Coping with Violence: Web Sites That Make a Difference

www.april16archive.org

Students and staff at Virginia Tech have created this “digital memory bank” to collect and archive firsthand accounts and images, blog posts, and media coverage related to the April tragedy that claimed 27 lives. Created by: The Center for Digital Discourse and Culture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. Parents and teachers nationwide have sought ways to discuss this difficult topic with young kids and teens. This Web site can help spur an age-appropriate dialogue about this tragic event.

www.safeyouth.org/scripts/index.asp

Teachers, school administrators, and parents looking for ideas on how to discuss school violence with kids, as well as students researching this important social issue, will all find lots to read and think about here. Of particular interest: the excellent feature “Understanding Mental Illness—after the Virginia Tech Tragedy.” Created by: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA. Don’t Miss: The “Teens” section, covering topics such as aggression, gangs, and hate crimes.

www.nea.org/schoolsafety/nearesources-schoolsafety.html

Since Columbine, schools around the country have sought to make their institutions safer for kids. This wonderful 58-page PDF publication may be just the thing to share with a concerned teacher or parent. Of special note are the two sections on how to get communities and parents involved in reducing school crime and violence. Created by: The National Education Association, Washington, DC. Detour: How do you find out what’s going on in your school? The “School Safety Profiler” provides a template for creating a confidential online survey.

stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/index.asp?area=main

No one likes a bully. If you’d like to launch programming on stopping this menace, then this Web site is a must-see. The 12 animated cartoon “webisodes” cover various instances of bullying and how kids can correctly respond to each. The programs can be downloaded as podcasts. Kids can also download the Stop Bullying Now song as a ringtone on their mobile phone and play twelve cool online games. Created by: The Health Resources and Services Administration, Washington, DC. Detour: Teachers or homeschooling parents will also find tons of wonderfully creative lessons and class activities on bullying at www.educationworld.com/a_special/bully.shtml.