But on April 16, Jaheem appeared happy when he came home from school with a glowing report card. It may have been a glimmer of hope for his mother Masika Bermudez that her darling boy may have found peace with the situation. But later that evening, when her calls for him to come to dinner were not answered, she and Jaheem’s sister went up to his bedroom and found his body in a closet hanging by a belt.

This, just weeks after another 11-year-old boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, from Massachusetts, took his own life after relentless taunts by his peers.

What most surprised me is that DeKalb County, Georgia has what experts called an “exemplary” anti-bullying program in place that included an awareness program and a specially trained staff member to address the issue. Kids even were asked to sign a no-bullying pledge.

So what went wrong? And what can we, as parents, do to stop our child from bullying or being bullied, since we cannot rely simply on our schools?

Here’s yet another resource, a free Bully Reporting Site powered by www.BullyStoppers.com where parents and students can provide details of bullying situations. And, here is an example what the reports look like. The anonymous bully reporting is designed to help students who suffer from bullying, decrease behaviors that build over time and lead to violent outbursts, create a deterrent effect against bullying in a school or bus, and prevent embarrassing students who report problems.

Will it help? Who knows. The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center seems to think that such a system could have prevented many of the countless school shootings over the years. Regardless, a workable solution must be found before another child kills himself.

Photo, Flickr, sarah bara wears mascara

Post from: Blisstree

Suicides Question Anti-Bullying Programs

The Copper House renovation in Massachusetts by Charles Rose Architects is so lovely – starting with the color. The renovation added a wing to a 1940s kit home, and manages to integrate old and new design nicely. It looks crisp and modern but not overly so. It’s got a touch of unique that’s great but still has that livability factor I endlessly like to go on about.

This is such a sweet renovation job.

From Charles Rose Architects’ site:

“The two-story addition is oriented east-west. The addition is opened to the site on the north, east and west sides, and contains the main living spaces of the house, as well as the master bedroom and two offices on the second floor. A roof terrace with a hearth has panoramic views of the site and of Boston. A glass and steel stair connects the first and second floors, and an exterior stair leads to the roof deck from a deck off the master bedroom. A three story skylit space mediates between the larger scale of the new and the smaller scale of the old, and serves as entry and circulation to the house.”

You wish this was your smooth home don’t you? It’s really easy to like. And the night view – I always love when architects shoot night views. Especially when they show off perfect geometric patterns.

Charles Rose Architects is a site full of cool structures to see, I’d recommend the West 22nd Street, and Gloucester House. Gloucester is especially nice in that it really works with the rocky coastline it’s situated on.  If you can visit the flash site, for many visual treats, including more of the Copper House above. Plus Charles Rose Architects have a large sustainability slant, which of course we all like.

Post from: Blisstree

Copper House