By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-957182.mp3
Springfield, MA – A day after President Barack Obama focused national attention on the issue of bullying, hundreds of pre-school teachers assembled in Springfield Massachusetts to learn how to prevent bullying..WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports .
A nationally known expert on bullying, Kim Storey, told the conference of pre-school educators that they are in a position to end bullying in the next generation.
Bullying is not new, but Storey said there are new strategies to attack the problem..She said pre school teachers should learn to recognize harmful power imbalances as young children learn to interact, and to not brush off bad behavior as simply kids being kids
Storey said it is important to teach children about bullying as early as possible..
Storey was the keynote speaker at the conference, and she conducted workshops. She's an author of two books on bullying and is project director of educational outreach for the PBS show .."The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That"
In an interview, Storey had advice for parents. She said they should model the behavior they want to see in their children..
Pre-school teachers say they have noticed more aggressive behavior in their classrooms. For many this conference was their first professional development exposure to bully prevention Margo Whitt, the director of the Prelude Preschool of the arts in Springfield, said the early childhood education community recognizes bullying as an important issue
About 350 preschool teachers and administrators from throughout New England and eastern New York attended the conference put on by the Preschool Enrichment Team..a Springfield based organization that provides professional development..
Thursday'sWhite House Conference said a third of all school children 13 million are bullied each year Its estimated 160 thousand students a day stay home from school because of bullying.. And, it can have tragic consequences. Both the White House conference, and the pre school teachers conference referenced the bullying induced suicides of 11 year old Carl Walker Hoover of Springfield, and 15 year old Phoebe Prince of South Hadley