Two Teen Deaths Proves Cyber Bullying Should Be Taken Seriously – By Rodger Dinwiddie
The St. Charles Journal reported “the suicide death of 13-year-old Megan Meier was due to MySpace taunting by adult neighbors rocked St. Charles, Missouri. In a parent’s worst nightmare, the mother of a neighbor girl that Meagan Meier was no longer friends with set up a fake MySpace account and proceeded to hound her to […]
There is Hope for Bullying … Young People Want To Step Up!!! by Rodger Dinwiddie, Executive Director, STARS Nashville
“I had really hoped that we could resolve this without a lawsuit, but if that’s what it takes to make the district take this seriously and change the way they handle these sorts of problems, we are ready to take it to that level.” (A parent of a bullied child) Lawsuits, tragic and senseless deaths, […]
Bullying A Big Deal? You Decide. By Rodger Dinwiddie, STARS Executive Director
After being bullied at school and attempting suicide, the Anchorage School District and its insurance company paid $4.5 million to settle a lawsuit with the middle school student’s family. In another news story from Kansas, education groups say more and more parents are taking school officials to court for failing to stop other youngsters from […]
Thick Textbooks Can’t Protect Against Bullying – by Rodger Dinwiddie, Executive Director
Thick textbooks should be placed under every student’s desk to be used as self-defense during school shootings according to a recent candidate for state superintendent of schools in the Midwest. This was a real news item just a few years ago! The problem is most school violence does not take the form of school shootings. In […]
Emotional Bullying A Top Concern For Our Youth – by Rodger Dinwiddie, Executive Director
A recent survey of children in grades five through 12, conducted by researcher Tonya Nansel et al, found America’s youth are more concerned about emotional abuse than physical violence. Unfortunately and ironically, most schools in America are described as “safe” if there is no violence. In a truly safe school, all students feel like they belong, […]
Social Emotional Learning – What It’s All About by Rodger Dinwiddie, STARS Executive Director
No Emotion Left Behind. The title of an article I read a few years ago. To quote authors Timothy Shriver and Roger Weissberg, “The debate over education reform has tended to divide children’s learning along two axes, the emotional and the academic. Either we can address children’s academic performance, the conventional thinking holds, or we […]
Are We Sharing Dr. King’s Dream With Our Youth? – by Eric Johnson, Associate Executive Director
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has a very special meaning for me as an African-American adult working hard to live out Dr. King’s dream of making this a better world for our youth. But, I can’t help but reflect this MLK Day that he might be discouraged by the anger and violent tendencies of our […]
No Name Calling – by Rodger Dinwiddie, Executive Director
Many folks simply don’t want to confront the reality that language is powerful and can either be a great source of blessing or curse. Language can build or destroy. That’s why No Name Calling Week is so important. This year school and community organizations will celebrate No Name Calling Week at the end of January. […]
Dating Abuse is Unacceptable – by Rodger Dinwiddie, Executive Director
Struggles with relationship issues have been on everyone’s mind lately with the unfortunate Tiger Woods situation. However, many teens experience tension in their dating/partner relationships that can end with dating abuse or violence. STARS (Students Taking A Right Stand) Nashville has several ways to help students make better choices. Dating abuse is used to manipulate, […]
In the News
Nashvillians of the Year: Because of Hal Cato and Rodger Dinwiddie – and the remarkable Youth Center they founded – Nashville’s lost and forgotten teens will sleep safer
