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Welcome to the Power of One Foundation Web site. The purpose of this site is to be a vehicle to address a growing psychological and social problem affecting young people in junior high, high school and sometimes as early as elementary school - peer harassment also called bullying, emotional violence, or relational aggression. Bullying and harassment have come to be accepted as part of growing up. Some experts even go so far as to say that insults and harassment is the way young people relate to each other today. This behavior is destructive to everyone, bullies, victims and bystanders. The affects are deep and often last a lifetime. This is not an "easy fix." Young people rely on adults for limits and boundaries. Adults have been ignorant about this problem, not only its true nature but also in ways to effectively handle it. In the incidents of school shootings for example, the shooters have been victims of long-standing and devastating harassment. These students have tried to seek help and support from adults but have learned that adults will give little real help. In these situations, the victims have become depressed, angry, or desperate. For them, regaining the personal power taken from them by bullies seems to be the only solution. Often, they also think that the only way out of their situation is suicide. In recent studies it has been estimated that over 80% of all students have been involved in the bully-victim cycle. Most bullied kids never resort to physical violence against others. Many struggle to gain control of their pain by participating in destructive behaviors to be in a position of power or to fit in. Many schools have ineffective anti-bullying policies and programs. Once a kid is targeted the label is difficult to discard. Seeking help from adults in an ineffective system most often leads to an escalation of the problem and revenge by the peer group. Peers, even very close friends find it hard to step in when someone else is being harassed. The victim becomes a pariah, an "untouchable" that must navigate through the torment alone. This foundation intends to empower kids, one person-at-a-time, to change their culture of violence one incident at-a-time. The name of this foundation, Power of One, symbolizes its purpose and intent. That is, "one person can make a difference." The ability to recognize the good in all people and to empower at least one person within the group to stand up to one's peers, is just one of the educational goals of this foundation. The Power of One Foundation is dedicated to ending the harassment
and violence that has become part of the “hallway” culture
of our schools. |
