Meeting your Hero & #BullyingisNoJoke

Welcome back ED Champions! We appreciate all of you that have followed our journey from the beginning and a sincere thanks to the new members of our community, who are getting pumped up for the launch of our 10 new character education books! The first title to be released focuses on bullying.

Unfortunately, as most parents and teachers know, bullying is a huge concern for kids and youth worldwide. From physical and emotional bullying to cyber bullying that takes place online, adults need to do what they can to make sure kids are safe.

So, this newsletter (and a few more to follow) aim to start this discussion. To arm you with inspiration and resources to ensure that we face bullying at school, at home, and even in the workplace.

I won’t go into the details about the book launch yet, for now, I will say that you can get free electronic copies of the books in advance of the publication date by helping us spread the word - more details at the end of this newsletter.

and now....meeting my hero!

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Meeting my Hero

We all have people we look up to - parents, authors, athletes, rock stars...the list goes on, and we look up to each of these people for different reasons - because they inspire us, they entertain us, they show us a side of them that we strive to be like.

One of my heroes is Shane Koyczan. Why? Because I am inspired by his ability to be completely vulnerable and share his experiences with being bullied as a child and the impact it has had on him. He is able to take an experience that was difficult (and horrible) and find the positive by helping others to face these same challenges. Through his spoken poetry, he is breaking down walls, and getting us to think.

I had the pleasure of meeting Shane, and he was a stand-up guy. The story of how I met him is quite interesting and perhaps for another time, but let’s just say that if you are tenacious enough, anyone can meet their hero. It’s pretty easy with the use of Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, and showing up at the hotel they are staying at. Yes, tenacious, not weird. 

His poem “To This Day” has over 12 million hits, and rightfully so. Shane created the poem as an ode to anyone who felt bullied or left out as a child. Koyczan says it wasn’t just overt bullying he was reacting to — but the subtle discouragement kids receive along the path to adulthood, as they’re required to define themselves in narrower and narrower ways.

If you haven’t watched this video, or if you have and it’s been awhile, take 7 minutes out of your schedule, and fully take it in. It is a must-watch.

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Science of Character

This coming Thursday, March 20, is the global premiere of the film “The Science of Character” It is an 8-minute film that explores the neuroscience and social science behind character development and our ability to shape who we are.

You can take part by holding a premiere at your school or workplace, or by accessing the heap of resources that they have that all focus on different character attributes.

Go to the site 

Watch the trailer:

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Join our ED Champion Book Launch team!

Sick of bullying? Want to help? Use the cool resources we have created to spread the word about our book that explores the skills and attitudes needed to stand up to bullies. 

Make it so!