Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-downs [Paperback]

Sandra Mcleod Humphrey (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 30, 2007 | Age Range: 9 and up

Did you know that there are kids out there who don t even want to get out of bed in the morning because they know what going to school means for them?

being teased and taunted ...

being excluded and rejected ...

being afraid that you're going to be assaulted and possibly hurt...

Sometimes it can even mean that you just can't hang in there any longer, so you give up and take your own life.

If you are one of the cool kids at school, this book is for you.

But if you're not one of the cool kids, this book is especially for you.

Emerson Elementary isn't a real school, but it could be your elementary school. And the students at Emerson aren't real kids, but the problems they face are real, and so are the choices they make.

The Golden Rule is an old rule, but it's still a good rule to live by, and after reading this book, you may just possibly become a kinder, more compassionate human being, someone who treats others the way you want them to treat you.

So come along and join the students at Emerson Elementary and help them make some cool choices!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is an engaging book of stories that will empower parents and teachers to help kids deal with challenges like peer pressure and bullying." -- Rep. Jim Ramstad, United States Congress




"This is an engaging book of stories that will empower parents and teachers to help kids deal with challenges like peer pressure and bullying." --Rep. Jim Ramstad, United States Congress

"A powerful and poignant collection of real life social issues facing our kids today. It provides a wonderful opportunity for generating ethical and moral discussions with tweens and teens who are faced with the negative influences of peer pressure, bullying, and harassment. I highly recommend it!" -- Trudy Ludwig, Author of My Secret Bully, Just Kidding, and Sorry!

"A powerful set of case studies so interesting that they're bound to get kids thinking and talking about the problem of bullying. A superb tool for opening kids' eyes to their options!" -- Charles Boyle, NASA Alumnus and Author

"A valuable tool for adults who care about youth and wish to help them improve their interpersonal relationships and build a positive self-image." -- Dr. Donald Draayer, 1990 National Superintendent of the Year

"A wonderful resource for developing empathic critical thinking skills that will fortify a new youth culture of kindness and compassion. This is a much-needed addition to children's literature." -- Theresa Foy DiGeronimo, Author and Coauthor of many parenting books including Raising a Thinking Child and How to Talk to Your Kids About Really Important Things

"At a time when we're seeing a rise in peer cruelty and bullying, Sandra Humphrey offers a treasure trove to help cultivate our students' empathy and give them a new perspective. Highly recommended!" -- Dr. Michele Borba, Author of Building Moral Intelligence

"Bullying, social aggression, and harassment are more pervasive in schools than at any other time in our education history. It's time we train our kids how to respond to various bullying situations before they occur. Sandra Humphrey does exactly that in her new book Hot Issues, Cool Choices." -- Gene Bedley, PTA National Educator of the Year

"This book fills a very important need in the bullying prevention field and I recommend it highly." -- Stan Davis, Bullying Prevention Consultant

"This is a book that no school or community can afford to be without." -- Philip Bigler, 1998 National Teacher of the Year

"What an invaluable resource for all adults--parents, teachers, and mentors--who care about the development of kids." --Marilyn Sharpe, Director of Christian Parenting and Intergenerational Ministry, The Youth & Family Institute

About the Author

Sandra McLeod Humphrey (Minnetonka, MN), a retired clinical psychologist, is a writer and consultant for the Heroes & Dreams Foundation, which provides character education materials to grades K-8 throughout North America. She is the author of the highly praised If You Had to Choose, What Would You Do?, Dare to Dream!, and many other books focused on moral education for children.

Product Details

• Age Range: 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 133 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (September 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591025699
• ISBN-13: 978-1591025696
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.3 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #551,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sandra McLeod Humphrey is a retired clinical psychologist, a character education consultant, and an award-winning author of eight middle-grade and young adult books. She's also the recipient of the National Character Education Center's Award for Exemplary Leadership in Ethics Education (2000) and the 2005 Helen Keating Ott Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children's Literature. You can learn more about her books by visiting her Web site at www.kidscandoit.com and her blog at www.kidscandoit.com/blog/

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A perfect read aloud to help staunch the harmful effects of bullying February 16, 2009

By The Well-Read Child

Format:Paperback

Let's face it, being a kid is difficult--dealing with peer pressure, the desire to fit in, the search for self-identity, etc. Sometimes kids participate in things like bullying and teasing they're really not comfortable doing, but they just don't know how to stand up to other children. Unfortunately, way too many children are on the receiving end of this teasing and bullying which can permanently damage their self esteem and sadly sometimes result in suicide or violence towards others.

Luckily, Sandra McLeod Humphrey's has created a new book to help children learn how to stand up for other children and even for themselves in an effort to staunch the harmful bullying that is seen in schools. Ms. McLeod Humphrey decided to write Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-downs when she heard the story of Tommy, a 12-year old boy, who committed suicide because he was bullied. The book is dedicated to Tommy's memory.

Through numerous interviews with teachers, students, and parents, Ms. McLeod Humphrey created a fictional elementary school, Emerson Elementary, and presents over 25 scenarios told from the point of view of children in the school. The scenarios cover a wide range of issues, from name-calling, harassment, peer pressure, rumors, and even suicidal thoughts. At the end of each scenario is a number of thought-provoking discussion questions asking students to talk about what they would do, how the children in story felt, and more.

For example, in the scenario, "No, No, a Thousand Times No!," a boy named Eric is having a Halloween party, and Jeremy, an unpopular boy asks if he can come. Eric believes that if he invites him, he will lose friends, and others will think he's just as "weird" as Jeremy. Questions children are prompted to answer include,

* "What do you think Eric should do? Why?"
* "How you feel about Jeremy?"
* "Do you think Eric will really lose all his friends if he invites Jeremy to his party?"
* "Do you think Jeremy knows how Eric and his friends feel about him?"

Finally, there's a "Trading Places," question: "How would you feel if you were Jeremy and you weren't invited to Eric's party." (p 32)

It's these "Trading Places," questions that I feel are the most powerful. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes really helps others feel empathy and perhaps enables them to be brave enough to stand up and change destructive behaviors.

The overarching message of the book is to follow "the golden rule" and to treat others the way you'd like to be treated. In the author's final note, Ms. McLeod Humphrey states, "You don't have to be 'best friends' with everyone, but you can still treat everyone with respect and courtesy" (p. 121).

In the back of the book, you can also find bullying statistics, online resources, and an afterword that includes more information about bullying and action steps bystanders can take to help prevent it.

This book makes a perfect read aloud for teachers and students and parents and children, and is chock full of discussion opportunities that can make a huge difference and perhaps even save lives.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SFC 5 star review January 15, 2008

By Virginia S. Grenier VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Award-winning Minnesota author, Sandra McLeod Humphrey, has created a must-have book for anyone addressing the issue of bullying in our schools.
Any parent that has a child in school, and any child IN school knows that bullying has grown to epidemic proportions in our society today. Ms. Humphrey took her expertise, gained as a retired clinical psychologist who worked with troubled children, and put it to great use in writing this book.

Prompted to write this book after hearing of a twelve-year old boy's suicide from being bullied, Sandra interviewed parents that shared their painful stories about their kids being bullied; and many teachers let Sandra interview the children themselves that were being bullied. She writes a compelling book about mythical Emerson Elementary School and a school full of students who aren't real students, but each a compilation of a typical student in any school anywhere in America that is facing the bullying issue.

The issues are real, and very heartbreaking to read. Ms. Humphrey makes this book an easy read for anyone needing to learn more about "what to do" when facing bullying issues. Each scenario is written in a chapter format, with thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter, including a section she calls "Trading Places", which will put the reader in the position of the bully's victim, the bystander, or the bully him/herself. All I can say is: Where was this book when I was growing up? Surprisingly, every scenario on bullying that was discussed in this book is also a situation I have found myself in, even as an adult. Now I know what to do! Yay! This is a must-have book for everyone to use as a "manual" to cope with bullies everywhere!

Gayle Jacobson-Huset
Assistant Editor - Stories for Children Magazine

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Important Book for Today's Children - American Author's Association Review February 7, 2008

By Karl L. Kruger

Format:Paperback

Humphrey continues with her series on childhood ethics and behavior with this easy-to-read offering. The author boldly tackles one of the most frightening subjects of today's adolescents since Columbine--bullying and its consequences. Humphrey follows the same format as her previous titles in the series, but with slight modifications that make it more appealing to an older reading audience. Vignettes are used to establish circumstances where moral and ethical dilemmas are raised. These are then followed by a number of questions that make the reader/listener to think about decisions and whether they are right or wrong inherently. This book, however, is more driven toward addressing decisions and behaviors that lead to, or in reaction to, bullying. The topics raised include Compassion, Empathy, Exploitation, and Social Manipulation. This is a book that teaches children though parables how and why they should avoid becoming bullies as well as how to react to the bullies they will undoubtedly meet. These lessons are presented well and make this book all too important in these times.

Karl L. Kruger for The American Author Association