A HURT FREE School
does not mean the absence of pain. It is unrealistic to expect any
school to be free from all emotions like sadness and anger ... yet
... schools CAN create deliberate, visible and accountable environments
which insure every child's right to emotional,
social and physical safety.
To
many adult minds, the image of school as a frightening place is as surprising
as it is disturbing. However, to untold numbers of children across the globe,
the expectation of some regular form of violence in school holds absolutely no surprise!
Though most of their stories remain untold, the invisible violence
of a bullying is woven as predictably into some children's lives as the ringing
of the school bell. Worse still, where most responsible schools respond promptly
to bloody noses and split lips, children who suffer from a bully's subtle
emotional and social attacks often suffer alone ... and usually in silence.
 How
can otherwise competent and caring educational communities fail to protect
children who are repeatedly abused by their peers?
Even
when violence prevention research points to persistent bullying as the only common
denominator shared by victims turned shooters, why do schools continue to miss
this message?
The
media will never find an answer by repeating, over and over ... " What
can we DO to stop violence in schools?" Why? ... because
inspecting backpacks for weapons and installing security cameras start off
by asking the wrong question !
In reality, the challenges posed by bullying and
its link to school violence are not unsolvable mysteries. Effective
solutions flow naturally from the core of what it means to be human. HURT FREE
Schools uses the principles behind human need fulfillment, emotional
learning, trauma recovery and violence prevention to create school climates
where children learn the skills they need to live in safety and respect. Used
successfully in schools throughout the United States and South Africa, HURT FREE
School's RAINBOW of
SAFETY squares
off against the dominance and intimidation of bullies, both past and present,
and teaches that...
Violence in schools will not stop when the goal is
simply to end it.
Violence truly ceases... when children start to live
together in peace.
CHARACTER EDUCATION + BULLYING and VIOLENCE
PREVENTION = a SAFE SCHOOL CLIMATE
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