Women's Day 2013 :Compare Two videos

Most of you know what a commercial, or advertisement is. But how much do you know about Public Service Announcements?

Public Service Announcements look and sound like TV or radio ads, but they are different in one important way.  Instead of selling a product or a service, PSA's as they are referred to, try to sell an idea.  

The idea must be aimed at educating or changing public attitudes about a social issue or problem such as drinks drinking and driving, bullying, taking drugs etc.  

International Women's Day is a day that raises many issues about about issues and problems that affect women all over the world. Some of these include: gender equality, poverty, violence towards women,  child brides, access to education and many more. 

Although women have made major strides in the 100 years since International Women's Day first began, the following Public Service Announcement videos aim to educate people about the problems still facing millions of women around the world. 


Today is no longer International Women's Day, but  March is Women's History month in several countries including Australia and the United States.  The following two activities can create some good speaking, listening and even writing activities  in an ESL classroom, or for any second language student   

Listening Activities:

Which video is the most effective? 

Here are activities for two different Public Service Announcements released for International Women's Day. . 


Both of them contain pre-listening discussion questions, listening comprehension questions and  post listening speaking activities. 

Watch both of them and compare them. Which of the two is most effective? Why? 

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New Song for International Women's Day 2013

Today is International Women's Day. 

All over the world women are participating in events to celebrate their achievements.   

and to discuss how much still needs to be done to win the battle for equality with men.  


In honour of International Women's Day,  UN Women, an organization associated with the United Nations released a song, called  "One Woman" to celebrate women from all over the world.

"We Are One Woman: Message of Unity

Recorded by more than 25 artists and musicians from around the world,  the song sends a message  of unity and solidarity to end violent crimes against women and girls. 

To the tranquil sitar playing of Anoushka Shankar, the daughter of famed sitar player Ravi Shankar, male and female artists sing the chorus: "We are one woman, your world is mine and we shall shine".

Focus: Reducing Violence Against Women

This year, International Women's day is focusing on  violence against women in a year where high profile cases like the shooting of teenager Malala Yousafzai  and  brutal gang rapes in India have gained world wide attention. 


The project was created by UN Women, an organization associated with the United Nations and founded in 2011 to empower women and to improve women's lives around the world. 

According  to the UN, 7 out of 10 women around the world are still victims of violence - a major human rights  violation.




For more information on  how the song was made and its artists go to  http://song.unwomen.org/

Background on International Women's Day

For more information, read a previo9us article I wrote on International Women's Day

The day, which originally began on February 28th, 1909 was  started as a campaign for better working conditions by women in New York. In those days, working conditions were so bad that many women got sick and died. The first official International Women's Day was held on February 28, 1909. No one knows for sure why the date changed to March 8, but this is the date when thousands of women started annual marches in New York’s streets.  continue this story here 

 
MORE TO COME: 

Tune in tomorrow for articles, videos and activities on women's issues and International Women's Day

Listening Quiz: RCMP Bullying Problem

 

Just as Canada  was getting ready to celebrate anti-bullying day, the head of an RCMP investigation committee  issued a report saying the federal police force has a serious bullying problem. 

The RCMP stands for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who are often called "mounties."   
These are the people wearing red coats and hats that you see riding horses in parades and whom you often see on postcards from Canada. 

But their role is much bigger than simply riding in parades. The RCMP is Canada's federal police force  and has 19,000 members.  

Currently, 20 per cent of those members are women, and  this year a number of them have accused the RCMP of wide scale sexual harassment. 

Listen to the  story as many times as you need to. Then, answer the questions. 

Take the quiz: Online interactive video quiz 

The High Price of Bullying

 Bullying can cause devastating results that range from making children feel lonely, unhappy and frightened to causing them to commit suicide.  

It can make them feel unsafe and think there must be something wrong with them. 

Children can lose confidence and may not want to go to school anymore. It may even make them sick.
 
Some people think bullying is just part of growing up and a way for young people to learn to stick up for themselves. But bullying can have long-term physical and psychological consequences. 

Some of these include:

• Withdrawal from family and school activities, wanting to be left alone.
• Shyness
• Stomachaches
• Headaches
• Panic Attacks
• Not being able to sleep
• Sleeping too much
• Being exhausted
• Nightmares 

Children who learn they can get away with violence and aggression continue to do so in adulthood. They have a higher chance of getting involved in dating aggression, sexual harassment and criminal behaviour later in life.

Bullying can have an effect on learning 
  

Stress and anxiety caused by bullying and harassment can make it more difficult for kids to learn. It can cause difficulty in concentration and decrease their ability to focus, which affects their ability to remember things they have learned.

Bully Related Suicide

Bullying is painful and humiliating, and kids who are bullied feel embarrassed, battered and shamed. If the pain is not relieved, bullying can even lead to consideration of suicide or violent behaviour.

In recent years, a series of bullying-related suicides in the US and across the globe have drawn attention to the connection between bullying and suicide. Though too many adults still see bullying as "just part of being a kid," it is a serious problem that leads to many negative effects for victims, including suicide. Many people may not realize that there is also a link between being a bully and committing suicide.  

The statistics on bullying and suicide are alarming: 

• Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it. 

•  Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University

• A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying 

• A new review of studies from 13 countries found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied, and suicide. (Yale School of Medicine)

• Suicide rates among children between the ages of 10 & 14 are very low, but are "creeping up." (Ann Haas, Director of the Suicide Prevention Project at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

Amanda Todd Suicide 

The recent story of Amanda Todd, a 13 year old Vancouver girl who committed suicide in November 2012 after being bullied, brought international attention to the problem . 

Before she died, Amanda's posted a video on You Tube in which she used a series of flash cards to tell of her experiences of being blackmailed, bullied and physically asssaulted.  The video went viral after her death,  and resulted in an international discussion about the issue and potential laws to deal with it. 

In response to the death, the premier of British Columbia made an online statement of condolence suggesting a national discussion on criminalizing cyberbullying.

Also, a motion was introduced in the Canadian House of Commons to propose a study of the scope of bullying in Canada, and for more funding and support for anti-bullying organizations. Todd's mother, Carol, established the Amanda Todd Trust, receiving donations to support anti-bullying awareness education and programs for young people with mental health problems 

More Resources on Bullying from Michele Henry:

• Student bullying - infographic
  "The statistics show a student is bullied every seven minutes in the U.S.A., and that most of the time, bullying occurs on playgrounds.
  77% of students are bullied and cyber-bullying is rapidly approaching this percentage as well."
  

• The high price of bullying in the US "A global report on school violence identifies bullying as the biggest problem in US school playgrounds...
  It's a short walk from schoolyard bullying to school violence." (BBC)

• Two Teenage Girls Try to Drown Themselves
• Bullying Canada
• Stand Up to Bullying Red Cross Site
• Real Stories About Bullying 

 Roles in Cyber Bullying: The story of a boy ( ESL Video)

Lady Gaga and Oprah Lady Gaga and Oprah Tackle Bullying ( an entire reading and listening lesson) 

Canada Safety Council: School Bullies

The True Effects of Bullying

Bullying: It Has To Stop

 

Bullying has become a major problem in our classrooms, playgrounds, workplaces, and over the Internet.  But an increasing number of people and organizations have begun to fight back in order to educate as many people as possible about the devastating effects  bullying can have.   

 

February 27th is anti-bullying day in Canada - better known as Pink Shirt Day - a day set aside to bring awareness to bullying issues and the devastating effects it can have. 

 

What is bullying? 

Bullying is a form of repeated,and aggressive behaviour directed at children, teenagers, or adults. The behavior is intended to cause fear, distress, or harm to another person's body, feelings, self-esteem or reputation.  Bullying usually involves an imbalance of power. 

 

Bullying can come in a number of different forms 

 

Verbal bullying: name calling, sarcasm, teasing, spreading rumours, threatening, making negative references to a person's culture, ethnicity, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, unwanted sexual comments. 

Social bullying: mobbing, scapegoating, excluding others from a group, humiliating others with public gestures or graffiti intended to put others down. 

Physical bulling: hitting, poking, pinching, chasing, shoving, coercing, destroying or stealing belongings, unwanted sexual touching. 

Cyber bullying: using the Internet or text messaging to intimidate, put down, lie, spread rumours or make fun of someone. messaging to intimidate, put-down, spread rumours or make fun of someone. 

 

How common is bullying? 

According to the National Education Association, it is estimated that 160, 000 children in the United States miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students.  

1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a  bully or a victim of bullying
56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.

• 15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.

• 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.

• 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.

  

  In Canada

• Approximately one in 10 children have bullied others and as many as 25% of children in grades four to six have been bullied. 

• A 2004 study published in the medical Journal of Pediatrics found that about one in seven Canadian children aged 11 to 16 are victims of bullying. 

• Studies have found bullying occurs once every seven minutes on the playground and once every 25 minutes in the classroom.

• In the majority of cases, bullying stops within 10 seconds when peers intervene, or do not support the bullying behaviour.

• Students are most vulnerable to bullying during transitions from elementary to junior high school, and from junior to senior high school.

There is a correlation between increased supervision and decreased bullying. Bullies stop when adults are around.  

To find out more about bullying: 

Words in the News: Cyber Bully

• "The Daily Mail leads on a mother who has won a landmark legal case against Facebook after being sent death threats by so-called internet ‘trolls’." Full story
  + VOCABULARY + LINKS (englishblog.com)

• Bullying - Mindmap
  
  

• Bullying (Wikipedia)
  "Bullying is the act of intentionally causing harm to others through verbal harassment, physical assault, or other more subtle methods of coercion such as manipulation..."
  

• One in five children is bullied online
  "One in five children aged eight to 11 is a victim of cyberbullying attacks, a new report from charity Beatbullying has found...
  The bullying prevention group surveyed over 1,500 primary school pupils, finding that 21 per cent had been "deliberately targeted, threatened or humiliated by an individual or group" using technology  (telegraph.co.uk)

Videos 

• What is cyberbullying  
• The myths of bullying 

A  PSA is  a public service announcement, a type of commercial about important social issues. PSAs are meant to educate people and make them aware of the problems these social issues can cause  

• PSA Cyber Bullying Video  
• Words Hurt  

How does bullying affect people?   Read my next post. 

Spread the Word: Acceptance Vs Bullying

  
Last month, 2,000 students from 17 Vancouver schools came together at a Vancouver Giants game to spread the word of acceptance in honour of anti-bullying. 

This is the 3rd Acceptance Project using social media to spread a positive message. February 27th 2013 is anti-bullying day, but acceptance should happen everyday. 

What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction with lyrics  

Spread the message. 

Send this post to your friends, your Facebook page or any other social media you belong to. 

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Just go to the right hand side at the top of the page and sign in. 

It's free!

Canadian Anti Bullying Video Goes Viral

Wednesday, February 27th, is anti-bullying day in Canada, better known as pink shirt day. 

Before reading any other posts on the issue of bullying,  I strongly encourage ALL of you to watch the following video.

Shane Koyczan, a well known Canadian spoken word poet was bullied a lot when he was a child.  

Recently, he took that pain, wrote a powerful poem, narrated it, and worked with animators and motion artists from around the world to create the  “To This Day Project”. 

Since  it was uploaded on You Tube days ago, the To this Day Project video has received more than 4 million views, and the word is still spreading    

If you need to read the words while watching the video, click on the   the lyrics of To This Day. 

 "Facing the problem helps" 

In a post about his poem, Shane said, his experiences with violence in schools still echo throughout his life, but added that "standing to face the problem has helped me in immeasurable ways." 

Says Shane: "I wrote “To This Day”, a spoken word poem, to further explore the profound and lasting impact that bullying can have on an individual.

"Schools and families are in desperate need of proper tools to confront this problem. We can give them a starting point… A message that will have a far reaching and long lasting effect in confronting bullying." 

Extraordinary Effort 
 Shane stressed that the video was the result of of a group of individuals coming together and binding their talents in an expression of solidarity and compassion." 

"I am humbled by the extraordinary efforts of those who selflessly gave their time and committed themselves to bring out this message in such a beautiful way." 

In a interview in the  Huffington Post   Koyczan  said that to him, bullying started at the kindergarten age when he first thing children learned was to call each other names.

"Something so small can be so long lasting in someone's life, he stressed. 

In terms of what he hopes people take away from his video, Shane said, "Just that sense of connectivity. As much as you may feel alone in this, you're really not. There';s people who go through this every day. In a lot of ways, there's more of us than there of them." 

He added that people needed to be "more assertive" in how they dealt with bullying 

 We Need to Come Forward 
 We also need to get better at coming forward when we see it.  Now, it's our turn to make a difference in our communities. 

Koyczan has received a lot of positive responses including one emotional letter from a parent  who revealed that her 9-year old is bullied at school and has even contemplated suicide. 

" The great hope with this piece is that people will find that light or even find that piece within themselves to see their beauty to celebrate their differences, Shane said. 
"Because their differences ultimately are what make them beautiful." 

Find out how you can help the collaborative effort at ToThisDayProject.com.