers and disastrous consequences of
teen and tween mobile phone misuse,
43 percent of teens admit to putting
someone else down or insulting them in
a text, while only 10 percent of parents
believe their teens had ever participated
in this type of hurtful behavior.
how bullying happens nowThe adults depicted in Mean are sometimes
well-meaning, but often inept in their
responses. Brianna Belland, who plays a
teacher in the show and contributed to
“I think one of the important things Mean does is educate parents on the ways that bullying can happen to their children now, instead of the ways they might have experienced it when they were kids.” Gayle Sherman-Crandall, therapist
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October 2011 25
Cannon’s initial research, says, “For any
parent who thinks, ‘Do things like this
really happen?’ I want to say that yes, they
do. I’m sorry that they do, and I’m sorry
that if I’m going to be completely honest
with myself, I never spoke one word about
my junior high experiences with my
bullies, until I was interviewed for this
show.” Belland says seeing aspects of her
own story told in the play had a powerful
impact on her. “It wasn’t until after
rehearsals started that I realized how
comments made to me in the sixth grade
still affect the way I think of myself today
in my twenties.”
Gayle Sherman Crandell, therapist
and co-founder of the Crocus Hill
Counseling Center, has a son, Noah, who
appeared in the spring produc-
For Parents: What to Do if Your Child is Bullied
Talk with your child. Focus on your child.
Express your concern and make it clear that you want to help.
Empathize with your child. Say bullying is wrong, that it is not their fault, and that you are glad they had the courage to tell you about it.
Help your child develop strategies and skills for handling bullying. Provide suggestions for ways to respond to bullying, and help your child gain confidence by rehearsing their responses.
Work together to find solutions. Ask your child what they think can be done to help. Reassure them that the situation can be handled privately.
For Kids: What to Do about BulliesTake a stand and do not join in. Do not stand around watching someone being bullied. If you feel safe, tell the person to stop. Make it clear that you do not support what is going on.
Walk away. If you walk away and don’t join in, you have taken their audience and power away.
Give support. Talk to the person being bullied and tell them that you are there to help.
Talk to someone you trust. Reach out to someone you trust to discuss the problem, especially if you feel like the person may be at risk of serious harm to themselves or others.
whaT To do
Source: StoPbullying.gov
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26 October 2011
tion. She says that seeing a performance
of a show like Mean can be helpful in
opening up an important discussion for
families. “Kids who are being bullied
can often feel extremely isolated, and
seeing a play in which they can relate to
the problems of the characters up on the
stage can help them to feel that they’re
not alone,” she says. Crandell, the
mother of three teenagers, says that she
appreciated the way the show “expresses
the complexity of meanness in a unique
way. It’s not a heavy-handed ‘After
School Special.’ It’s lots of fun to see,
even if it is a serious subject.”
Crandell urges parents not to assume
that bullying has not impacted their
children. “As parents, we don’t necessarily
know the extent of this problem, espe-
cially with the isolating factor of the
Internet,” she says. “What was once a
playground activity doesn’t end at the final
bell of the school day, but can continue
around the clock. I think one of the
important things Mean does is educate
parents on the ways that bullying can
happen to their children now, instead of
the ways they might have experienced it
when they were kids.”
With such a serious subject matter,
Knight credits the Mean creators, Cannon
and Queen, for keeping a spark of hope
alive through story and song. “In the play,
all three characters find a solution that
helps them begin to see their way
through, whether by finding a friend to
talk with, standing up to the bullies or
switching schools. And when the entire
cast joins hands at the end of the show for
the rousing finale, ‘Stand Up,’ our
audiences are on their feet and clapping
along. They just love it,” Knight reports.
The biggest message from the show is
that there is power in a group of kids
who take a stand and say “no” to bullies.
As Secretary Sebelius encouraged at the
Bullying Conference, it’s time to begin
“speaking up the next time you hear
someone use a homophobic slur, step-
ping in when you see someone being
preyed upon and letting your local educa-
tion leaders, from principals to school
boards, know that bullying isn’t just part
of growing up—it’s a serious danger to
our children.”
Knight expresses her hope that, after
a visit to the show, families will have
more than just torn ticket stubs and
dog-eared programs, but a new opportu-
nity for conversation. As therapist
Crandell says, “This issue is one we can
change just by shining a light on it. It’s
something we can impact in people’s
lives—today.”
To learn more about performances of
Mean October 5 through 23 at Youth
Performance Company, visit youthperfor-
manceco.org or call the box office at
612-623-9080. •
A scene from the spring production of Mean.
SubmitteD Photo
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