GRADE LEVEL: Elementary School, Middle School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Writing, Speaking & Listening SEL STANDARDS*: Self Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making Bullying is a major problem in our schools. When it targets aspects of a person’s identity, it is called identity-based bullying, and may include bias about appearance, race, culture, gender and gender expression, language, religion, socioeconomic status,…
October is National Bullying Prevention Month
National Bullying Prevention Month is an opportunity to reflect on the classroom and school culture and assess the extent to which bullying is part of that culture. It is a time to examine best practices when it comes to creating respectful school environments that foster inclusion and respect. The large body of research on effective responses to name-calling and bullying concurs that schools and other educational institutions can best…
by: Oren Segal July 29, 2014 If you have been reviewing any number of parenting or education blogs lately, you’ll see headlines proclaiming the menace and dangers of technology. Technology, and more specifically, social media and mobile apps are often treated like “monsters” to guard against and the creators of all matter of social ills. Even if technology is scary and daunting to some adults, for youth it is a necessary and positive part of life. In…
by: Mark Onofrio March 17, 2014 A teacher raises his hand in A World of Difference® Institute training and says, "I like to kid around with my students." He says, "I like to have fun in my class so they are more likely to come to me when they need help."
He calls one student his “favorite Mexican,” another student “Dopey” and the only African-American student “MLK” (short for Martin Luther King Jr.) This well-intentioned…
For Educators In many of ADL’s lesson plans and activities, students are challenged to explore and articulate their personal feelings about sensitive topics including segregation, discrimination, and the value of diverse school communities. Talking about themes related to diversity requires that students demonstrate maturity and compassion for others. In conjunction with social justice curricula, it is therefore recommended that teachers use service learning, conflict resolution,…
‘That’s So Gay’: Language That Hurts, and How to Stop It
Article
January 21, 2014
The phrase "that’s so gay" has persisted as a way for students to describe things they do not like, find annoying or generally want to put down, while it is promising that fewer students are hearing homophobic slurs than in previous years.
The phrase is used so commonly that many students no longer recognize it as homophobic because it is “what everyone says.” When educators and other adults intervene, common student responses include “I was just…
by: Mark Onofrio January 07, 2014 Youth are the real experts on what is happening in bullying on school campuses, and yet their voices, perspectives and leadership are rarely integrated into bullying prevention programs.
“Just ask the kids” is the tagline for a new book highlighting research from the Youth Voice Project, the first large-scale research project on bullying and peer mistreatment that did exactly that—ask the kids (more than 13,000 teens in 31 schools). …
November 18, 2013 CHANGING HEARTS AND MINDS A dynamic young leader in the immigration reform movement, Lorella Praeli first met ADL after she was bullied in school.
My first exposure to ADL was just after graduating from middle school in Connecticut. I’d gone through a really ugly experience with cyberbullying at a time when no one knew what to do about it, plus I had my own self-doubts about being a Latina with a disability. The training for ADL’s Names Can Really Hurt Us program…
IntroductionHizb ut-Tahrir (HT), an international organization that seeks to establish a worldwide Islamic theocracy, is increasing its efforts to spread its message and recruit members in the U.S. The American branch of HT convened its 2012 Khilafah Conference, titled "Revolution: Liberation by Revelation," on June 17, 2012, in the Chicago suburb of Hickory Hills, IL. Messages at the conference primarily centered on promoting the organization's vision of establishing a worldwide Caliphate and…
by: Mark Onofrio January 18, 2013 Over the past few years the media has covered many stories about cyberbullying and its detrimental effects on youth. The research, and our own experiences, make it clear that cyberbullying hurts the youth targeted and creates a negative experience for those who witness the behavior. We also know that youth are often targeted online because of their identity, including their weight, real or perceived sexual orientation, gender expression,…
by: Mark Onofrio January 11, 2013 Applications for smartphones and tablets have become an emerging segment of the online and entertainment industry. As with videos, blogs and social networking platforms which came before, Apps are now being created that some consider funny, but which actually cross the line from humorous to offensive. Recent examples include two free apps on Google called “Make Me Asian” and “Make Me Indian,” that allow users to edit…
On a daily basis—in the lunchroom, at the grocery store, in school hallways, in our political rhetoric and even at home—people hear and sometimes use words and phrases that demean, ridicule, offend or show ignorance about people from different groups and backgrounds. Regardless of whether the comments are deliberately malicious, said because the person lacks knowledge, or thought to be "a joke," such words are harmful and not only impact those on the receiving end but also everyone…
Decade After 9/11, Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories 'Alive And Well'
News
August 30, 2011 Ten years after 9/11, antisemitic conspiracy theories surrounding the attacks are "alive and well" and fueled by an entrenched propaganda industry, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which today issued a new report showing how these theories have grown and evolved over the last decade.
In "Decade of Deceit: Antisemitic 9/11 Conspiracy Theories 10 Years Later," ADL looks at the individuals who continue to circulate distorted conspiracy theories about 9/11,…
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a socialist political party in the United States that incorporates virulent anti-Zionism as a core organizing principle.
Hidden behind screens, members of the 764 network groom and trick minors through sextortion, swatting and abuse - all to gain clout online. While some are extremists, most are driven by nihilism and a desire for status and fame.
The American Blackshirts Movement is a white supremacist, antisemitic, anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ group primarily active in Texas, Florida and Georgia.
Key Points Accelerationism is an ideology within some segments of the white supremacist movement that promotes violent actions and sabotage as a means to accelerate the perceived inevitable collapse of society, allowing followers to establish a white ethno-state in the aftermath.The modern iteration of white supremacist accelerationism gained traction in extremist spaces in the 2010s following the revival of neo-Nazi James Mason’s Siege essays from the 1990s.White supremacist…
PNN targets Jews and others with provocative, antagonizing street interviews and posts pro-terror content, emerging after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre in Israel.
Key Points American Muslims for Palestine is at the core of the anti-Israel and anti-Zionist movement in the United States.AMP’s leadership frequently engages in rhetoric that promotes antisemitic tropes and support for violence against Israel, such as praising Hamas for the October 7, 2023 attack which marked the deadliest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.A current board member of AMP was implicated in Hamas activity in the 1990s, according to an FBI memorandum.AMP has…