Contact: Kwame Nitoto, Oakland Parents Togetherkwame@parentstogether.org510 452-9854orKristen Caven, authorkbc@littlepig.com510-338-5206

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

A Gift for Oakland Parents: The Bullying Antidote

Almost half of Oakland 5th graders admit to being mean to other kids, calling them names, and being pushed, kicked, or being forced to do things they don’t want to do. 30% of Oakland students have lost a loved one to violence. Bullying and negative behavior are battles that school staff fight on all fronts, yet parents have the power to be the biggest influence.

During last October’s National Bully Prevention Month, a truckload of books arrived in Oakland that can help us find an end to violence in our community. The Bullying Antidote, written by Oakland authors Dr. Louise Hart and Kristen Caven and published by Hazelden, sees schoolyard bullying as the tip of the iceberg—the greater problems being crime, violence, unhappiness in relationships and health problems—and provides a comprehensive strategy for parents who wish to raise the next generation to be immune to the bullying dynamic.

The authors, along with Oakland Parents Together, are giving over 3,000 copies to parents who wish to read this book together, building literacy and community strength by learning together. Books are free to groups of 6 or more who wish to form a supported study group in their school, church, family, neighborhood, or at work.

In Esperanto, Zorgos means “I will care.” It also sounds like a superpower. The authors use the word to symbolize caring and kindness, positivity and power, the antidote to bullying. “Within a few years,” says Caven, “I want everyone in Oakland to know what Zorgos

means, and to invoke this power when they need to transform a negative situation. The word will help them remember the skills they have learned in this book.”

The hope of the “Zorgos Project” organizers is to calm Oakland’s climate in one generation by helping parents create and model positive social dynamics in their own homes and communities, since bullying speech and behavior are often passed on unintentionally. This “cultural upshift” of social skills and non-violence can help create bridges to positive relationships for children who are under- or over-priviledged or anywhere between—and for adults as well!

To participate in this “big read,” request books for your group at www.zorgosproject.org or drop in at the Oakland Parents Together parent center at 440 Santa Clara Ave (near the Grand Lake Theater) any Friday from 10-11am. (Check website for chapter assignment.) Sponsors and volunteers are needed to facilitate groups, deliver books, and read chapters out loud.

The authors are excited about bringing their work alive in community conversations. Louise Hart Ed.D., who has a doctorate in Community Psychology, has spoken around the world about prevention, self-esteem, and positive parenting since 1985. Kristen Caven is known both for a comic book detailing the inner workings of the 1990 Student

Strike at Mills College, and for her devotion to public school parents over the past 15 years, most recently as PTSA president at Oakland Tech. The Bullying Antidote is their third collaboration.

Unlike other books on bullying, The Bullying Antidote is like a “unified field theory,” weaving together research from hundreds of expert sources. It has been called “a comprehensive parenting guide” that “focuses on raising mentally healthy children,” as well as “the definitive book on bullying.” The authors are excited to add new research to this two-year-old volume through their talks and videos, adding to the information already posted on their blog, The Zorgos Reader (www.zorgos.wordpress.com) and their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TheBullyingAntidote).

Oakland Parents Together, a fifteen-year-old organization dedicated to strengthening families and empowering communities, is thrilled to sponsor this project. Their programs include Parent Cafés, advocacy, and prosperity workshops. Their annual gala will be Thursday, March 24, 2016. More information is available at www.parentstogether.org.

THE BULLYING ANTIDOTE: Superpower Your Kids for LifeBy Louise Hart, Ed.D., and Kristen CavenPublication Date: July 2013ISBN-13: 978-1-61649-417-9ISBN-10: 1-61649-417-4Original Trade PaperbackPrice: $14.95

EXTRA STUFF

KBC Introduction:Kristen Caven was an active school volunteer and leader for 15 years, creating many new programs and strengthening communications at Peter Pan Cooperative Nursery School, Sequoia Elementary, Horace Mann Elementary, Bret Harte Middle School, and Oakland Tech, where she recently served 2 years as PTSA president. Her experience in the Great Books Program at St. Johns College taught her the value and power of reading as a community.

Transforming a Culture of Bullying.Changing a negative family or social culture is challenging work that cannot be done alone. OPTs Parent Cafés create trusting networks where parents can learn new tools and techniques to raise understanding and learn positive parenting skills with The Bullying Antidote as a guide. In conjunction with some of the wonderful trauma-reducing programs in the schools and churches, Oakland parents working together could transform our bullying problems within one generation.

This big-picture look at bullying takes on the challenge of correcting the common and widespread parenting practices that contribute to today’s bullying epidemic.

Drawing from psychological, medical, sociological, educational, and neurological research, we build a theory of bullying that spans across communities and generations, one that will ring a bell for most parents. The book teaches hundreds of specific, positive practices to turn the next generation of children into richly developed, emotionally healthy adolescents and adults who possess what we lightly label “ZORGOS,” the superpower that defeats bullying. The overall intent is not just to stop a single bullying incident, but to develop immunity in today’s children to future bullying events at school, in the community, and in the family. The Bullying Antidote shows how parents and community leaders, by becoming educated about the mechanics of power dynamics and prevention, can build bully-free, emotionally safe families, neighborhoods, and communities.

Schools can only do so much to prevent trauma in a child’s life, so it is essential that we do this work with parents.

Local Authors Reveal The Antidote to Bullying

A National Institutes of Health survey reports some disturbing facts: 15 percent of

students miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other

students, and approximately 282,000 students are reportedly attacked in high

schools each month. Nearly 9 out of 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender

(LGBT) youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year

because of their sexual orientation, and 1 out of every 20 students has witnessed

a student with a gun at school. Bullying is more pervasive, more indiscriminate,

and, in some instances, more violent than ever before. In their well-researched

and hopeful new book, local mother-daughter writing team Louise Hart, Ed.D.

and Kristen Caven provide parents with an understanding of new approaches

that give would-be bullies and victims better options.

Every chapter in THE BULLYING ANTIDOTE: Superpower Your Kids for Life (Hazelden Publishing: July 2013; $14.95; Original Trade Paperback) is full of

information and insight. The authors examine the enormous cultural shifts that

have exacerbated today’s problems and expose the "roots" of bullying, which

they say are often hidden in mainstream parenting practices. Today, with busier

lives and 24/7 demands, most parents find it difficult to cultivate a lifestyle that

focuses on the traditional face-to-face family interactions that model and teach

self-regulation, manners and respect. Furthermore, a society based on material

matters sometimes makes it hard to provide the warmth and connection that

build emotional and social behaviors.

Dr. Louise Hart, a leading educator in positive parenting and self-esteem

development, and her co-author Kristen Caven, the mother of a teen and a

dedicated school volunteer, empower

parents with the information and tools they need to create more positive cultures

in their homes, schools, and communities. In THE BULLYING ANTIDOTE, they

unpack the issues surrounding the bullying dynamic by presenting the best

thinking from leading programs around the world. The antidote to bullying, they

argue, is made up of qualities like connection, resilience, kindness, and

confidence, and a greater vision is needed to bring these things together. Their

blog, The Zorgos Reader (www.zorgos.wordpress.com) is a resource for readers

interested in this “superpower.” This fall, the authors will present a symposium

featuring groups in Oakland who are “getting it right.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:Louise Hart, Ed.D. has a doctorate in the prevention-based field of community psychology. Her goal is to create family environments that foster respectful, responsible, self-directed and healthy children who will thrive. The author of The Winning Family, and On the Wings of Self-Esteem, her seminars have attracted many thousands of parents, educators and mental health providers nationwide and abroad. Dr. Hart brings the broad perspective of a community psychologist – and of a grandmother.

Kristen Caven, Louise's daughter, is the mother of a teenager and the past president of the Oakland Tech PTSA. She writes and speaks on many topics in many genres. Ms. Caven brings the immediacy of a mother helping a growing child navigate the challenges of the modern world. Both authors live in Oakland, California.

THE BULLYING ANTIDOTE: Superpower Your Kids for LifeBy Louise Hart, Ed.D., and Kristen CavenPublication Date: July 2013ISBN-13: 978-1-61649-417-9ISBN-10: 1-61649-417-4Original Trade PaperbackPrice: $14.95

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