Back to School is the Time to Educate Children on Bullying Behavior

NEW YORK, Aug. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Back to school is the opportune time to educate children on bullying behavior and provide them with the necessary tools to defuse and prevent it. The start of the school year is when kids are most often exposed to meanness and need guidance on how to recognize and tackle this important issue. According to arts educator and anti-bullying activist Lyle Cogen, "as a parent, I have seen the effects of bullying firsthand. There is no better way to bring the subject of bullying out in the open than by sharing the experience of music and theater. Through music and theater we create an environment in which we can have these discussions."

Ms. Cogen will be bringing her one-woman musical show Sticks and Stones and its accompanying curriculum and workshops back to the schools to educate, empower and entertain children and teachers to effect change on bullying. A story about bullying behavior and how to prevent it, different, age-appropriate versions of the show and curriculum are available, making it suitable for grades K-8. Commissioned by The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts with a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Ms. Cogen has performed the play since 2007 before thousands of children at theaters and schools across the country, making her a front-line advocate in the movement to eradicate bullying.

In Sticks and Stones, Ms. Cogen uses theater to teach children how to recognize different kinds of bullying behavior, allowing them to discover their own behaviors in the various characters depicted -- whether "bully, bullied or bystander." It also teaches that, when they see bullying taking place, there is an alternative to being a passive bystander, namely "speaking up" and becoming an ally.

To further extend the reach of her show's powerful anti-bullying lessons and messages, Ms. Cogen recently released songs from her show onto CD entitled, Bully, Bystander, Bullied: Which One Are You? An accompanying parent/teacher guide offers tips such as how to discuss the terms "bully," "bystander," and "bullied;" and how to use the songs as a springboard to start a discussion about bullying. A spring 2013 Parent's Choice Gold Award-winner, the CD is available on Amazon and CD Baby.

This fall, Ms. Cogen will be taking Sticks and Stones and its programs on tour once again to schools, theaters and conferences nationwide. October is National Bullying month, an opportune time to have Ms. Cogen as a spokesperson on anti-bullying and visit every community, town, city and school.

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SOURCE Lyle Cogen