This is an ABC clip featuring Julia Roberts talking about bullying.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below about it. The activity is suitable for intermediate 2 students.
1 What happened 25 years ago?
2 What abbreviation is spelled out of members in US schools?
3 Which one adjective does each person sitting around the table use to describe the way they felt when being bullied?
4 Why does most of the bullying happen, according to one of the children?
5 What do '3' and '2' refer to?
6 What is the most disturbing aspect of bullying for Julia?
7 In Julia's opinion, what is as bad as being a bully?
It is National Bullying Prevention Month and superstar Julia Roberts and her husband Danny Moder were honored over the weekend for the work they've done to fight bullying. I join Julia and some passionate young people to talk about how bullying has touched all of their lives, including Julia’s.
(1) Twenty-five years ago she filmed Pretty Woman in this very hotel.
Julia Roberts
Yes, that's Julia Roberts back at the Regent Beverly Wiltshire, accepting the humanitarian award from G.L.S.E.N., an organization which aims to prevent bullying against members of the (2) L.G.B.T. community in our schools.
What is the point if not to be kind and unconditional in our love and generosity towards one another?
We had a chance to sit down with Julia before hand with five young G.L.S.E.N. ambassadors Emery…
Hi
Hi, how are you?
Mark, Ben, Peter and Arianna to talk about the issues so many face these days, bullying. Why is this such an important issue for you and for your family?
For my family, because these are the heroes that are leading the way so that my children can go to school unencumbered by this conversation. The future is really riding on people like this.
I'd like you all to go around, if you can think about how bullying has made you feel. If you can sum it up in one word.
I'm gonna start with my own experience and say that bullying... when I have been bullied when I was younger it made me feel (3) insignificant.
That's good.
I would say it has made me feel silenced.
Dehumanized.
I wanna say alone.
Devaluing.
I would say ignored.
If you could change one thing in your school, what would it be?
(4) A majority of just the bullying that happens, mainly occurs from just ignorance, it's not people intentionally trying to be discriminatory. It's just, they don't know.
(5) I know you're a mom of three. I'm a mom of two. Our kids are growing up in such a different world. Bullying takes on so many different forms. What are your concerns as a mother?
The thing that's the most disturbing to me is that this, (6) and it's the anonymous aspect of it that I think gives this sort of courage to people, to be hateful as a sport. It's become like a game, and it's not a game. It's not funny. There is nothing brave or courageous about anonymously writing unkind things. That's what gives power to so much of this hatred. And, I mean, and I wish we could go back to when I was in middle school and high school and all you wanted to change was the pizza.
Yeah.
You know.
What do you teach your children in terms of tolerance?
We have different versions of this conversation. I do always say to them, you know, remember who you are, be impeccable in every way that you represent our entire family in the day. (7) Because, even to be passive, to be a bystander is to be absolutely as wrong as the person who is standing in the front of the line of cruelty. Even if this isn't your friend, even if this isn't your cause, we're still all humankind. Just everybody's trying to get through the day the best they can.
It's a message these five kids can relate to, and this, a conversation they won't soon forget. And how amazing is it that Ms. Julia Roberts is here, also, throwing out the welcome mat?
Don't even get me started on that.
Yeah, everyone at school, look who you're sitting with now. Right here.
This is our lunch table. This is the cool kids' lunch table.
The cool kids right here.
And of course the chance to take some of the most epic selfies, ever.
