Tackling the bullies - CFN Newsletter Week 102

CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 102

> Association of Christian Teachers chief Rupert Kaye on the way forward for Government policy on bullying
> News:
> Festival Manchester - organisers hope for late rush
> Belfast PANTS all washed out?
> Free places for families at Cornwall Bible week
> Sites:
> New Wine
> Encouragement for stressed out women
> TroubledWith.com from Focus on the Family
> Marriage MOT: Marriage vows
> You've got to laugh: Life in the headlines
> Members' Zone latest

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Dear All

It's heartbreaking to hear cases such as have been in the news recently, where young teenagers have taken their own lives because they couldn't see any way out of the nightmare of bullying.

In this update, ACT chief executive Rupert Kaye calls the Government to account. Do respond with your thoughts by mailing us or using the Bulletin Board.

Enjoy the latest content - and do let us know what you'd like us to cover in the future. We'd also like to know where you're going this summer, if you're able to get away for a holiday. Camping trip or Bible week, tropical sun or good old UK, let us know by mailing us at info@cfnetwork.co.uk or using the Bulletin Board.

Shalom to you and yours

Russ Bravo
Christian Family Network
info@cfnetwork.co.uk
http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk

PS Christian Family Network is here to direct you to the best in parenting, marriage and family resources; to link you up with other Christian families up and down the UK; and to help you make the most of life as a follower of Christ - at home, at work, at school and college, at play and online.

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ANALYSIS

Who’s to blame for bullying?

• As another academic year comes to an end, the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) is calling on all schools to take a fresh look at how to tackle playground – and classroom – bullies
  

Rupert Kaye is a man with a mission. As chief executive of ACT, he has given a warning to schools: “It is time to get beyond hollow phrases like ‘challenging behaviour’, ‘behaviour management’, and ‘social inclusion’ and get to grips with the real issue: how can we ensure that every child in every school feels happy, safe and secure? It is absolutely intolerable that any adult or child should feel so powerless; so alone; so miserable that they would contemplate suicide as their only way out.”

He says moral leadership is the only way forward: “The language used to describe certain kinds of wayward pupil behaviour, and the favoured strategies for tackling them change from time to time. At present ‘challenging’ is a euphemism which covers a multitude of sins; in fact everything from insolence to threatening a teacher with a machete might be fairly described as ‘challenging’ these days!

“All too often schools ‘manage’ the challenging behaviour of unruly pupils; they contain them; they limit the degree of violence and the level of abuse they will tolerate without aiming to eliminate all that is anti-social.”

Rupert believes one reason for such a state of affairs is the Government’s “blind commitment” to social inclusion. “Social inclusion at its best means that no one is left behind by society; the mantra is that everyone deserves another chance...and another...and another...regardless of whether they have learnt from their mistakes or shown any remorse for the wrong they have done to others.”

“It is my contention that the kinds of misbehaviour we find in the UK’s schools today require moral leadership, not just ‘behaviour management’. As a society we need to publicly set out those attitudes and behaviours we value and to identify those which are unacceptable. We need to celebrate what is good and admonish what is bad.”

• Read about Rupert's own experience of bullying in the rest of this article in our Advice section at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/advice.asp

> THIS WEEK'S NEWS

> Festival Manchester - organisers hope for late rush

Numbers are down for this year’s Festival: Manchester, and organisers are hoping to see a last-minute rush to join the unique social and community event.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> Belfast PANTS all washed out?

A popular Christian event for teenagers in the heart of Belfast is under threat because of a lack of a permanent “home”.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp for the full story

> Free places for families at Cornwall Bible week

Free places for eight families are available at the Bible Week in Grace Community Church, Looe, from 2-9 August.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> MARRIAGE MOT

> Check out our archived marriage tips in the Members' Zone, plus stacks more marriage resources at http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk

Vows and promises

What can you remember of your wedding day? Did you make specific vows to each other or did you simply consent to marry each other? Were you involved in creating your own vows or did you use the ones many are familiar with from church weddings?

Somehow the vows we make to each other provide a framework to support our married life. When times are tough the words come back to us and remind us what this strange thing called marriage is all about. They give us principles to live by and love by.

I like to keep my promises, but the word “vow” seems to mean something even more. It speaks of commitment, of setting my heart to behave in a particular way. There is a weightiness and seriousness to it. When I married I didn’t promise to be perfect, but I made a commitment to try to act and live in a special way. It involved an attitude of my heart, an intention that was not taken lightly.

What did your marriage vows mean to you both?

Are you still committed to live that way?
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> EVENTS

• contemporary Flash outreach to teens and students
• Reachout Trust on new developments among JWs
• How The Sims are giving players' testimonies
  

> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH ...

LIFE IN THE HEADLINES
(Biblical headlines as might be written by today's media)

On David vs. Goliath:
HATE CRIME KILLS BELOVED CHAMPION
Psychologist Questions Influence of Rock

On Elijah on Mt. Carmel:
FIRE SENDS RELIGIOUS RIGHT EXTREMIST INTO FRENZY
400 Killed

On the birth of Christ:
HOTELS FULL, ANIMALS LEFT HOMELESS
Animal Rights Activists Enraged by Insensitive Couple

On feeding the 5,000:
PREACHER STEALS CHILD'S LUNCH
Disciples Mystified Over Behaviour

On healing the 10 lepers:
LOCAL DOCTOR'S PRACTICE RUINED
"Faith Healer" Causes Bankruptcy

On healing of the Gadarene demoniac:
MADMAN'S FRIEND CAUSES STAMPEDE
Local Farmer's Investment Lost

On raising Lazarus from the dead:
PREACHER RAISES A STINK
Last Will & Testament Reading Delayed

Author unknown - from www.MikeysFunnies.com

> CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK THIS WEEK
(MEMBERS' ZONE) - http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/default.asp

> Advice

> Our new internet savvy column from Eric Spellman continues with the first of a simple two-part guide to HTML and website building
> Tackling bullying - the Government needs to get tough, believes ACT chief Rupert Kaye
> Kate's marriage tips -

> Resources

> Join men around the UK in prayer for the nation
> Homeschooling: report from the TEACH annual conference
> Children and theology - Keswick aims to stretch young minds
> A lesson learned: the difference between schooling and education
> Trade names - baby names for the professionals
> One-liners - gems you'll want to pass on
> Bet you didn't know - fascinate your kids or your youthgroup/housegroup with these surprising facts

> News

> Festival Manchester - organisers hope for late rush
> Belfast PANTS all washed out?
> Free places for families at Cornwall Bible week
> News extra: the real truth about Europeans and honesty

> Top sites this week

> Troubled with.com - from Focus on the Family
> The latest on New Wine bible weeks
> Encouragement for stressed out women

PLUS

• contemporary Flash outreach to teens and students
• Reachout Trust on new developments among JWs
• How The Sims are giving players' testimonies

> Events: More of what's on near you

> Webwatch Index: more than 600 sites at your fingertips

> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 1,000-page plus archives

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