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Exploring Energy: Designing a Brighter Future

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Exploring Energy: Designing a Brighter Future

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Exploring Energy: Designing a Brighter Future

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In this Flipside Science unit, designed for a middle school audience, we'll explore environmental issues related to energy use and conservation. On this page you'll find short videos and associated lesson plans connected to the Next Generation Science Standards with an emphasis on human impacts on Earth's systems.

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Newsela | High schoolers demanding Black history and more Black authors

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Students across the United States act to increase diversity in their curriculum.

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Newsela - Charlottesville teen goes from targeting a statue to taking on the system

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Virginia high school activist Zyahna Bryant has become a well-known figure in her community and beyond for her quest for racial equality.

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Newsela | This college sophomore wants to change how we talk about disabilities

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Anna Landre is on a mission to change the "antiquated" ways in which we think and talk about people who are disabled.

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Newsela | Boat trip: Greta Thunberg, climate activist, plans travel to UN summits

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Swedish climate activist teen Greta Thunberg will travel to U.S. and Chile by racing yacht for UN summits.

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An activist is anyone who sees the need for change and devotes their time to doing something about it. And, as successful teen activists prove, structural, social, or economic barriers don't have to stop you from pursuing your passion and creating positive change. If you are interested in making a difference for a cause you care about, you can do so by educating yourself about the issue, finding ways to get involved in-person and online, and possibly even pursuing a career in a field related to your cause.

Add New Question

Is registering people to vote a form of activism?

Bridget Connolly has volunteered on political campaigns at the local and federal level for over 10 years, most notably for the 2008 Obama campaign in Nevada and Josh Harder's Congressional race in 2018. She has gone door-to-door to help register voters and get out the vote in both California and Nevada.

Yes! Registering people to vote helps remove barriers for people who have been marginalized by educational systems, culture, and misinformation about the importance of their vote. I've had so many experiences where every vote counts. If 500 people are registering people to vote in a specific county, and we each get 1 person, and somebody wins by 400 votes, that's a really big deal. I think it's a civic duty for people who understand how politics work and understand that voting is at the bedrock of all of that. The people who don't vote are essentially disenfranchised; they aren't playing a part in what's happening with their tax dollars and who is representing them at the local, state, and federal level. All levels. It takes a lot of work to stay informed, but that's how our system is set up. You're voting people into power, so it's a civic duty.

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This article was co-authored by Bridget Connolly and by wikiHow staff writer, Christopher M. Osborne, PhD. Bridget Connolly has volunteered on political campaigns at the local and federal level for over 10 years, most notably for the 2008 Obama campaign in Nevada and Josh Harder's Congressional race in 2018. She has gone door-to-door to help register voters and get out the vote in both California and Nevada. This article has been viewed 888,355 times.

Updated: November 19, 2023

If you feel passionately about an issue and want to become an activist, start by contacting local or online organizations with a similar mission. Ask them if you can volunteer your time or donate your money to contribute to the cause. Alternatively, you can also promote your cause on social media, share news articles, and circulate online petitions to raise awareness. Be sure to stay well-informed by keeping current with any news related to your cause! For tips on finding organizations that support your cause, read on!

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 888,355 times.

"I was doing a schoolwork about teen activism, and all of these thoughts and ideas helped me with what I could write about! I loved how you explained it, and it's a really well-written article. Congrats, you should be proud!" ..." more

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An activist is anyone who sees the need for change and devotes their time to doing something about it. And, as successful teen activists prove, structural, social, or economic barriers don't have to stop you from pursuing your passion and...

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Pet "overpopulation" encompasses two primary factors: (1) allowing cats and dogs to reproduce with little chance to find homes for the offspring and (2) pets being relinquished by owners who can no longer keep their animals, or who no longer want them.

Every year, millions of cats and dogs are euthanized in our nation's animal shelters because there are more pets than there are responsible homes for them. Until this issue is resolved, American Humane believes that all cats and dogs adopted from public or private animal care and control facilities should be spayed or neutered (i.e., sterilized). Such sterilization includes prepubertal spaying and neutering of kittens and puppies. American Humane supports the passage of laws and regulations mandating that all cats and dogs adopted from public or private animal care and control facilities be sterilized. It is less certain that community-wide mandatory spay/neuter laws are effective in addressing pet overpopulation. More information needs to be gathered on the benefit of prior legislative initiatives to determine long-term benefits.

American Humane encourages the veterinary profession to assist, whenever and however possible, in reducing the number of unwanted pets. This involvement includes supporting the neutering of cats and dogs adopted from public or private animal care and control facilities - thereby controlling the ongoing contribution of offspring to pet overpopulation. Veterinarians should continue to use their best judgment when recommending appropriate sterilization ages for individual cats and dogs owned by clients, especially those clients who are wellknown and likely to permit an unwanted pregnancy to occur prior to surgery. Short-term and long-term health risks for each animal should always be assessed. American Humane encourages research into the development and use of nonsurgical methods of sterilization.

American Humane also supports research to assess the causes for pet relinquishment. Prior research studies suggest that 7 to 20 percent of pets entering a home are no longer in that home six months after acquisition. These animals often end up at shelters, contributing to the pet "overpopulation" issue. Thus, American Humane wishes to understand individual, cultural and community issues that lead to pet relinquishment and to develop practical and effective intervention strategies.

What you can do to combat pet overpopulation:

1. If you are adding a pet to your family, make sure the pet comes from a legitimate shelter, nonprofit rescue group or a responsible, humane breeder.

2. Always spay and neuter your pets.

3. Consider all the responsibilities and consequences of pet ownership before deciding to get a pet and always make a lifetime commitment to your pet.

4. Educate your children, friends, family members and co-workers about pet overpopulation, adoption and the importance of spaying and neutering.

You can help stop generations of suffering. Have your female pet spayed and your male pet neutered. Don't allow them to breed and add to the pet overpopulation problem.

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Pet "overpopulation" encompasses two primary factors: (1) allowing cats and dogs to reproduce with little chance to find homes for the offspring and (2) pets being relinquished by owners who can no longer keep their animals, or who no longer...

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Newsela | Fallon to Parkland students: "Don't let anything stop you"

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Newsela - Six teens walk 50 miles in tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

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A long walk to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Greta and Malala get the headlines, but for every young leader pictured on a magazine cover, thousands more are working tirelessly for causes like climate justice, racial and gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and economic change.

That's the message from Jessica Taft, a leading scholar on youth activism who says today's young leaders are building on the legacy of their predecessors who helped desegregate the South, reformed education in Chile, and won rights for working youth in Bolivia.

"Around the world, we are seeing children and youth engage as social, political, and economic actors, demonstrating their capacity to help make social change," said Taft, an associate professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at UC Santa Cruz. "Adults make a lot of assumptions about children and what they're capable of, and those assumptions are often quite false."

Taft, the author of Rebel Girls and the new book The Kids Are in Charge: Activism and Power in Peru's Movement of Working Children, spoke days before the Sept. 20 global, youth-led climate strike. She has spent more than a decade studying children's rights and intergenerational activism.

"Youth, given the opportunity to work alongside adults who are willing to manage their own power, can lead activist communities and organizations," she said. "To not include them is anti-democratic. They deserve to be listened to, to be seen as collaborators and treated as equals."

Recent decades have seen children and youth invited to participate in civic and political activities through schools and municipal children's councils, said Taft. But participating in adult-driven institutions is distinct from what has been unfolding in Peru for 40 years. As Taft details in The Kids Are in Charge, Peru is home to a "horizontal," child-led movement of about 10,000 young people ages 8-16.

The Movement of Working Children is focused on recognizing children as social, political, and economic contributors who deserve respect, dignity, and inclusion. "The goal is to build children's leadership and participation in social movements," said Taft, clarifying that it's not only about children's work. "This organization provides on-the-ground support for kids to develop their capacity to address issues in their communities."

Children and youth have organized around the need for safe play spaces, like public parks, and for recognition of children's contributions to family enterprises, such as farms, market stalls, and helping with child care and cooking, said Taft. "The reality is children do meaningful work, much of it in safe and dignified conditions, and the image of the child worker needs to be more expansive," she said.

Other issues include reproductive health rights, climate and environmental issues, and building a gender-inclusive curriculum for schools. The youngest participants are about 8 years old, while regional leaders typically emerge at about 12 years old; national leaders are usually about 14, said Taft.

"I've seen 12-year-olds facilitate meetings better than 35-year-olds," she said. "We need to decouple experience and age. Sometimes the youngest kids get listened to the most."

By contrast, children in the United States don't see themselves as having rights, said Taft, who attributes that in part to what she calls "social amnesia" that has wiped away the memory of the youth who led the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins, the 1968 East L.A. walkouts, and the undocumented youth movement that led to the creation of DACA.

"Developmental psychologists tell us that how people develop depends on the social, cultural, and political contexts of where they're developing," she said. "The exclusion of children from political engagement isn't inevitable. It's a product of cultural assumptions about childhood and adulthood."

The United States remains the only eligible country that has failed to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which marks its 30th anniversary in November, noted Taft. "The Convention has given children in other countries the ability to make demands on their schools and their governments," said Taft. "Here, we talk about children as objects of protection rather than people with rights."

However, youth in the United States are organizing around causes they believe in, including high-profile efforts like the Sept. 20 international climate strike, the campaign for gun control being led by survivors of the Parkland high school shooting, and a campaign to lower the voting age to 16 in San Francisco. These youth leaders are pushing back on the arbitrary quality of age-based criteria for political involvement, said Taft.

"There is a stubborn resistance to treating young people's political activism as normal, but the truth is that it's neither extraordinary nor exceptional," she said. "Children and youth are not on the sidelines. They are protagonists in the fight for their rights and their well being."

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Youth activism is on the rise around the globe, and adults should pay attention, says author

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Greta and Malala get the headlines, but Jessica Taft says that for every young leader pictured on a magazine cover, thousands more are working tirelessly for causes like climate justice, racial and gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and economic change.

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The Shelter Pet Project’s goal is to make shelters the first place potential adopters turn when looking to get a new pet.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Gunman opens fire in Texas high school, killing 10

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Police arrest teenage boy in deadly attack at Santa Fe High School in Texas

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After George Zimmerman was acquitted in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2013, members of the black community and activists everywhere needed an outlet for their frustration, as well as a platform where they could call for change.

They found one: Social media and the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, which has become emblematic of modern racial injustices.

Exactly five years later, the Black Lives Matter movement is a quintessential example of a movement that's found successful amplification through social media. According to a newly released Pew study, the hashtag has been used nearly 30 million times on Twitter - an average of 17,003 times per day.

"The main thing that stuck out is really the consistent presence since it became popular," said Monica Anderson, one of the study's authors.
More: Sacramento Kings partner with Black Lives Matter amid Stephon Clark protests
Anderson said the hashtag tends to spike after major news events - during the short period of time in 2016 where Alton Sterling and Philando Castile as well as five Dallas police officers were killed, the hashtag was at an all-time high.

"It said what it needed to say so succinctly," said Mark Anthony Neal, a professor of African and African American studies at Duke University. "In a moment where black folks are getting killed, just this simple sentiment that black lives matter was important."

#BlackLivesMatter is emblematic of a wider trend - the blossoming role social media plays in all kinds of activist movements. #MeToo, which roared through social media as powerful men in a number of industries were accused of sexual misconduct, is a key example, as are #LoveWins, #JeSuisCharlie and #MAGA (Make America Great Again).
More: Facebook's biggest Black Lives Matter page was reportedly fake, according to CNN
"What's so interesting and so meaningful about social media and social movements is just how quickly people can mobilize through social media," said Rachel Einwohner, a sociology professor at Purdue University.

The Pew study found that 69 percent of Americans believe social media is useful in bringing issues to politicians' attention, while an additional 67 percent see it as effective for creating sustained movements.

On the other hand, 77 percent believe social networks can distract from issues that are really important, and 71 percent agree that "social media makes people believe they're making a difference when they really aren't" - a phenomenon more commonly known as "slacktivism."
More: Black Lives Matter can't be sued, judge rules
Slacktivism relates to a major criticism of social media engagement: Posting a status or sharing an article isn't a viable form of political action. But Einwohner said that's a misguided notion.

"People who are tweeting or liking things on Facebook are also participating in marches," she said. "They're also having face to face conversations with neighbors, and they're also calling their congressmen."

One key finding of the Pew study reveals that black and Hispanic social media users are more likely than white social media users to see social media as an effective tool for political engagement.

That trend, experts say, is likely because those groups don't feel that their views are represented elsewhere - by political institutions or the mainstream media.

"Traditionally, people of color in our society have felt that our political institutions do not represent them, for obvious reasons," Einwohner said. "When we have social media, people can have a voice."

Five years after the hashtag appeared, Black Lives Matter has become an influential movement and a key aspect of today's larger conversation about race. But, Neal said, social media was only the beginning.

Since the movement began, activists have developed specific policy recommendations, and combating police violence against people of color is a key part of the progressive agenda.

"It had to move beyond the hashtag," he said. "It had to move beyond this symbolic coming together - and many of these organizations, national or local, had to begin do work that would have impact in terms of policy."

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How social media has shaped Black Lives Matter, five years later

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The Black Lives Matter movement is a quintessential example of a movement that's found successful amplification through social media. According to a newly released Pew study, the hashtag has been used nearly 30 million times on Twitter - an average of 17,003 times per day.

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Newsela - Girl with Down syndrome shines in American Girl’s holiday catalog

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A 4-year-old girl with Down syndrome is featured in American Girl’s holiday catalog.

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Malala and teen activists on learning to speak out

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Bulletproof products: Are retailers capitalizing on Americans' fears?

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In an America where mass shootings have become increasingly commonplace, consumers seek to protect themselves with bulletproof products.

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Freedom fighters around the globe commemorate July 13 as the day that three Black women helped give birth to a movement. In the five short years since #Black LivesMatter arrived on the scene - thanks to the creative genius of Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometti - the push for Black liberation from state-inflicted violence has evolved into one of the most influential social movements of the post-civil rights era.

Black Lives Matter has always been more of a human rights movement rather than a civil rights movement. BLM's focus has been less about changing specific laws and more about fighting for a fundamental reordering of society wherein Black lives are free from systematic dehumanization. Still, the movement's measurable impact on the political and legal landscape is undeniable.

What gets referred to as "the Black Lives Matter movement" is, in actuality, the collective labor of a wide range of Black liberation organizations, each which their own distinct histories. These organizations include groups like the Black Youth Project 100, the Dream Defenders, Assata's Daughters, the St. Louis Action council, Millennial Activists United, and the Organization for Black Struggle, to name just a few.

Collectively, since 2013, these organizers have effected significant change locally and nationally, including the ousting of high-profile corrupt prosecutors. In Chicago, the labor of groups such as BYP100 and Assata's Daughters, among others, led Anita Alvarez - who had inexplicably failed to charge police officers who shot at least 68 people to death - to lose her re-election bid for Cook County prosecutor. And in Florida, groups like The Dream Defenders and others helped end Angela Corey 's reign as a state attorney. Corey remains infamous for failing to convict Trayvon Martin's killer George Zimmerman while prosecuting Marissa Alexander, a Black woman who didn't hurt anyone when firing a warning shot at her abusive ex-husband.
Podcast: Hear Patrisse Cullors on the Evolution of Black Lives Matter
The BLM movement's work certainly doesn't stop there. Students on the ground in Missouri, as part of the #ConcernedStudent1950 movement, helped lead to the resignation of the University of Missouri president over his failure to deal with racism on campus. BLM compelled Democrats to restructure their national platform to include issues such as criminal justice reform, and the movement contributed to the election of Black leftist organizers to public office, such as activist Chokwe Lumumba to mayor of Jackson, Mississippi.

The BLM movement's unrelenting work on the issue of police corruption, helped incite the release of four unprecedented U.S. Department of Justice reports that confirm the widespread presence of police corruption in Baltimore, Chicago, Ferguson, and Cleveland. Moreover, the Movement for Black Lives' publication of a watershed multi-agenda policy platform - authored by over 50 black-centered organizations - laid bare the expansive policy goals of the movement. The fact that these accomplishments have happened so quickly is an extraordinary achievement in and of itself.

Moreover, the broader cultural impact of BLM as a movement has been immeasurably expansive. BLM will forever be remembered as the movement responsible for popularizing what has now become an indispensable tool in 21st-century organizing efforts: the phenomenon that scholars refer to as "mediated mobilization." By using the tools of social media, BLM was the first U.S. social movement in history to successfully use the internet as a mass mobilization device. The recent successes of movements, such as #MeToo, #NeverAgain, and #TimesUp, would be inconceivable had it not been for the groundwork that #BlackLivesMatter laid.

Many have suggested, erroneously, that the BLM movement has "quieted" down in the age of Trump. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything the opposite is true: BLM is stronger, larger, and more global now than ever before. The success of initiatives such as Alicia Garza's Black Census Project - the largest national survey focusing on U.S. black lives in over 150 years - and Patrisse Cullor's launch of the grassroots effort Dignity and Power Now in support of incarcerated people, both exemplify the BLM movement's continued impact, particularly in local communities.

The idea that BLM is in a "decline" stage is false. Instead, what is true is that American mainstream media has been much less willing to actually cover the concerns of the BLM in part because it has been consumed by the daily catastrophes of the Trump presidency. Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to assume that BLM is "dwindling" away simply because the cameras are no longer present. The revolution is still happening - it is just not being televised. All throughout the country, BLM organizers are at work in their local communities feverishly fighting for change and relentlessly speaking truth to power. For instance, The Dream Defenders in Florida just released their visionary project "The Freedom Papers," and BYP100 just celebrated its five-year anniversary.

Ironically, many of the debates that have come to define the age of Trump, such as the immigration debate, are arguably indirectly influenced by BLM. A notable example: Recently, some congressional Democrats have called for the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been violating the rights of undocumented immigrants. What has been missing in much of the mainstream coverage of the ICE debate is an acknowledgment of how the democratic left's radicalization would not have been possible without the efforts of Black radical grassroots social movements, such as BLM.

Indeed, long before congressional Democrats dared to call for the abolition of ICE, #blacklivesmatter activists pioneered the call for an end of modern policing in America. The language of "abolition" comes directly from the work of grassroots activists, such as those in the Black Lives Matter Global Network. Their work helped to revive a long black radical tradition of engaging the rhetoric of abolitionism.

We literally would not even be using the word "abolition" - let alone embracing it as a framework - had it not been for the labor of BLM activists. The fact that Democrats are gradually calling for the abolition of ICE is a testimony to the continued impact of BLM as a social movement.

As we reflect on five years of BLM, we would do well to consider the myriad ways that #blacklivesmatter has influenced our contemporary moment and given us a framework for imagining what democracy in action really looks like. Whether it be transforming how we talk about police violence or transforming how we talk about "abolitionism," the BLM movement has succeeded in transforming how Americans talk about, think about, and organize for freedom.
Frank Leon Roberts is the founder of the Black Lives Matter Syllabus and teaches at New York University.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: An earlier version of this essay inadvertently conflated two important distinctions: Black Lives Matter, the organization, vs. Black Lives Matter, the movement. Black Lives Matter, the organization, is a global decentralized network with over 30 chapters across the world. Black Lives Matter, the movement, is a broad conceptual umbrella that refers to the important work of a wide range of Black liberation organizations. Sometimes referred to as "the Movement for Black Lives," the achievements of the Black Lives Matter movement would not be possible had it not been for the collective efforts of groups such as Black Youth Project 100, the Dream Defenders, Assata's Daughters, the St. Louis Action council, Millennial Activists United, and the Organization for Black Struggle, to name just a few. This essay is an attempt to celebrate the movement without attributing the movement's "achievements" solely to Black Lives Matter, the organization.

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How Black Lives Matter Changed the Way Americans Fight for Freedom | News & Commentary | American Civil Liberties Union

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Freedom fighters around the globe commemorate July 13 as the day that three Black women helped give birth to a movement. In the five short years since #Black LivesMatter arrived on the scene - thanks to the creative genius of Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometti - the push for Black liberation from state-inflicted violence has evolved into one of the most influential social movements of the post-civil rights era.

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Newsela | Diagnosed with autism at 3, Montel Medley graduates from college

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Montel Medley is a college graduate with autism.

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Find the best eco-friendly advice for parenting infants to teens, plus tips on pregnancy, activities, family dynamics, and environmental education.

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How many pets are in the United States? How many animals are in shelters?

Facts about U.S. Animal Shelters:

The terms "humane society" and "SPCA" are generic; shelters using those names are not part of the ASPCA or The Humane Society of the United States. Currently, no government institution or animal organization is responsible for tabulating national statistics for the animal protection movement. These are national estimates; the figures may vary from state to state.

Approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. We estimate that the number of dogs and cats entering U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 7.2 million in 2011. The biggest decline was in dogs (from 3.9 million to 3.1 million).

Each year, approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized (390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats). The number of dogs and cats euthanized in U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 2.6 million in 2011. This decline can be partially explained by an increase in the percentage of animals adopted and an increase in the number of stray animals successfully returned to their owners.

Approximately 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted each year (2 million dogs and 2.1 million cats).

About 810,000 animals who enter shelters as strays are returned to their owners. Of those, 710,000 are dogs and 100,000 are cats.

*These estimates are based in part on Shelter Animals Count data and other known and estimated sources, 2019. These are national estimates based on data obtained from shelters and rescues; the figures may vary from state to state.
Facts about Pet Ownership in the U.S.:

It's estimated that 78 million dogs and 85.8 million cats are owned in the United States. Approximately 44% of all households in the United States have a dog, and 35% have a cat. (Source: American Pet Products Association 2015-2016 (APPA))

Approximately 40% of dog owners and 46% of cat owners learned about their pet through word of mouth. (Source: APPA)

According to the APPA, these are the most common sources from which primary methods cats and dogs are obtained as pets (Note: this information was based on a multiple response question, which results in the total % exceeding 100% individually for cats and dogs. In addition, the 'other' category includes all source categories that were reported by <10% of both dog and cat owners):

APPA reports that 34% of dogs are purchased from breeders, while 23% of dogs and 31% of cats are obtained from an animal shelter or humane society.

Around 27% of cats are acquired as strays, down from 35% in 2012. (Source: APPA)

According to the ASPCA's National Rehoming Survey, pet problems are the most common reason that owners rehome their pet, accounting for 47% of rehomed dogs and 42% of rehomed cats. Pet problems were defined as problematic behaviors, aggressive behaviors, grew larger than expected, or health problems owner couldn't handle.

The preceding data are ASPCA estimates unless otherwise indicated.
You may also wish to visit:

American Pet Products Association
https://www.americanpetproducts.org/

The National Council on Pet Population Study & Policy (NCPPSP)
https://theaawa.org/page/nationalcouncil

The American Veterinary Medical Association
https://www.avma.org/ (see U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics)

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How many pets are in the United States? How many animals are in shelters? Get the answers to these and other questions about pet statistics.

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Newsela | School shooting trauma is hard to heal for survivors

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The effects of school shootings on survivors.

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I have a dream that my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Every Friday before MLK Jr. Day growing up, my teachers in school would project a video of his speech for us to hear. I'd listen thinking that since racism is over , the speech was simultaneously inspiring and repetitive.

Admittedly, we've come a long way since 1963: for example, many people this week are thinking of November 2008 when our country elected the first African-American president, Barack Obama - with a wife, Michelle, whose family ancestry includes black slaves. For some, this signaled the end of racism in our nation.

And, on this day celebrating racial progress, many other people are thinking about our future president and his controversial racialized language during the campaign. Subsequent post-election accounts of racist acts suggest that perhaps we've made less racial progress than we thought. Both ABC's television show Black-ish and this week's cover of the Magazine boldly highlight the still wounding legacy of American racism.

Certainly voting for Trump does not mean one is a racist person - one who hates other persons based on the color of their skin. That being said, each of us make assumptions and harbors prejudices about the people we interact with - including myself . These prejudices are implicitly formed by our conceptions of the great America - usually driven by the white heterosexual middle-class suburban version - shaped by a historical legacy of American exceptionalism, slavery, and Manifest Destiny.

Theologian Kelly Brown Douglass explicates this connection in her excellent 2015 book Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God Explorers like Christopher Columbus "found"two continents full of people. But because these settlers saw themselves as ordained by God to "cultivate" and "civilize" the lands, they justified via "God's will" the extermination of the Native population in today's now US while also creating a labor force based in the enslavement of African peoples. This mindset infiltrated the consciousness of our Founding Fathers , too. When the land of the East was not enough, the Manifest Destiny narrative provided justification for more land seizures. Said another way, our great America was founded, already stained by the original sin of racism.

I didn't own slaves so I'm not racist.

I'm not racist, I have a black friend.

Slavery is over so black people need to move on, and my personal favorite:

Black people can be racist too. I am experiencing reverse racism.

Yes, in 2016 we do not own slaves. And sure, slavery is over in its 1850s version. It has, however, taken a new form via institutional racism : two examples include the prison industrial complex and neighborhood segregation .

Were King living today, he would protest against the social fabric of our country. Take two examples from his speech:
"We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one."
Sadly, despite the work of the Civil Rights movement fifty years ago, racial segregation continues to be a chronic American problem: "if you're a black person in America, you're more likely than a white person to live in an area of concentrated poverty," the BBC reported just earlier this month. The consequence often means schools with less resources , worse housing options, and less access to financial credit. Women of color have higher rates of complications during childbirth. It also means that white and black persons are less likely to form friendships that could break down even well intentioned prejudices.
"We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality."
Tragically, black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people, even if they are not suspected of any crime. And ironically, suggests The Atlantic , this is our system working properly: innocent young black men like Trayvon Martin are killed because our society "takes at its founding the hatred and denigration of a people." The Atlantic concludes that we should expect more, not less, cases like Travyon's because we are socializing ourselves to assume black persons are suspicious.

Let's be honest with ourselves: racism is deep-seated in our country, and isn't likely to disappear tomorrow. Our governmental structures, laws, neighborhoods, schools, culture, and personal consciousness are socialized by our racialized original sin. What is more, our current political culture suggests that decreasing housing segregation and preserving the social safety net for poor people will be difficult - at best. That being said, we aren't helpless in the fight against racism. For those of us with privilege, we can start by deepening our understanding of racism - and our role in it. We can:

Read and learn about racism: both published in 2015, Jim Wallis's America's Original Sin and Kelly Brown Douglass's Stand Your Ground give comprehensive accounts of how racism has been with our founding. What they offer particularly is theological reflection that can help us choose to stand with God who stands with the marginalized.

Watch film and documentary series about racism: this year's Golden Globe Best Picture winner addresses the intersection between race, poverty, and sexuality. examines the history of being African American in the United States - from slavery until today.

There are excellent radio programs, too: BBC's new " America in Black and White " tackles topics in depth including criminal justice and economic opportunity. New York City NPR affiliate WNYC has a new series too, called " Dear President: What You Need to Know About Race" to help educate with personal experiences of growing up marginalized.

Perhaps most important of all : When we hear the experiences of black and brown people today who suffer from racism, it is understandable to feel defensive and "blamed" since we've benefitted at their expense. Admitting that to ourselves, we can listen more closely to the experience of our black and brown brothers and sisters so that real partnerships can be formed.

Correct our friends when we hear racialized statements (like the ones above) that minimize the deep roots of racism and the privilege we've experienced as a result.

Get plugged into undoing-racism trainings with organizations like Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training , and Whites Confronting Racism .

acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn't suddenly vanish in the '60s; that when minority groups voice discontent, they're not engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness; they're not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment our Founders promised.

***

Images courtesy FlickrCC users jrr_wired, thinairchi, and Gage Skidmore.

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I have a dream that my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Every Friday before MLK Jr. Day growing up, my teachers in school would project a video of his speech for us to hear.

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Newsela | Born without hands, 10-year-old wins handwriting competition

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A third-grade handwriting award winner says writing in cursive is "kind of like art."

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Kelsey Juliana is proof that you're never too young or too busy to save the planet.
The 18-year-old environmentalist activist is a co-plaintiff for the Oregon TRUST (a nonprofit fighting climate change for future generations), who is suing the state of Oregon "to take a more aggressive stance against the carbon emissions warming the earth and destroying the environment." It's a cause she's been fighting for since the tender age of 15.
The impressive teen - who is also walking across America to bring awareness to global warming - recently sat down with journalist Bill Moyers on his show. The host marveled that when most kids her age are reading "The Hunger Games," this young lady is delving into legal briefs about public doctrine.
During a poignant portion of the interview at the 4:30 mark below, Moyers asks, "Do some of your friends in high school think you're weird [for your activism]?"
Juliana responds, "No. They seem to all support me but not join me, which is almost worse than not supporting me, you know, because they get it. And they don't do anything."
MORE: What Happens When a 13-Year-Old Girl Takes on an Oil Company?
What she says is completely true. Thanks to the proliferation of smart phones and social media, America's youth is probably more informed about worldly issues than ever (just think of the virality of #BringBackOurGirls or the ALS #IceBucketChallenge). And while using a hashtag to promote a cause certainly helps, ultimately, actions speak much louder.
With warmer temperatures, rising sea levels and toxic air, we cannot afford to stand idle. Especially, the people who will be inheriting the earth.
As Juliana says, "I think that's so important that people my age really get [that] into their heads. As a younger person, I have everything to gain from taking action and everything to lose from not... It's important that youth are the ones who are standing up because of the fact that we do have so much to lose."

DON'T MISS: When it Comes to the Planet, Children (Not the Government) Really Are the Future

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This Teen Activist Is Suing the Government Over Climate Change

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The teen explains why armchair activism isn't enough.

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We need your voice to advance animal-friendly laws and regulations! See how policy and legal work can help end cruelty and build a better world for all animals.

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Life after Bully: Teenage star of hit documentary finally escapes his tormentors... and finds happiness in new school

Alex Libby's life has changed since he featured in the hit anti-bullying documentary, Bully.

The highschool freshman now has other students come up and hug him in the corridors, has good friends and gets on well with his teachers.

The unlikely fame has potentially saved him from becoming one of two thousand American teenagers who have committed suicide because of relentless aggression from their peers.

Some 13million schoolchildren in the U.S. are victims of bullying, with 3million absent from class each month because they cannot cope with the torment.

The award-winning documentary by Lee Hirsh follows five kids and families over the course of a school year, including two families who have lost children to suicide because of bullying.

Alex agreed to take part in Bully in the hope that his persecutors would stop tormenting him.

He didn't realise that the brave act would bring him national notoriety, a trip to the White House and a chat with a beauty pageant winner.

Much of the bullying took place on the school bus, on which Kim Lockwood, assistant principal of East Middle School in Sioux City, Iowa, insisted the kids were 'as good as gold'.

Alex knew different.

'Most of the kids on that bus, I knew from elementary school, and we were good friends then,' he said in the documentary.

'But then in middle school, everything changes, and it's all about popularity and who dresses the best and who's the most athletic and who has the best hair. I was not the kid with the best hair.'

The bullies in Iowa called him 'fishface'. They threatened to break his bones, sexually assault him and kill him.

Perhaps, more crucially, the bullies scared away other kids who were his genuine buddies.

'I craved friends. I didn't have any friends. That was all I wanted, some friendship, someone to come over, someone to lift me back up when I'm knocked down. I didn't have that, he said.

However, today things have changed dramatically, reports the Des Moines Register .

A move to a new school, Edmond Memorial School in Oklahoma, has broken the cycle of bullying but Alex is also enjoying his unlikely fame and has become a spokesperson for the bullying cause.

He wears a T-shirt that says, 'I stand for the silent'.

Alex is not the only one: the documentary has already been seen by over 90,000 American schoolchildren and has 97,000 'likes' on its Facebook page .

Watch the video:

Watch the documentary trailer:

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Life after Bully: Teenage star of hit documentary finally escapes his tormentors... and finds happiness in new school

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Alex Libby's life has changed dramatically since he featured in the anti-bullying documentary, Bully. After leaving the school in Iowa he has now settled in a new school in Oklahoma.

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Newsela - Parkland activists don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors balance activist lives with additional reality as young students.

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We need to face racism head-on in order to have healthy communities and a strong country. Racism and gaps among racial and ethnic groups affect education, housing, health care, the justice system and job opportunities. If we're going to make progress in our communities and in our country, people from all backgrounds and views must work together to address racism and inequities.

Dialogue-to-change programs can help people from a variety of racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds examine the gaps among racial and ethnic groups where they live, explore approaches to creating greater equity, and create lasting change in their community.
Why addressing racism is important to building a strong democracy:

Racism is rooted in our history and embedded in our culture

Racism is one of the greatest barriers to solving all kinds of public problems

Because of this, we help communities pay special attention to how structural racism and other structural inequities affect the problems they want to address

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We need to face racism head-on in order to have healthy communities and a strong country. Racism and gaps among racial and ethnic groups affect education, housing, health care, the justice system and job opportunities. If we're going to make progress in our communities and in our country, people from all backgrounds and views must work together to address racism and inequities.

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Newsela | Division I recruit with autism will play basketball for Kent State

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Kent State signs first student-athlete with autism to play Division I basketball.

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Melissa L. Kauffman, Group Editorial Director Catster/Dogster

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Meet the Teen Animal Activist Who Took Two Shelter Dogs to Prom - Dogster

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Dogster is a publication where dog lovers come together to get the latest expert advice about dog behavior, health, news and entertainment.

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Newsela | Americans shaken by two mass shootings in less than 24 hours

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Two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, claimed at least 29 lives in less than 24 hours and left scores of people wounded.

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A young writers' group from Newcastle's west end have been inspired to make a short film as a way of standing up to racism.

Tessy and Angelica, members of New Writing North Young Writers, are part of the team behind Colour Blind, a short poem based on their real experiences with "every day racism".

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The teenagers fighting racism through verse

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A young writers' group from Newcastle's west end have been inspired to make a short film as a way of standing up to racism. Tessy and Angelica, members of New Writing North Young Writers, are part of the team behind Colour Blind, a short poem based on their real experiences with "every day racism".

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Newsela - Teen runner with disability races to the finish line

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Teen athlete with disability races ahead

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Pollution is a major threat to sea turtles. Learn more here.

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An animal shelter, by definition, is: an establishment, especially one supported by charitable contributions, that provides a temporary home for dogs, cats, and other animals that are offered for adoption. An establishment that temporarily provides a home until the animal is adoptable. Sounds good, right?
However, this definition is more in line with no kill animal shelters. These shelters will either keep animals as long as possible, or give them to some other organization that can attempt to adopt out the animals. They will do all in their power to find a great new home for animals that may have been homeless, abused, or a victim of hoarding. Through these types of organizations and charities, animals are given a second chance at life, love, and happiness.
Not only do the animals benefit, but those who adopt them do as well. They can receive some of the best animals and friends from places such as these, (as I know from experience.) While animals may come from any condition, if they are healthy, and great with people, even if it so happens to be as a result of many months or years of training, they will get another chance to be happy and to know love like they should.
Programs like these are great and can really help people in many conditions. There are many success stories out there that will make one want to go adopt every single animal from a shelter that they can, or at the very least, help them.
On the contrary, when comparing no kill shelters to ones without the same beliefs, the results often are not so 'successful.' These shelters may take in animals from the streets, and give them what they need, if only for a little amount of time depending upon their policies.
To clarify, there are some shelters that will let an animal stay for two weeks before euthanizing it. Others give only 3 days. According to research, some shelters may give an animal 3 days, then an additional 7, should the owner come looking for the animal. Meanwhile, other shelters may give the animals a few months, a few weeks, a few days, or even just an hour.
These particular shelters may have excuses, such as "we don't have enough room, we don't have enough money to keep them alive, or they aren't young or 'cute' enough and nobody will want to adopt them." While it may be true that there is no room for the animal or not enough money, the shelters could give the animals to a no kill shelter or an adoption organization.
I personally believe that all animals, no matter what age, as long as they are healthy and gentle, are "adoptable." The excuse that the animal is not young or cute enough has no support, seeing as many ages and kinds of animals are adopted all the time.
Animal shelters that do not have no kill policies don't give the animals enough time. It may take more than 3 days, 7 days, or even a couple of weeks for someone to come to the shelter. But the people coming to adopt are not to blame, because the shelter could put out fliers or notices that there are adoptable pets waiting to find their 'furever homes.'
Though some shelters may do this, and may even genuinely care about the animals, there are always those who just look at the animals as profit. Maybe they think keeping the animals alive is too much money or that there's less hassle with less animals, but clearly, the animals' best interest is not in mind, as it is at a no kill shelter.
Sure, maybe this is the first time in the animal's life that they've had shelter or food and water, but is it beneficial if the animal will not even get a fair chance at life? The animals don't know what's going on, and they may be scared from the past, traumatized, or extremely shy, but they haven't done anything at all to deserve to die.
So while not all shelters can 'afford' to keep the animals, they could find people who will foster the animals until adoption, or some other, positive alternative. Why, if an animal is not a harm to others, should it be killed without any choice? The animals can't speak for themselves. Their fates depend on us to be their voice. Are you up for the challenge? I know I am.

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Animal Shelters: another chance at life or death

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An animal shelter, by definition, is: an establishment, especially one supported by charitable contributions, that provides a temporary home for dogs, cats, and other animals that are offered for adoption. An establishment that temporarily provides a home until the animal is adoptable. Sounds good, right?

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Stop Bullying on the Spot

When adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior they send the message that it is not acceptable. Research shows this can stop bullying behavior over time.

Parents, school staff, and other adults in the community can help kids prevent bullying by talking about it, building a safe school environment, and creating a community-wide bullying prevention strategy.

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StopBullying.gov provides information from various government agencies on bullying, cyberbullying, prevention and response.

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Newsela | President, moved to tears by memory of victims, unveils gun control plan

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"We all need to help our country heal. And you, young people, are the medicine," declared Senator Murray Sinclair to an arena of 16,000 youth at WE Day Ottawa.

For Grade 10 student Donovan Faraoni, those words were delivered directly to him. Hearing the Manitoba-born former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission passionately recount the dark history of the residential schools suffered by Indigenous Canadians-which included both Sinclair's parents and grandparents-Donovan could not remain silent; it was time to speak out.

And so he established the WE Take Action club at Quebec's Bishop's College School.

"I knew that once people heard the message, once they knew they could get involved, they'd be inspired too," says Donovan of founding the club.

To motivate his fellow students, Donovan turned to WE, and with the support of his school's administration and teachers, the club wrangled a visit from WE speaker Tristan Jones only a few weeks into its conception.

Standing before 260 students from Bishop's College School, Jones shared his story and passion for Indigenous issues. From there, he asked the students to get involved in their community. The students responded with a series of actions that are now forcing the Quebec government to take notice.

Incensed by the reports of intimidation, violence and sexual assault of Val-d'Or's Indigenous community at the hands of Quebec police, the students launched solidarity actions to fight racism and increase inclusivity.

The blueprint for change began in the small action planning seminar that followed Jones' presentation. Here, the students learned to think tangibly about issues they wanted to tackle. And while everything from hunger, poverty and housing were all discussed, the students ultimately chose racism, representation, and the issues facing Indigenous people in Val-d'Or and across Quebec as the focus of their action plan.

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Quebec student launches campaign against racism

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"We all need to help our country heal. And you, young people, are the medicine," declared Senator Murray Sinclair to an arena of 16,000 youth at WE Day Ottawa. For Grade 10 student Donovan Faraoni, those words were delivered directly to him.

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Newsela | Blind baseball announcer aspires to bring sports to fans with disabilities

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His sense of hearing and broad knowledge help him spread his love for the game.

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Young people have a unique relationship with the environment: They are often the first affected when something goes wrong, yet the least represented when decisions are made.

They, more than any other generation, have been raised to feel a responsibility toward the environment. And that's important because they will be the first generation in charge of correcting the problems caused by the widespread pollution of the atmosphere and rampant misappropriation of natural resources.

Youth today feel the "clock is ticking in terms of the amount of time we have to deal with the major issues like clean air, clean water and global warming," says Sharon Smith, program director of Brower New Leaders at the Earth Island Institute, a support group for youth environmental campaigns and initiatives.
Growth in activism
Smith has seen firsthand the growth in environmental activism. "I graduated from college in 1999, and right in my first year out of college I went to an eco conference, which at that time was held in the Northeast. It was one of the largest environmental youth conferences held to date, and it had about a thousand people."

Contrast that with a 2009 conference that drew 12,000 young people from all 50 states, she said. "You can really see the growth of the environmental movement even over the past decade by looking at these conferences and the trainings designed and led and initiated by young people."

Canon Envirothon has seen similar growth in youth activism. A nonprofit specializing in the delivery of environmental education for high school students, the program has grown from three states in 1988 to 54 states and provinces in North America today.

Young people are "looking for avenues where they can make a difference and become knowledgeable, and then they can take and share that knowledge and experience," said Clay Burns, executive director of Canon Envirothon in Mississippi. They need to be "willing and prepared to work toward achieving and maintaining a balance between the quality of life and the quality of the environment."
Raising new leaders
But an increase in youth activism is not enough to stave off environmental peril - we need new ideas and new leaders, according to Eban Goodstein, economics professor at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., and co-director of the 2009 National Teach-In on Global Warming, a nationwide network of teachers at all educational levels that, on Feb. 5, engaged more than a million Americans in a "solutions-driven dialogue."

Eban says the U.S. must act aggressively in the next year or so to reduce global- warming pollution and invest in clean energy technologies or "you guys are going to be looking at a very different world in 2050," when the world will be 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher.

"To put that number in perspective, during the last Ice Age, it was only nine degrees Fahrenheit colder than it is on average today," he explained.

Goodstein says youth need to move beyond being the front lines of environmental activism to being the visionaries. Both the Brower New Leaders and Canon Envirothon have devoted more than two decades training them to do just that.

Earth Island Initiative was founded in 1982 by renowned environmentalist David Brower to support young people who have new strategies for saving the earth. In 2000, the organization started the Brower Youth Awards, which honor six youth ages 13 to 23 each year for their leadership and activism with a gala ceremony, campout and $3,000 prize.

"We felt like young people so often are sort of the workhorses of these campaigns and aren't always recognized, aren't always supported at a critical time in the development of their careers, in the development of their activism," Smith said.

The Canon Envirothon also honors young environmentalists in a yearly competition that engages more than 500,000 high school students throughout North America. The Envirothon works in partnership with local conservation districts, forestry associations, educators and natural resource agencies to organize and conduct competitions on the local, regional, and state and/or provincial level. This year's hands-on problem-solving competition is Aug. 2-6 at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where local finalists will compete for recognition, scholarships, and prizes.
Issues addressed
While recycling clubs abound at all age levels, more and more youth are expanding their efforts in other directions. In Massachusetts, young people involved in Gardening in the Community promote organic gardening and bicycle use. In Florida, a young man developed an interactive curriculum to educate youth about the plight of loggerhead turtles. In California, youth helped pass a bill requiring cosmetic companies to alert the Department of Health if their products contain carcinogens.

These are just a few examples. Youth across the country are cleaning up local wetlands, shutting down toxic waste sites, promoting clean energy and combating landfills. They have educated their peers, parents and the public on carbon emissions, reusable goods and conservation of resources.

Brower New Leaders have dealt with many such issues, and the Earth Island Institute currently oversees 60 projects, ranging from "Project Coyote" to the "Sacred Land Film Project," in 26 countries worldwide.

Students involved in Canon Envirothon pay special attention to natural resources, specifically those related to soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry and wildlife.

"Conservation is the big thing that we're involved in," Burns said, explaining that such work is more grassroots, and thus a more viable venue for youth activism.

And while most youth activism is local, many are entering the political realm to effect long-lasting change.

"There's a recognition that this is a time when we need major action from government if we're going to sort of lay the foundation and give you guys the tools that you're going to need to transform the world," Goodstein said.
New worldview coming?
Goodstein envisions a day soon when people automatically think about the environmental impact of their actions before they act. "We'll move on to a phase where we just sort of naturally mimic nature and create things that are in harmony with nature and don't produce waste and pollution."

Smith shares his optimism because she's seen the changes enacted by the youth involved in her program. "Just this year we were looking at the past 10 years of awardees, and at least 87 percent of our award recipients are still in leadership roles in the environmental movement. So it's a great sign that these young folks were committed when they applied to do this work and that hopefully the support we provided ensured they could stay committed and rise as leaders," she said.

The presidency of Barack Obama gives more reasons for hope. "It's rejuvenated the environmental movement in a number of ways," Smith said. "People have been really hitting their heads against the wall for eight years trying to push forward environmental initiatives."
Click here to read these Y-Press profiles:
Grind for the Green, San Francisco, CA
Urban Roots, East Austin, TX
West Oakland Urban Students Uprising against Pollution, Oakland, CA
Click here to read how students at two high schools are recycling and promoting environmentalism.

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Researchers from the United Negro College Fund went to West Virginia last year and asked 62 high school dropouts in the federal Job Corps program a simple, open-ended question. ¨What was it about school,¨ they wanted to know, ¨that caused you to quit?¨

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Natalie Hampton, Sanah Jivani, Peyton Klein, and Tori Taylor share one thing in common: They all experienced or witnessed bullying as teens.

As they tried to make sense of what they'd personally endured or watched others live through, the four young women, who didn't know each other, ultimately decided to dedicate their teen years to bullying prevention.

After taking time to recover from the severe bullying she experienced, Hampton built an app called Sit With Us(Opens in a new tab) that helps students find new friends with whom they can share lunch. Jivani, now 21, had been bullied for having a hair loss condition known as alopecia and founded International Natural Day(Opens in a new tab) while in high school. Klein noticed how students who spoke English as a second language were excluded and discriminated against, so she launched an after-school program to promote tolerance and friendship called Global Minds Initiative(Opens in a new tab) . Taylor, who'd experienced bullying, fought to bring a peer counseling program to her high school.

Bullying often makes victims and bystanders feel helpless, but young people also have the power to help change the culture at their school - just like Hampton, Jivani, Klein and Taylor did.

"There's a lot students can do at the individual level," Susan M. Swearer, Willa Cather professor of educational psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a researcher with expertise in bullying, said.

Tweet may have been deleted (opens in a new tab) (Opens in a new tab)

Swearer said that students looking for more information about how to develop an anti-bullying campaign can find tools through inspireED(Opens in a new tab) , a website created by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation(Opens in a new tab) , and Channel Kindness(Opens in a new tab) , a project by the Born This Way Foundation(Opens in a new tab) .

You should also listen to the students themselves.

We invited Hampton, Jivani, Klein, and Taylor to talk about how they led their own anti-bullying campaigns and initiatives. Their written responses were edited for clarity and length.

What do you wish you would've known about bullying prevention and being an " upstander(Opens in a new tab) " before you launched Sit With Us?

I wish I had known that I was not alone. Through Sit With Us, I have met so many people with similar stories to mine. In one way, it has shown me how widespread the bullying problem is, but more importantly, it has shown me how many people are devoted to solving it. I believe that every school has upstanders like me who are willing to make a positive impact in their communities. Now more than ever, they are vocal and helping to create change.
What advice would you give to students who want to pro-actively change their school or peer culture in order to help prevent bullying?
Whatever idea you have, run with it! When I came up with Sit With Us, I was 15 years old, knew absolutely no coding, yet wanted to create a global anti-bullying app. Even though it seemed crazy, I ran with it, and with a lot of hard work and effort, the impossible became possible. Students are often told that they are too young to make a difference. My experiences speaking to students around the country and becoming a Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award(Opens in a new tab) recipient and a UN Outstanding Youth Delegate(Opens in a new tab) have shown me that could not be more false. No matter what barriers are in your way, you have the possibility to change the world. Get out there and get started!
What would you describe as Sit With Us' greatest success so far?
To me, our biggest successes are not how many users we have or how many countries we are operating in - it is the individual stories we hear from our users about how the app has impacted their lives. I absolutely love interacting with students through our social channels and hearing about their time at school and how the app is working in their communities. If I can make a positive difference in one person's life, then all of this will have been worth it.
What advice would you give to people who've experienced bullying and want to do something to change the culture at their school or in their peer group?
Never stop telling your story. I understand that reliving the painful experience of bullying can be difficult, but realize it takes immense courage to tell your story and your story truly does have the capacity to change the world. I truly believe that one of the best ways to overcome adversity is using it as an opportunity to serve others. One of the best ways to change the culture at school is by working with teachers, counselors, and administrators. Partner up with them and pitch acts that encourage kindness and inclusion. I hosted several activities at my school from Anti-Bullying Week, Random Acts of Kindness Week, The International Day of Self Love, etc. Find a group of student leaders who are also passionate about creating a kinder culture and work with them to create real change.

In terms of your peer group, leading by example can have a major impact. When you hear gossip or unkind comments, stand up for your peers. Be kind to everyone around you. Show your peers what it means what it truly means to live intentionally in a culture of kindness. When you have the courage to be kind and stand up for others, it often inspires others to do the same.
Did you have any fears about launching Natural Day? If so, how did you get through those feelings?
Launching Natural Day took a lot of courage. I had many fears. I was worried that other students wouldn't participate. I was scared they may laugh at my idea, or not take it seriously. I was nervous about sharing my personal story in such a public way. I struggled with these thoughts and feelings a lot, and worked to get through them.

I clearly remember planning the very first Natural Day. I was a freshman in high school, and at first, the upperclassmen were very reluctant to participate. I had put signs and posters all around the school advertising the day, and I was getting mixed responses. Some people were excited, others didn't like the idea at all. Either way, not everyone was on board and I received a lot of criticism from, "This idea is dumb and won't make a difference" to "Why does this freshman think she can change the world?" These responses were very discouraging, but I knew I couldn't give up on an idea that I believed in so much. I had to persist, no matter what anyone said.
"I knew I couldn't give up on an idea that I believed in so much."
As the planning process continued, I knew something had to change about how I was advertising the day. I couldn't just tell people to participate in Natural Day. I had to show them what that means. I decided to speak in front of over 3,000 students at my high school and share my story with them. I decided to be vulnerable, and address how much courage it takes to love and accept who you are. After I gave my speech, I got a standing ovation from everyone (even the upperclassmen). It was beautiful to see that courage inspires courage.

I think my biggest advice would be to persist with your idea if you are passionate about it. Realize that not everyone will be on board, but that's okay. I moved forward with my idea with endless amounts of passion. It didn't matter if other people didn't believe in it - I did, and that was more than enough.
Why do you think self-acceptance can make a difference when it comes to bullying prevention?
When you make peace with yourself, you are better able to bring peace to the world. When you are kind to yourself, it is much easier to be kind to others. How can you be compassionate toward others if you are not at all able to show the same compassion toward yourself first? For all of these reasons, I think self-acceptance can truly change the world.

When people bully others, they usually do it because they are struggling with some kind of fear and insecurity inside themselves. I can say this from personal experience. I remember being bullied so badly that at some point I would do anything to fit in. A group of girls in my grade suggested that I might be bullied because I never retaliate. Out of fear and insecurity I decided to draft a few mean messages to send out. Thankfully, I realized how awful this felt. In the moment, I might have felt strong and powerful. However, ultimately, bullying others just leads to more self-hatred. It's a vicious cycle.

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Self-acceptance is a huge key to bullying prevention that we often overlook. If we taught kids early on to love and accept themselves, it would be easier for them to love and accept others.
What do you think has been your greatest success when it comes to bullying prevention?
I am most proud of the bullying prevention work I did at my middle school and high school. I faced severe bullying, and I think I've done a lot to change the culture since then. Everyday I woke up too afraid to go to school. My attendance dropped significantly. When I did attend school, I found mean notes in my locker, gum in my wig, and walked around scared for my own safety. Even though I was terrified of the bullying getting worse, I applied to be the president of my school's anti-bullying organization. I worked with all my heart to bring the organization to life in a way it hadn't been for years.

When I got to high school, I realized there was no anti-bullying organization available for students to join. I created my high school's first anti-bullying organization, which we used as a platform for the first ever Natural Day. The organization still exists years after I've graduated, and both my middle school and high school still celebrate Natural Day. What I went through was painful and difficult, but I am truly grateful I could use it to create safe spaces for others.
Did you ever feel like it would be too hard to make a difference in your own school community? If so, how did you get over feeling overwhelmed or intimidated?
Yes, of course, I still sometimes feel like it is too hard. When dealing with issues of bullying or intolerance, it is extremely overwhelming because they are problems that span beyond yourself, across generations and millions of students. It is so easy to feel powerless, but what you have to realize is that changing one life is changing someone's world. A little bit of kindness or going the extra mile to help someone can make a big change. Little things like sitting together at lunch or just saying hello are such small things that can make the world a little more welcoming. You have to start with setting an example yourself, which will allow for a domino effect to happen within your community and beyond.

I think the success of Global Minds really showcases the power of what a small dedicated group of students can do. We started Global Minds at my high school, Taylor Allderdice in Pittsburgh, in December of 2016. What started as an idea took off in my school, and just from word of mouth and support we now have 13 chapters (with even more this year!), all dedicated to creating more welcoming and inclusive schools. Good attracts good, so I believe kindness has a ripple effect and by setting an example for your peers, you can make a large-scale change.
How did you build peer and administrator support for the Global Minds Initiative?
When I created Global Minds, it was really important that ESL students were involved in the brainstorming and leadership of the program. At Global Minds, everyone is a part of the family and in order to create that type of atmosphere, it is essential to start with representative leadership. I think by being intentional about our diverse leadership, it has led the way to the authentic engagement of ESL students.

As far as the administration, I have had a great experience with my teachers and principal, but I know for a lot of schools that is not the case. When students stand up, are engaged global citizens and do good, I find that adult allies typically listen. Truly I think most administrators want what is best for their students and school. So when discussing with administrators I always try to understand where they are coming from. This helps me best address their concerns proactively, which leads to cooperation and success. Developing relationships with adult allies who will support you and your ideas is essential to making change.
What advice would you give to another student who is inspired to create something similar at their school or in their community?
Go for it!! YOU can be the change. Global Minds has truly been the best experience of my life. I have the opportunity to work with superhero educators and student changemakers, who educate me every single day. My grandma has always told me, "Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it's open." I live by this phrase every day and go into my work with an open mind and heart. I hope you can do the same.

Global Minds has chapters all across the USA and Canada, and we are continuing to expand. If you want to get involved visit www.globalminds.world(Opens in a new tab) and start a chapter at your school! It seems like a daunting task, but I promise our team is amazing and we will help you through it. We want to hear from you!!

Tori Taylor, 17, Founder, Peer2Peer at Design and Architecture Senior High in Miami, Florida
What prompted you to get involved in bullying prevention?
Hospitalized in psychiatric care at the age of 14 due to my obsessive compulsive disorder, I was exposed to many children and teens dealing with problems from anorexia to drug abuse to depression. Throughout my stay, I encountered many other kids and teens (like me) that had suffered at the hands of bullies throughout their years in America's compulsory educational institutions.
"I want to let people know that they are not alone, and that happiness is achievable."
From that moment forward, I decided that I would dedicate my life post-recovery to ending the stigma around mental health and to sharing my story in order to help others. I want to let people know that they are not alone, and that happiness is achievable. Rather than letting my past define me or cripple me, I have taken what I have learned and experienced and applied it to my service contributions.

While establishing Peer2Peer, I did not think about my 6th grade bullies whose words hurt worse than any sticks and stones; I was excited for those mentees who may be currently going through similar experiences to finally have a friend.
Why did you decide to focus on peer-to-peer counseling? And why do you think it might help with bullying?
I proposed Peer2Peer, a program that focuses on cross-age peer counseling in which an older student mentors a younger student, to my school's social worker and guidance counselors. I came to the conclusion that a peer counseling program that emphasized emotional support and academic success would have helped me acclimate to a new, intimidating environment as an underclassmen, and therefore decided I would like to provide the incoming freshmen and sophomores with that sense of security.

DASH Peer2Peer mentors are trained in empathetic listening skills by a social worker, and are instructed on emergency situation response. Acting as a resource and support-system for their assigned mentees, mentors provide advice on academic stress, offer personal insight based on their own high school experience, and most importantly, serve as a friend- a shoulder to cry on when their mentee is in a time of need.
What was the hardest part of getting Peer2Peer off the ground?
The most challenging obstacle I faced in leading this service contribution was Peer2Peer's initial startup. I spent three months creating an extensive proposal for the program, including impact reports from peer mentoring programs in other states, a strongly worded letter, and signatures from interested students at DASH.

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Ultimately, I chose a trustworthy committee to work with, and together we constructed the intricate application process used in pairing mentors and mentees, communicated with our social worker outside of school on the "Remind" app, made sure our program was functional and sustainable, and got to work.
What do you think has been Peer2Peer's greatest success?
The benefits of Peer2Peer have not only been increased confidence, productivity, and mental wellness for incoming DASH freshmen and sophomores, but for our tight-knit community as a whole. Peer2Peer has allowed mentees to learn more about the school while simultaneously building self-esteem, enhancing self-motivation, and improving academic success. It has also increased DASH's cultural diversity awareness and improved the campus climate overall. Younger students that would most likely be taunted for their stature or immaturity in other schools are welcomed by their older peers. Mentors gain recognition for service to their mentees at DASH, enjoy the feeling of being useful and supportive, and improve their leadership skills through acting as a support system for younger students.

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If a student is inspired by what Hampton, Jivani, Klein and Taylor have accomplished and wants to launch their own anti-bullying campaign, Swearer recommends first engaging peer and adult allies who will support and guide them through the process. That can mean getting a faculty sponsor, involving the student council, or enlisting well-known school athletes or student leaders. Research(Opens in a new tab) shows that having the right people involved, particularly those with social influence, can make anti-bullying campaigns more effective.

Building a team is particularly important when a student's motivation to fight bullying is linked to previous experiences of being bullied or bullying others. What you don't want to happen is for a teen's risk of continued bullying to increase, said Swearer. Garnering support from friends, teachers, and staff may insulate a student from personal attacks.

The message itself matters as well, said Swearer. Her research(Opens in a new tab) suggests that negative messages like "don't bully" actually aren't that effective. Instead, she encourages students and schools to focus on positive slogans or catchphrases that emphasize inclusivity, kindness, and bravery. Mental health resources -- for both those who are bullied and those who are bullying -- should be available and talked about as part of a student-led campaign.

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But a successful anti-bullying campaign isn't just about the people or message.

Swearer said that certain basic school values and practices must be in place, including clear guidance from the school about mechanisms for reporting incidents and consequences for bullying.

If a school's administration just isn't interested in working with a teen to develop a new initiative, Swearer said not to be too discouraged.

"If you don't have group behind you, you could set yourself up for disappointment or failure, and it depends on how much you want to push it," she said. Instead, she recommends looking for opportunities elsewhere, like a church group, the local YMCA, or a community center.

Now matter how you proceed, Swearer said it's critical to remember one thing: You're not alone.

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Natalie Hampton, Sanah Jivani, Peyton Klein, and Tori Taylor share one thing in common: They all experienced or witnessed bullying as teens. As they tried to make sense of what they'd personally endured or watched others live through, the four young women, who didn't know each other, ultimately decided to dedicate their teen years to bullying prevention.

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Newsela | Parents and lawmakers are deeply divided on whether to arm teachers

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Since the civil rights movement, student protests have been a powerful driver of social change. More than 60 years later, students of color are continuing to call attention to racial injustice and inequity, fueling a growing youth movement against racism.

Alongside the Movement for Black Lives and college anti-racism movements like the 2015 University of Missouri protests, middle school and high school students in the US have become increasingly vocal about issues like police brutality, gun violence, school closings in communities of color, and racist incidents in their schools.

The latest of these protests came in March, when scandals over a racist video at a private school in New York, and online threats of violence against black and Hispanic students in Charlottesville, Virginia, drew strong reactions from students. These incidents also sparked protests that called attention to the connection between racist incidents on campus and larger patterns of racism and bias in American society.

"There cannot be any type of reconciliation without the redistribution of resources for black and brown students," Zyahna Bryant, a community organizer, high school senior, and president of the Black Student Union at Charlottesville High School, told the Washington Post on March 25, days after a teenager had threatened an "ethnic cleansing" at the school.

In the wake of the recent school closings due to threats of White Supremacist terrorism and racial violence directly targeting Black and Brown students, the CHS BSU is calling on CCS to address ALL forms of racism with the #racialjusticewalkout
Join us tomorrow at 12 pm! pic.twitter.com/OOGXfr7CRe
- Zy Bryant (@ZyahnaB) March 25, 2019

The students involved in these protests, like those involved in the protests of recent years, say their demands are straightforward: They want a school environment that better responds to the needs of students of color and addresses structural inequalities. Students of color have been making these requests for decades. They say it's time for their schools - and schools across the country - to do the work to produce lasting and systemic change.

In Charlottesville, students say they want school leaders "to back the words up with action"

On March 25, more than 100 students at Virginia's Charlottesville High School walked out of classes to protest racism, call for an end to white supremacy, and demand racial justice.

The action came just days after a teenager in a neighboring county posted racist threats online targeting black and Hispanic students at the school. The threats lead to the closure of all Charlottesville schools on March 21 and 22.

Charlottesville is still grappling with the aftermath of the 2017 white supremacist protests that shook residents and made the city a flashpoint rising attention to white nationalism across the country.

But student activists affiliated with the school's Black Student Union argued that their protests were about more than just online threats - and that the real problem was a series of deeper inequities in the Charlottesville City Schools system.

They say the system's problem with racism and bias goes back much further than 2017, and fits into larger issues with structural racism and racial violence. A 2018 study from a Virginia-based legal nonprofit found that black students were 4.5 times more likely to be suspended fromVirginia schoolsthan their white and Hispanic peers. The data fits with a growing body of research about the "school-to-prison pipeline," which finds that students from marginalized groups, particularly black students, are far more likely than white students to be exposed to the justice system through their schools.

During their protest last week, the Charlottesville student protesters also released a list of 10 demands, including increasing the number of black teaching staff in core classes, retraining the district's school resource officers, and making African-American history classes equivalent to an honors course. The students had made several of these demands previously but used the protest to reiterate calls that the changes be enacted immediately.

The school system says it has been working to address the students' concerns. But students argue that the system has not interacted with them on a consistent basis, and has not kept students updated on the changes it is making.

"In the past, when students of color have brought forth racial concerns, there has been no real change," Bryant told local reporters last week. "This is the time to act and show black and brown students that they matter with lasting changes and reform. Now is not the time to pass another empty resolution. It is time to back the words up with action."

Asked about the school system's handling of the student demands, Charlottesville School Board Chairwoman Jennifer McKeever said over email that "all of the issues raised by the BSU are being addressed," adding that the school system is currently working to address student's security concerns and has changed how black history will be taught in classes.

In New York, students of color called for "action against bias, bigotry and racism"

Less than two weeks before Charlottesville High students walked out of class, students at New York's Ethical Culture Fieldston School, a private pre-K-12 school in the Bronx, held a "lock-in" to protest racism on campus. The protests were partially a response to a years-old video of white students saying a racial slur that had resurfaced at the school earlier this year.

When the video initially reappeared in February, school administrators said they were investigating and would discipline any students in the video who were still enrolled at the school. But students of color at Fieldston argued that the school did not offer any more details, frustrating those who felt that the school was not living up to the progressive image it presents to the public.

Students explained that the school did little to address the concerns of students of color. "I feel like our school can be a bit deceiving, because we do promote this mission of being dedicated to diversity, ethics, progressivism," Isabella Ali, a senior at the school, told the New York Times last month.

By early March, students at Fieldston had launched a new group, Students of Color Matter, calling for reforms at the school. The group created an Instagram page and issued a list of 20 demands, calling for the school to explain how it disciplined the students involved in the video, as well as improve bias training for faculty and staff members, work to increase the number of teachers and students of color on campus, and create a new reporting system for racism and bias incidents on campus.

When those demands weren't met, students took over several school buildings and began a lock-in on March 11.

Days later, on March 14, Students of Color Matter announced that the school had agreed to their demands. As the protests ended, students said they would begin working with administrators to enact the reforms.

But even with the protests over, Fieldston has continued to face scrutiny. On March 18, a Fieldston senior filed a lawsuit accusing school officials of discriminating against black students and ignoring racist incidents on campus. The lawsuit calls for the resignation of the school's leader, Jessica Bagby, and a change in how the school responds to discrimination complaints.

When reached for comment about the school's response to the protests and the recent lawsuit, a Fieldston spokesperson forwarded Vox an emailed statement sent to students and parents on March 31.

"We are ready to work on behalf of every single student so that diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, and thought are seen, celebrated, taught, and treated equitably here at ECFS," Bagby said in the statement.

Students say the issues in their classrooms point to a much bigger problem

The protests of the past month come amid a wave of media coverage of racist incidents in schools as well as heightened attention to racial disparities in school admissions.

While these incidents have attracted attention, the demands of students protesters suggest that these controversies are part of much deeper systemic issues and disparities in the education system and society at large.

The similarities between student demands at Charlottesville High, a public school in Virginia, and Fieldston, a private school hundreds of miles away, show that these problems are pervasive. For example, both groups of students called for their schools to employ more faculty members of color, an issue underscored by the fact that America's public teaching force remains overwhelmingly white.

Schools in several states also continue to struggle to teach black history and how it is directly connected to modern racial disparities.

At the national level, student activists, education experts, and civil rights groups have paid heightened attention to the "school-to-prison pipeline" that sees students pushed into the justice system for things like classroom disruptions and truancy. Racial disparities in school discipline hit black and Hispanic students harder than their white peers - a 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office found that black students were far more likely to be disciplined in schools, joining a large body of research highlighting the disparity.

The students who have protested in recent weeks say these issues can't be separated from incidents of racism at their schools. Because of this, students don't just want their schools to change; they want to see changes in schools across the country.

"This movement isn't just because of the recent incidents that have occurred here," Adoniah Rigaud, a sophomore at Fieldston, told Teen Vogue in March. "It's because events like these keep happening in our school and other schools across the globe. We're getting to a point where it just has to stop, so we're just trying to make as much noise as possible."

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High school students of color are protesting racism and inequality

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Since the civil rights movement, student protests have been a powerful driver of social change. More than 60 years later, students of color are continuing to call attention to racial injustice and inequity, fueling a growing youth movement against racism.

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Campaigning for human rights at the UN

Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, Sightsavers, Ghana
When I saw I was nominated to be elected on to the UN committee for the rights of persons with disabilities, I felt so proud. Though I'm disappointed not to be elected, I've learned so much from the process.

As a young girl in Ghana I started having a progressive sight loss. I had to write my exams with a small hand magnifying lens that could take just three letters at a time. Nobody knew how the future was going to be. I went to a school for the blind, wanting to become a teacher for students with special educational needs. But as soon as I entered the school, people said: "You are at a school for the blind, what a pity, you are doomed!" For myself, I didn't see a change. I didn't think I had become a different person.

Now there is so much hope around. I'm more motivated, more energised as each day goes by. In Ghana there is now a minister who has a disability, but other activists are not prioritising the disability issue enough. Why do we have to remind people all the time that there is a reasonable percentage of the community who have disability? AL

Supporting people with albinism

Peter Ogik, chair of the Source of the Nile Union of Persons with Albinism, Uganda

There is much stigma attached to albinism. I was was the first person to be born with albinism in our family, and in the whole community. Most people didn't want to be associated with us because they used to say I was a curse. It became a hard life.

But I went to university and tried to show how people with albinism can make change in communities, and how they can look after their skins ( 98% of people with albinism have skin cancer and die before reaching age of 40). I wanted to become an activist for the voiceless and show the potential of people with disabilities.

I know this work is not easy, but what gives me hope is that at least we have started changing their attitudes. I do awareness-raising through music, entertainment, documentaries and I'm organising an international albinism event to try washing away the myth. After all, it's just a skin that is missing the colour, but we have the potential to do everything. NL
Silvia Quan, lawyer and activist, Guatemala
Advocating for the rights of people with disabilities

There are still many challenges for disabled people in Guatemala. I faced a lot of discrimination when I acquired my visual impairment as a student in the early 1990s. I tried several times to find a job, and I was always rejected because when I showed up for the interview people just saw that I was blind and would not even try to interview me. I was so frustrated and thought people with disabilities would be facing similar and even worse types of discrimination. That's why I started getting involved in human rights.

Guatemala is very poor country, and services are not widespread or good quality. I got involved in the disability field more than 20 years ago, but when it comes to inclusion we are almost at the same spot. Dealing day to day with human rights violations and trying to change people's lives by having those violations be subjected to the justice system really is something I feel very satisfied by. Even if I changed one or two lives I feel that was important. I would like people with disabilities not seen with pity, but as equal participants in society. NL
Fred Ouko, Action Network for the Disabled
Challenging employer discrimination in Kenya

Changing perceptions in society takes a lot of time, and it requires you to form allies. At Action Network for the Disabled, we go directly to human resource managers and explain different types of disability to them so that they can be aware. That works because it is mostly lack of information that makes people not hire people with disabilities.

People were saying that it's hard to find individuals with disabilities who are qualified, so we took this as a challenge and have now formed an online portal, Riziki Source, where persons with disabilities register and state their qualifications and which type of a job they are looking for. On the same portal an employer can sign in and we can match them with three or four CVs.

There is a tendency for people to think that people with disabilities are looking for charity, that we always want to be helped. But that's really not the case. People just want to be given the same opportunities as their sisters and brothers. AL
Bahati Satir Omar, Uwezo, Rwanda
Getting young disabled people into work

I run an organisation that empowers children with disabilities in Rwanda called Uwezo Youth Empowerment.

I was graduating from high school and thought I would become a doctor, but all of a sudden I lost my sight and I couldn't join university immediately. I thought that I would end up begging on the street. But then I went to school for six months to learn how to read and write braille. In one year I was up on my feet again and then I learned about blind life and how I could help. I started different events around the country and in the region on disability rights awareness and promotion.

Our first project was supporting youth with disabilities to secure employment through six-month paid internships. We have put around 45 youth with disabilities into internships. Today, in only a year and a half, 20 of them are employed.

As an activist, I feel there is much need to be done in mainstreaming disability in all national, regional and global development programmes by setting clear and financed disability related indicators. All our hopes are now directed to the SDGs trusting that no one will be left behind. AL

Firoz Alizada, International Campaign to Ban Landmines - Cluster Munition Coalition, born in Afghanistan, based in Geneva
Providing support for victims of conflict

In many conflict, or post-conflict countries, people with disabilities are seen as a burden to their families and society. That was very extreme in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime. I stepped on a landmine and lost my legs when I was 13. It took me about six months to recover, and I then started to learn about disabilities - the rights, the services - and I've been involved in advocating for the rights for people with disabilities ever since.

I used to face discrimination - for example, I went to university and one of the principles of Kabul university told me: "You're disabled, why would you like to study?" That was tough.

But in 2007 I founded an NGO called Afghan Landmine Survivors' Organisation with a couple of friends. This peer-support group was the only association of people with disabilities in Afghanistan. I wanted to provide peer support, because I'm convinced it's one of the best ways to provide psychosocial support for people with disabilities. Hundreds of people have been supported so far.

My hope is that needs and rights of disabled people should be counted as one of the national priorities. That will slowly change the behaviour and perception of all people with disabilities in Afghanistan. NL
Yetnebersh Nigussie, Light for the World, Ethiopia
Pushing for inclusive education

I've worked on a number of rights issues and now, with Light for the World, I advocate and promote the rights of people with disabilities, including inclusive education. Once children get the right to education, they can demand the right to employment, transportation and other basic rights.

I lost my eyesight when I was five. Being blind in a poor and rural part of Ethiopia was not without its challenges, but I also think it was my opportunity. I joined a special boarding school for the blind that was about 800km away from home, before joining a mainstream school when I was 11 years old.

This world belongs to all of us and we all deserve to be treated equally. Children with disabilities aren't the only ones who benefit from inclusive education, everyone in the classroom does.

There are a lot of assumptions about people with disabilities; many people think about the one disability and forget about the 99 abilities a disabled person has. But in my life, I have seen change happening. It gives me hope that people understand that equality doesn't mean sameness. I think the more challenges we have, the more innovative minds there will be to tackle them better. I believe that one day we will have a world for all. KP
Zamir Dhale, advocacy officer, Sense International, India
Zamir Dhale (left). Photograph: Sense International

Raising awareness about deafblind people in India

It's a shame to think that the outside world will take many more years to ensure that information is accessible for deafblind people. Technology is the key, and I use my computer and mobile phone to communicate all over the world. But here in India new challenges keep coming up and all too often changing technology is not accessible. For me, understanding anything has been much more difficult because of a lack of information in an accessible format. Tactile sign language is essential and all my colleagues have learned it to be able to communicate with me.

It's frustrating that our government's response to our advocacy has not been very encouraging. There are no initiatives to create awareness about deafblindness, and we still do not have any government data on how many deafblind people are in our country. We have been successful to ensure deafblindness is included as a distinct disability in the draft national disability bill, but it was drafted in 2011 and we still await its fate in parliament.

My achievement in life gives me hope for all other deafblind friends. I want to encourage them through my experience of overcoming challenges to get recognised, communicate, participate and contribute. We deserve what everybody else is entitled to and we must raise our voice to ensure that. AL
Shilpi Kapoor, BarrierBreak, India
Changing mindsets in India

A turning point in my career was when I realised that my boss, who I had only met virtually, was paralysed all the time I had known him. That made me think about how I could use technology to benefit people with disabilities.

The most challenging part so far has been working with the government of India to ensure that they understand the need. It is an ongoing battle. The proudest moment for me was when Maharashtra state made it compulsory for every department to have a scheme for procuring disability access products and websites should be disabled friendly.

The mindset of the people is something that frustrates me. We have about 100 million people with disabilities in India but the industry hasn't yet accepted accessibility as a solution. Most companies only cater to the needs if it's a mandate. We need to build an inclusive world where every person has access to everything. People need to change their attitudes. AL
Mosharraf Hossain, director of global policy at ADD International, born in Bangladesh, based in the UK

Fighting for inclusivity on a global scale

There is a social stigma in Bangladesh that creates a lot of problems for all people with disabilities, especially children.

I completed my master's in economics and then applied for public service jobs, but I was denied work because in Bangladesh people with disabilities were not allowed in the service.
This week we're focusing on the issue of disability rights around the world. Please get in touch with your experiences, comments and stories; email us at globaldevpros@theguardian.com, with disability rights in the subject line, or add your experiences here.
Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter. Join the conversation with the hashtag #DisabilityRights
For ADD International in Bangladesh, I worked with people with disabilities in rural areas, visited their homes to try to understand their stigma, and then we created a programme to change these attitudes. We worked with the government to ratify the convention of the rights of persons with disabilities, and that was a turning point at a national and local level.

Now the SDGs have been adapted to be inclusive, so in the next 15 years all will change - only 10% of children with disabilities were enrolled in school during the MDG period. I want children with disabilities to go to schools that are accessible, with teachers who are properly trained, so in the future they can be educated and treated well at every level of society, and their disability will not be a factor of their lives. NL

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10 activists changing lives for disabled people around the world

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Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, Sightsavers, Ghana When I saw I was nominated to be elected on to the UN committee for the rights of persons with disabilities, I felt so proud. Though I'm disappointed not to be elected, I've learned so much from the process.

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Clay McMullen, teen passionate about saving the environment: Community Heroes 2011 (video)

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Clay McMullen, a senior at West Geauga High School, has turned his passion for the environment into a crusade. He is one of The Plain Dealer’s community heroes.

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While many teenagers may focus on their school work or hanging out with friends, Sarah Jones is focused on cats. And she's specifically focused on the free-roaming cats around her community. You know, strays.

"When other girls were playing with dolls, Sarah was playing with toy animals," Sarah's mom, Beth, told Best Friends Animal Society. Beth helps Sarah by driving her and the strays that Sarah humanely traps to Best Friends spay and neuter clinic in South Ogden, Utah, just outside of Salt Lake City.

Once the cats have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and ear-tipped, Sarah collects the felines and returns them exactly where she found them, a process called trap-neuter-return (TNR). According to Best Friends, ear-tipping is

"removing a small portion of one of a cat's ears while the cat is under anesthesia for spay or neuter surgery. It is the universally accepted way to signify that a community cat has been spayed or neutered"

"We see Sarah as an inspiration," Tiffany Deaton, service manager at the clinic, said. "She's the perfect example of how just one person can make a huge impact on the lives of animals."

Caring for cat communities

Sarah's drive to help cats started when she noticed a group of hungry cats in a field near her home. She trapped them on her own and took them to the Davis County shelter. When she arrived, she met members of the Best Friends community cat team. They explained to Sarah that the cats had already been ear-tipped, which meant that they were spayed or neutered and living their lives as strays.

But since the cats were hungry, it appeared as if no one nearby was caring for them. The cat team guided Sarah on how to become the caretaker for that colony. After that, Sarah became, as she describes herself on her Facebook profile, "a voice for a voiceless" followed by a cat emoji and a dog emoji. Sarah joined a number of animal shelter Facebook pages and put herself forward as a TNR volunteer.

Even more dedication

That's not all Sarah does for homeless cats, however. Since her first encounter with community cats, Sarah has become involved in multiple rescue efforts, aiding sick or injured cats or assisting with fundraising efforts so cats can get the care that they need. She's also taken up the care for a second cat community.

Sarah has started building shelters for feral cats to help them stay warm during the winter, and she launched her own TNR organization in January. Provided you're in the Davis or Weber county areas of Utah, Sarah (and presumably Beth) will come to your home and provide you with shelters, humanely TNR cats, or take in kittens that "you just don't know what to do with."

Even with all that, this is all probably just a beginning for Sarah; she's learning how to start her own nonprofit, after all. She would love to see other people get involved in helping the animals of their communities.

"Anyone can help at a rescue organization," she told Best Friends. "You're never too young to make a difference."

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Teen Committed to Helping Local Stray Cats

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While many teenagers may focus on their school work or hanging out with friends, Sarah Jones is focused on cats. And she's specifically focused on the free-roaming cats around her community. You know, strays. "When other girls were playing with dolls, Sarah was playing with toy animals," Sarah's mom, Beth, told Best Friends Animal Society.

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Newsela - Psychologists explain why online comments are often so mean

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Online comments are often much meaner than what people would say in person. The reasons have to do with how the brain works. But learning to be nicer on the internet is possible -- and healthier.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | "Black Panther" star gives his "best hero" award to real-life hero

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"Black Panther" star gives his MTV Movie Award to hero who stopped a gunman during a shooting at a Tennessee Waffle House restaurant.

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by Amber Russell, Courier & Press, March 31, 2015 - Ridicule - the act of making fun of someone or something in a cruel or harsh way; harsh comments made by people who are laughing at someone or something.

We have all seen someone poke fun at others, and perhaps we've even done it ourselves. How often have you said something like, "Listen to the way he talks" or "She is weird"?

As a Youth First School social worker, too often I work with children who have been called names such as "stupid" or "retarded," or I hear about someone being made fun of because of how they walk, talk or look. Many times the targets are people with disabilities. Young children are often curious and don't understand people or things that are different from them.

March is Disability Awareness month, which makes it the perfect time to teach kids that people with disabilities are more like us than they are different from us. They have hopes, goals, hobbies, family and friends, fears and anxieties just like everyone else. Use this month to increase your knowledge on disabilities and share the information with your kids.

Here are some tips to keep in mind to get the conversation going:

1. Talk about the Universal Access Symbol and explain that while the symbol is a person in a wheelchair, it really is a symbol for accessibility for people with disabilities. Explain that having a disability does not mean those individuals can't do things; they may just need accommodations such as a ramp, wheelchair, hearing aide, extra help in school, or a voice activated computer or phone. See how many different places in the community you can identify the symbol.

2. When kids ask questions, try to be positive. For example, stress that hearing aids help others hear and wheelchairs help others move around, instead of using negatives (he can't hear, she can't walk, etc.). Your child may see a child who acts out and ask, "Why does that kid always act like that?" This may be a good time to explain how difficult and frustrating it is for kids with autism or other disabilities to communicate. You might tell them that some kids act out or have outbursts because they can't express what they are thinking and feeling.

3. Visit the book store or library and read books about disabilities with your child. I really like the Special Kids in School series by JayJo Books. They have titles such as "Taking Tourette Syndrome to School" and "Taking Down syndrome to School." Just ask your local librarian or book store employee for more suggestions.

4. If your child is not into reading, try using the Internet. Use the web to find movies or TV shows that feature characters with a disability or portray what it's like living with a disability. Research celebrities who are disabled. There are a lot of great websites out there with a vast amount of information. Two of my favorites are: http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/cedir/kidsweb/default.html and http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/awareness.

Finally, remember that your child will model your behaviors. It is important that you model acceptance and inclusion through your own words and actions. Teaching them acceptance is essential for raising a sensitive and kind human being.

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Teaching Disability Awareness and Acceptance

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by Amber Russell, Courier & Press, March 31, 2015 - Ridicule - the act of making fun of someone or something in a cruel or harsh way; harsh comments made by people who are laughing at someone or something. We have all seen someone poke fun at others, and perhaps we've even done it ourselves.

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At 16, Greta Thunberg, the Swedish girl leading the youth climate protests, isn't afraid of speaking the truth.

Thunberg went to Brussels on Thursday (February 21) and addressed EU representatives, telling the adults that they weren't doing enough to prevent climate change.

World leaders, she said, "talk about almost anything except the climate crisis":

"They talk about whether we are promoting truancy, or whether we are puppets, or just 'oh it's great that young people are taking action', they don't want to talk about the climate crisis because it feels like they haven't got anything to say about it."

In Brussels, Thunberg led a march of thousands of Belgian students, who skipped school for the 7th week in a row to call for action to prevent climate change.

Thunberg started skipping classes to "strike" in protest over the fact that her country, Sweden, and many other European countries, aren't in line with the Paris climate agreement.

She started the strikes by holding protests in front of the Swedish parliament in Stockholm.

Born in 2003, Thunberg became a vegan and asked her family to do the same to reduce carbon emissions. She has also insisted for her family to give up flying.

Thunberg is now getting a lot of media attention, which has led her to try and 'shut down' herself to avoid the pressure, she said in Brussels. She suffers from Asperger syndrome, which she says makes it difficult for her to handle the exposure.

Thunberg and the youth movement for the climate are organising a new "big international strike" on March 15.

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Greta Thunberg, 16, is the new face of climate activism

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At 16, Greta Thunberg, the Swedish girl leading the youth climate protests, isn't afraid of speaking the truth. Thunberg went to Brussels on Thursday (February 21) and addressed EU representatives, telling the adults that they weren't doing enough to prevent climate change.

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This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

(CNN) - A 13-year-old from New Jersey has embarked on the cutest mission ever. He sews tiny bow ties for cats and dogs to help them get adopted.

Sir Darius Brown came up with the idea in 2017. He wanted to help draw attention to dogs that were displaced by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, according to his website.

"I didn't have a lot of money to help so I used my creative skills," he wrote on Instagram in January. He has been making bow ties as a hobby since 2010.

He started by making bow ties for animals at an ASPCA in New York, according to his mom, Joy Brown. But once he got there, he realized dogs all over the world needed homes, and he wanted to help them stand out.

Since then, he has made over 500 bow ties and started a company, Beaux and Paws, said his mom. She estimates that he has helped get dozens of cats and dogs adopted at more than 20 shelters.

He's currently raising money on his GoFundMe page to personally deliver bow ties to shelters in all 50 states.

"He now has this thing where he spins the wheel and he selects a state and animal shelter," his sister, Dazhai Shearz, told CNN affiliate WCBS.

In 2018, President Barack Obama gave him a Presidential Commendation. In January, he was featured as one of GoFundMe's kid heroes. And he was he was just named the 2020 New Jersey State Honoree for the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.

"I know that I'm doing something right, raising an amazing kid who is inspiring people all over the world," his mom said. "I tell him all the time, "I wanna be like you when I grow up.'"

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This teen makes adorable bow ties to help get shelter dogs and cats adopted

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(CNN) - A 13-year-old from New Jersey has embarked on the cutest mission ever. He sews tiny bow ties for cats and dogs to help them get adopted. Sir Darius Brown came up with the idea in 2017. He wanted to help draw attention to dogs that were displaced by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, [...]

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Newsela | California teen leads legal efforts to allow immigrants to remain in U.S.

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Crista Ramos, 14, of the Bay Area, seeks to preserve Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan.

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Progressing through teenage development can pose greater challenges for teens and families with disabilities. Typical adolescence involves developing a sense of identity, establishing relationships and gaining autonomy and independence. Appearance, medical conditions, physical and learning disabilities in teens may make them feel different from their peers. They may struggle to develop a sense of self that accepts these differences.

How can self-acceptance be reached, and how should a family and others in the community help make that happen?

Independence

Teenagers with disabilities struggle with gaining independence. They may wish to become independent but practically still require adult assistance. Also, parents may have conflicting emotions. While they want their teens to achieve the adolescent milestones that lead to independence, they may be fearful that their teen cannot master tasks, such as driving or finding a job.

Sometimes limited access for teens with physical handicaps can decrease opportunities in the community, like transportation, lack of accommodations for mobility, or lack of access for other functional needs.

Parents can help foster independence by advocating for access and teaching teens to advocate for themselves.

Parents also need to help establish realistic expectations. If parents are unsure whether their teen can master age-appropriate tasks, professionals can evaluate and help outline steps to move toward independence or suggest appropriate accommodations.

Confidence and Acceptance

In general, teens have a difficult time appreciating differences as the special characteristics that make each person unique. For teenagers with disabilities, accepting their differences can be much more complicated. However, acceptance can be achieved. But, the confidence and acceptance of a disability may falter as teens encounter new situations that challenge their self-concepts.

Self-acceptance may be complicated, but acceptance by others can be more problematic.

Teens with disabilities want to develop relationships outside of the family, but they may struggle to find a social group that will accept their differences. They desire acceptance and do not want to feel that they are being judged negatively. Research suggests that teens with disabilities may experience more teasing or bullying.

People who touch the lives of teens with disabilities can help them reach their potential. Yet, to support and protect all of our children, communities must first teach tolerance. Adults and teens without disabilities must learn not to make quick judgments when they see other people who look, act, or learn differently. Additionally, adults and bystanders should be taught to intervene when they see teens picking on someone who is different.

Adults and teens without disabilities can feel uncertain and uncomfortable about interacting with a teen with disabilities. Some people ignore the teen, while others stare and make the teen feel embarrassed. For those who just don't know how to behave, here are some suggestions:

1. Make eye contact at the person's level, and speak directly to the person in a normal tone of voice, without drawing attention to any unusual behavior.

2. Show interest in the person rather than the behaviors or signs of disability.

3. Take your lead from the person about whether they want to talk about the disability, especially with someone you do not know well.

4. Offer to help if you see a need, but always ask first and wait for a response before jumping in.

Adults and teens without disabilities should spend time with teens with disabilities to increase their comfort level with the interaction. Include school peers in your activities. Volunteer your time with organizations that work with teens with disabilities.

Parents of children with disabilities have the same goals for their children-to raise happy, well-adjusted independent adults who realize their potential.

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Helping Teens with Disabilities Become Independent and Confident

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Progressing through teenage development can pose greater challenges for teens and families with disabilities. Typical adolescence involves developing a sense of identity, establishing relationships and gaining autonomy and independence. Appearance, medical conditions, physical and learning disabilities in teens may make them feel different from their peers.

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Meet The 16-Year-Old Fighting the Government to Protect our Planet

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On an unseasonably warm September afternoon, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez stood before supporters on a momentous day. Martinez, 16, and his co-plaintiffs were opening a lawsuit against the federal government over what they describe as inaction on climate change that threatens their right to life and liberty.

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You've probably heard that Albert Einstein was a vegetarian, and it's common knowledge that Steve-O, Ellen Degeneres, and Emily Deschanel love to share how their love of animals has lead them to adopt a plant-based diet.

While these famous animal activists are influential in their own right, it's equally inspiring to learn about what young people in our own communities are doing to speak up for animals. They might be young, but they are driven, passionate, and successfully normalizing this ideology that was once considered radical. And unlike our friend Albert, these individuals are part of a young generation, setting a more compassionate and determined precedent for generations to come. These young activists demonstrate that age is but a number: their own commitment to animals will inspire you to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

1. Phoebe Goldstein

When she learned that her school was organizing a trip to SeaWorld, this eighth grader came out strongly opposed to the annual event. Goldstein took to the school administration, explaining the suffering and isolation inherent in whale and dolphin captivity, and successfully convinced her school to cancel the trip. Given the recent exposés surrounding SeaWorld's treatment of its animals, Goldstein will no doubt be at the forefront of this movement in years to come.

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2. Thomas Ponce

This 12-year-old activist is making a name for himself within the Animal rights community and beyond. Founder of Lobby for Animals, a lobbyist organization that advocates for protection of animals and activists, Ponce received the Young Animal Activist Award at last year's Animal rights national conference, and has been recognized by PETA. With a smart and motivated leader like Ponce, new generations will surely have a new reverence for our animal friends.

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3. Elora West

After watching films such as Sharkwater and The Cove when she was 15, West's perspective was forever altered. She began learning to scuba dive, and soon after moved to Taiji, Japan with her father to more directly help the dolphins there. There, she started the Cove Guardiancampaign with Sea Shepherd. Her work has inspired many supporters and has earned celebrity and diplomatic Support throughout the world.

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4. Tayler Jensen

Tayler Jensen has wasted no time spreading the message of Animal rights. At 14-years-old, she has distributed leaflets at her school, encouraged her friends and family to make the transition to a plant-based diet, is petitioning to add a veggie burger to her school's cafeteria menu, and has started her own vegan club at school with more than 70 members and 30 sponsors!

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5. Jasmine Polsinelli

At 11-years-old, Jasmine Polsinelli knows more about the fur industry than most adults learn in their whole lives. Last year, along with 40 other protesters, Polsinelli stood in front of the Canadian Goose headquarters 5,000 signed postcards objecting to the use of real coyote fur in the clothing company's jackets and hats.

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6. Kat Graham

Kat Graham's mission in life is to end the use of beagles in laboratory research and testing. This inspiring 11-year-old has teamed up with the Beagle Freedom Project (BFP) to create her own website, Kids Against Lab Beagles. The website serves as a fundraising platform for BFP selling her paintings that depict these friendly dogs.

Kids Against Lab Beagles

7. Genesis Butler

A Vegan Child's Journey/Facebook

When she was just three, Butler became a vegetarian, she switched to a plant-based diet just a year later. Now seven-years-old, Butler is a strong advocate for a vegan lifestyle, even maintaining a Facebook page aptly titled, A Vegan Child's Journey. Last year this young activist won the Young Vegan of the Year Award from Vegansarecool.com. With these early successes under her belt, Butler's future looks promising.

8. Kevin Storm

Not only is Kevin Storm a vegan and advocate for homeless animals, but he also happens to be New Jersey's youngest radio host! Storm and his mother saw a posting for radio DJ at a local station and in no time at all, this young teen was set up with his very own show. You can hear his broadcasts on TuneIn, a radio app for smartphones, or by listening to WNJC 1360AM Philly between 12-12:30 PM EST.
Green Monsters! Do you know some awesome young activists? We'd love to hear about them!
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Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

, the largest plant-based Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster Recipe app on the App Store to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks .

Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that are raising awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.

Support Independent Media: Being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!

Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.

Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter !

Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Do What You Can: Donate if you can, grow your own food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don't forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!

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8 Young Rockstar Activists Leading the Way for Animal Rights

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Check out these young rockstars who are changing the world for animals!

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I think that you should treat people the way you want to be treated and why do you need to bully because you wont be cool you will just look dumb and mean there’s no point in to bullying 

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I think that you should treat people the way you want to be treated and why do you need to bully because you wont be cool you will just look dumb and mean there’s no point in to bullying 

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Newsela | Marley Dias's latest project is "Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices" on Netflix; she's 15

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A 15-year-old Black girl has taken the world by storm ... and she's just getting started.

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Children with disabilities-such as physical, developmental, intellectual, emotional, and sensory disabilities-are at an increased risk of being bullied. Any number of factors- physical vulnerability, social skill challenges, or intolerant environments-may increase the risk. Research suggests that some children with disabilities may bully others as well.

Kids with special health needs, such as epilepsy or food allergies, also may be at higher risk of being bullied. Bullying can include making fun of kids because of their allergies or exposing them to the things they are allergic to. In these cases, bullying is not just serious, it can mean life or death.

Creating a Safe Environment for Youth with Disabilities

Special considerations are needed when addressing bullying in youth with disabilities. There are resources to help kids with disabilities who are bullied or who bully others. Youth with disabilities often have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or Section 504 plans that can be useful in crafting specialized approaches for preventing and responding to bullying. These plans can provide additional services that may be necessary. Additionally, civil rights laws protect students with disabilities against harassment.

Creating a Safe Environment for Youth with Special Health Needs

Youth with special health needs-such as diabetes requiring insulin regulation, food allergies, or youth with epilepsy- may require accommodations at school. In these cases they do not require an Individualized Education Program or Section 504 plan. However, schools can protect students with special health needs from bullying and related dangers. If a child with special health needs has a medical reaction, teachers should address the medical situation first before responding to the bullying. Educating kids and teachers about students' special health needs and the dangers associated with certain actions and exposures can help keep kids safe.

Federal Civil Rights Laws and Youth with Disabilities

When bullying is directed at a child because of his or her established disability and it creates a hostile environment at school, bullying behavior may cross the line and become "disability harassment." Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the school must address the harassment. Read more about federal civil rights laws.

Bullying Prevention for Children with Special Health Care Needs

Having special health care needs due to neurological, developmental, physical, and mental health conditions can add to the challenges children and young people face as they learn to navigate social situations in school and in life. While bullying and cyberbullying is an unfortunate reality for many young people, children with special healthcare needs are at greater risk for being targeted by their peers.

One reason children and young adults with special health care needs might be at higher risk for bullying is lack of peer support. Having friends who are respected by peers can prevent and protect against bullying. Ninety-five percent of 6- to 21-year-old students with disabilities were served in public schools in 2017. However, children with special health care needs may have difficulty getting around the school, trouble communicating and navigating social interactions, or may show signs of vulnerability and emotional distress. These challenges can make them be perceived as different, and increase their risk of aggression from peers.

Young people with special needs may benefit from, both individualized and class-wide approaches to address the specific effects of their condition and prevent them from becoming the target or perpetrator of bullying. Teachers, school staff, and other students need to understand the specific impairments of a child's health condition, so that they can develop strategies and supports to help them participate and succeed in class and with their peers.

Potential Perceived Differences

Children and youth with special needs are impacted by their conditions in a variety of ways. Every child is unique, and so are the ways that their health condition affects them. Some impairments, such as brain injuries or neurological conditions, can impact a child's understanding of social interactions and they may not even know when they are being bullied. Here are a few ways that disabilities may affect children:

Children and youth with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or other neurological or physical conditions can struggle with physical coordination and speech.

Brain injuries can impair speech, movement, comprehension, and cognitive abilities or any combination of these. A child or youth with a brain injury may have trouble with body movements, or speaking in a way that others can understand. It could take them longer to understand what is being said or to respond.

Children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Tourette's Syndrome may have difficulties with social interactions, sensitivities, impulsivity, and self-regulating their behavior or effectively communicating.

A child or young person who experiences anxiety or depression or who has a mental health condition may be withdrawn, quiet, fearful, anxious, or vulnerable. They may exhibit intense social awkwardness or have difficulty speaking.

Children who have epilepsy or behavioral disorders may exhibit erratic or unusual behavior that makes them stand out among their peers.

Supporting Special Needs and Preventing Bullying at School

Strategies to address student's special needs at school can also help to prevent bullying and have positive outcomes for all students, especially tactics that use a team approach, foster peer relationships, and help students develop empathy. Some strategies include:

Engaging students in developing high-interest activities in which everyone has a role to play in designing, executing or participating in the activity.

Providing general up-front information to peers about the kinds of support children with special needs require, and have adults facilitate peer support.

Creating a buddy system for children with special needs.

Involving students in adaptive strategies in the classroom so that they participate in assisting and understanding the needs of others.

Conducting team-based learning activities and rotate student groupings.

Implementing social-emotional learning activities.

Rewarding positive, helpful, inclusive behavior.

Peer Support Makes a Difference

Here are a few examples of innovative strategies used by schools to promote peer-to-peer learning, foster relationships, and prevent bullying:

One high school created a weekly lunch program where student's with and without special healthcare needs sat and ate lunch together. Several senior students led the group, and invited their friends to join. All kinds of students participated. The students got to know each other through question and answer periods and discussions over lunch. They discovered things they had in common and formed friendships. A group of them went to the prom together.

Youth at one school held a wheelchair soccer night. Students with special healthcare needs that used wheelchairs coached their peers in how to use and navigate the wheelchairs to play. The students helped another peer who used a wheelchair who was interested in photography by mounting a digital camera on her chair so she could be the game photographer.

Another school created a club rule that required clubs to rotate leadership responsibilities in club meetings so that every member had a chance to run the group. This allowed students with special health care needs to take on leadership roles.

Peer support is an important protective factor against bullying. By working together, teachers, parents and students can develop peer education, team-building, and leadership activities that foster friendships, build empathy, and prevent bullying to make schools safer and inclusive for all students, including children with special healthcare needs.

Additional Resources

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Bullying and Youth with Disabilities and Special Health Needs

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Kids with disabilities or with special health needs may be at higher risk of being bullied. Find strategies to help at StopBullying.gov.

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Gen Z has taken on the enormous task of saving the planet from future destruction - and ensuring we have a future to look forward to.

From a dedicated episode on the HBO drama Big Little Lies to the policy platforms of 2020 Democratic candidates, the inescapable reality of the climate crisis is at the forefront of everyone's mind - and for good reason. Since 1880, the global temperature has risen by 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit, with a majority of this warming happening in the past 35 years.

While 1.9 degrees may seem marginal, this increase has led to major changes in climate and negatively impacts the environment. Scientists have reported a nearly 13% decrease per decade in the Arctic sea ice minimum, an increase in stronger, more destructive storms, and an increase in extinction and animal endangerment, all as a result of climate change.

As politicians begin to discuss life-changing legislation like the Green New Deal, another group of environmental activists have begun the fight for immediate change. Taking cues from their predecessors, Generation Z has taken on the enormous task of saving the planet from future destruction - and ensuring they have a future to look forward to.

Get to know some of the Gen Z environmental activists hoping to change the world, one step at a time.

1. Greta Thunberg, 16

A Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Greta Thunberg is the Swedish teen who's quickly made her way to the forefront of the climate-justice movement. In 2018, Thunberg spoke about the importance of climate activism in front of a group of world leaders at the United Nations.

"Since our leaders are behaving like children, we will have to take the responsibility they should have taken long ago," Greta said at the summit. "We have to understand what the older generation has dealt to us, what mess they have created that we have to clean up and live with. We have to make our voices heard."

Thunberg has since led a number of school strikes globally and spoke in support of the Extinction Rebellion demonstrations in April. The teen recently announced that she will be speaking at the U.N. Climate Summit in New York in September and the COP25 in Santiago, Chile, in December, but not in person. Thunberg doesn't fly at all due to the "enormous climate impact of aviation."

2. Katie Eder, 19

The executive director of Future Coalition, the largest network of youth-led organizations and youth organizers across the country, Katie Eder organized two climate strikes and aided the formation of the #AllEyesOnJuliana campaign by age 19.

Eder told Teen Vogue her quest for environmental justice began in sixth grade, after she read Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.

"I was so confused, at that age, how a problem like climate change could be so large and yet it seemed like nothing was being done to address the issue," she said. "I thought that the only way this could be happening was because no one knew about it, and so for much of middle school I dedicated myself to educating people about climate change."

Eder notes that throughout history, young people have been the catalyst for change.

"This is the revolution that's going to save our planet," she said. "Our generation is not going to sit around as our futures are destroyed around us."

3. Jamie Margolin, 17

"Life as we know it is coming to an end thanks to climate change and rapid environmental destruction," Jamie Margolin told Teen Vogue. "As a young person, I am always asked and expected to plan for my future. How am I supposed to plan and care about my future when my leaders aren't doing the same, and instead leaving my generation and all future generations with a planet that is inhospitable and impossible to sustain civilization?"

The cofounder and co-executive director of Zero Hour, a movement dedicated to giving a voice to Generation Z on climate change, Margolin believes the key to all justice is climate justice, telling Teen Vogue that correctly solving climate change means "dismantling all the systems of oppression that caused it in the first place." The motivation behind her movement is to promote a brighter future, not emphasize a "giant existential crisis."

Since founding her movement in 2017, Zero Hour has organized several actions, including lobby days, protests, and becoming a full-fledged organization.

"We're not a movement that happened overnight," Margolin said. And it's not one that's disappearing any time soon.

4. Nadia Nazar, 17

Cofounder, co-executive, and art director of Zero Hour, Nadia Nazar joined Margolin in bringing this environmental movement to life. Together, the girls helped lead a three-day event that centered on climate change activism in D.C.

For Nazar, animals first inspired her involvement in the fight for climate justice.

"When I learned about how species are being pushed to extinction due to climate change, I knew I had to take action," Nazar told Teen Vogue. A dedicated vegetarian, Nazar believes industrial animal agriculture is an overlooked aspect of the climate movement, explaining that the industry accounts for 14.5% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. "Corporations have corrupted our lifestyles and normalized so many toxic things that not only hurt our planet, but the people and wildlife living on this planet," she said.

Since helping to organize the D.C. Youth Climate Strike this year, Nazar has become the Maryland state lead for U.S. Youth Climate Strikes. First up was the Youth Climate Summit that took place from July 12 to 14 in Miami.

5. Isra Hirsi, 16

With a deep passion for changing the world, Isra Hirsi first got involved with climate justice in high school, when she had the opportunity to learn more about the earth and its environment. Since then, she has joined fellow teen environmentalist Haven Coleman in cofounding and co-executive directing the U.S. Youth Climate Strike this year. The organization's first demonstration was held in March and saw thousands of people around the world join in the movement.

"If we don't stop the climate crisis soon, those already impacted will be hit even more and generations like mine won't have a livable future," Hirsi told Teen Vogue.

Currently, Hirsi, whose mother is U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), is helping U.S. Youth Climate Strike try to organize a climate debate to help educate of-age voters on presidential candidates' stances on climate change.

6. Alexandria Villaseñor, 14

At 14 years old, Alexandria Villaseñor has already made a name for herself as a teenage environmentalist. Dedicated to climate activism, the teen is best known for her individual protests outside the U.N. on Fridays, when she skips school to sit on a park bench outside the building. Her strike began as a sign of solidarity with Greta Thunberg's call for school strikes in Europe.

Villaseñor is also involved with the U.S. Youth Climate Strike and is the founder of Earth Uprising, an organization dedicated to fighting climate change.

Villaseñor told Teen Vogue her activism began shortly after the devastating Camp Fire in California last year. At the time, she was visiting family in Northern California.

"I have asthma and, for my safety, my family had to send me back to New York City. When I returned, I began to research the connection between climate change and wildfires and learned that wildfires are burning longer and hotter because of climate change," Villaseñor explained. "I also saw Greta's COP24 speech, and I thought that world leaders would take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. When they didn't, I was upset, and it was on the last day of COP24, December 14, that I began my strike at the U.N."

This summer, Villaseñor is helping Earth Uprising launch the campaign #ClimateStrikeSummer, where participants spend eight Fridays striking outside various companies that need to address climate change.

7. Haven Coleman, 13

Sloths were the main motivator for Haven Coleman's dive into environmental activism. She told Teen Vogue that a fifth grade lesson about deforestation was the catalyst for her commitment to ending climate change.

"I was so mad that we were making the world so sick and hurting so many people, killing so many people. I knew that it was not about saving the sloths, it was about saving all the organisms that live on it," Coleman told Teen Vogue. "I started educating myself, then my parents, then the kids at different schools by doing presentations; then I started talking to politicians, speaking at rallies and events. I was doing everything I could do."

Having participated in climate work since she was 10, Coleman's transition to founding her own climate-focused organization was only natural.

"Millions of people will be displaced, millions will starve, billions of plants, animals, and organisms will go extinct," she said. "So much pain and suffering for all the things living on this earth - all made by us. This is a fight that will determine life and death for so many; this is a fight that is worth fighting for."

8. Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, 19

The youth director of Earth Guardians and author of the book We Rise, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is an indigenous climate activist who is using his voice as both a hip-hop artist and environmentalist to guide a global, youth-led movement dedicated to protecting the earth. Now 19, Martinez began his activism at six years old, speaking at climate summits around the world. He's even addressed the General Assembly at the U.N. and received the 2013 U.S. Community Service Award from President Barack Obama, all before age 20.

Martinez is perhaps best known for his lawsuit against the U.S. government. In Juliana vs. U.S., first filed in 2015, he argued that the federal government failed to limit the effects of climate change. Martinez has also worked locally to remove pesticides from public parks, contain coal ash, and place moratoriums on fracking in his home state, Colorado. In 2020, Martinez will be able to vote in his first presidential election. In an op-ed for Teen Vogue, he explained why he'll be supporting Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

9. Jayden Foytlin, 15

A member of Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21 class of 2018, Jayden Foytlin has become a major player in the fight against global warming while still in high school. Foytlin, an indigenous and Cajun teen, is one of 21 people (including Martinez) suing the federal government in Juliana v. U.S. Along with her mother, Foytlin is also protesting the Bayou Bridge Pipeline, which would carry oil from the Dakota Access Pipeline into Louisiana, Foytlin's home state.

Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: You Can't Just "Clean Up" the Plastic in the Ocean. Here's Why.

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9 Teen Climate Activists Fighting for a Livable Future

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From Greta Thunberg to Jamie Margolin, these nine teen activists are fighting for immediate action on climate change.

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Newsela - For Native Americans, US-Mexico border is an “imaginary line”

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For many Native tribes the U.S.-Mexico border is imaginary, but the hoops to jump through are very real.

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Best Buddies International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

The IDD community that Best Buddies serves includes, but is not limited to, people with Down syndrome, autism, Fragile X, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and other undiagnosed disabilities.

Best Buddies is the world's largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Our programs empower the special abilities of people with IDD by helping them form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure successful jobs, live independently, improve public speaking, self-advocacy and communication skills, and feel valued by society.

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Best Buddies International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

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Newsela | High schoolers demanding Black history and more Black authors

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Students across the United States act to increase diversity in their curriculum.

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We think the world would be better if everyone were included. Around the world, exclusion and discrimination continue to divide people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. We are changing that with grassroots action for inclusion. That's Spread the Word.

Founded by two youth leaders in 2009 as Spread the Word to End the Word, the campaign focused its first 10 years on addressing a particularly powerful form of exclusion: the word 'retard(ed)'. Over 10 years, leaders and self-advocates collected millions of digital and physical pledges to end the R-word. Each was a personal commitment to acknowledge the hurt caused by the R-word and to be respectful in the words and actions taken towards people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With leadership from Special Olympics and Best Buddies, and support from hundreds of other advocacy organizations, the campaign grew from a handful events in 2009 to reach thousands of schools by 2018.

In 2019, Spread the Word to End the Word became Spread the Word, with a focus not just on the elimination of a word but on the creation of a new reality: inclusion for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The global engagement campaign remains committed to empowering grassroots leaders to change their communities, schools, and workplaces, now through a call to their peers to take action for inclusion. With this change, Spread the Word will give community leaders around the world the tools needed to create socially inclusive places to learn, work, and live.

In 2009, this campaign was founded on the audacious belief that grassroots action could end the discrimination and exclusion faced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and replace it with inclusion. This remains our guiding principle. The first 10 years of Spread the Word to End the Word have only made us more confident in this belief. But they have also shown how much more work remains to be done.

Make your pledge and take your action for a more inclusive world. Join millions who have done the same. And spread the word.

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We think the world would be better if everyone were included. Around the world, exclusion and discrimination continue to divide people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. We are changing that with grassroots action for inclusion. That's Spread the Word.

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Newsela | "Our voices carry weight": Young women of color lead activist charge

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Women of color seize the moment to press for change on issues that touch them as people often marginalized by both race and gender.

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Newsela | Marley Dias's latest project is "Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices" on Netflix; she's 15

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A 15-year-old Black girl has taken the world by storm ... and she's just getting started.

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Newsela - Data entry, software testing offer autistic people jobs, new horizons

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Data entry is repetitive and hard to do well; that is, quickly and accurately. Shane Foley is great at it.

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Newsela | Bowling, math help student with Asperger's graduate as valedictorian

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Special ed teachers and bowling leagues helped Chance Mair learn to succeed in school with Asperger's syndrome. He learned well, and graduated high school as valedictorian.

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Newsela | Opinion: When classrooms include those with disabilities, all kids benefit