by JANICE BURDON

as appeared in Hudson Gazette

The more attention we give to socially unacceptable behaviour like bullying, the more we create awareness. This awareness, in the long run, will hopefully bring about a change in attitude. When I went to school there were no anti-bullying campaigns. You had to fend for yourself, mostly because the teacher was unaware of the problem or was too afraid to become the next target. I remember supervisors becoming victims themselves only because they had intervened in a fight. Back then it was the norm, whereas today the act of bullying is becoming more of a social taboo in our society.

Ninety percent of students in Canada between grades 4 and 8 are victims of bullying at one point or another. The number of tragic deaths associated with bullying has caused an increased concern that something has to change with the majority of teachers along with parents feeling the urgency to take action. “The more we talk about it and implement anti-bullying programs, the more students feel empowered to walk away from potentially dangerous conflicts”, says Anne Farrell, who has organized Run This Way, a race for non-violence in schools for the past two years. If left alone, this problem can escalate causing children who have been bullied to experience psychological problems, possibly leading to aggressive behaviour and/or depression.

How do we promote non-violence in our schools? How do we teach our children to focus on the good qualities in themselves and others? Can we provide our young people with the skills needed to resolve relational conflicts so they don’t lash out in anger? All these questions and more will hopefully be answered as teachers begin implementing the Run This Way program in classrooms this fall.

The Run This Way project is a violence prevention program for schools, which was first initiated in 2011 by the Humanist Network, where 12,000 students across Quebec ran and participated in awareness workshops. Thanks to World Without Wars and Without Violence, an international organization recognized by the UN, other countries have embraced the program. In 2011, 5,000 students from schools in France, Argentina, Ireland, Ecuador, Mexico and the United States also took part in the fight against violence.

This year’s Run This Way race will take place in St. Lazare on Sunday, Sept. 9 at Westwood Junior High School. Funds raised by this event will help to support the implementation of this program in regional schools. Everyone is invited to come out and help make a positive difference in the lives of our children from the inside out.

For more info on the schedule, visit: www.runthisway.ca or contact Anne Farrell directly at  514-886-4858