Action News got a look at the show produced by 4th grade students at the Wyncote School. It's all about tolerance, the acceptance of others.
In Eagleville Tuesday night, it was a lesson in a different kind of bullying from a man who has made this his life's work.
"I want to share things with them that we found out too late," John Halligan told the crowd. They found out too late for his 13-year-old son, Ryan Halligan, who took his own life in 2003 after being bullied by classmates in school and online.
Now John Halligan travels full-time around the country. He spoke to parents at Arcola Intermediate School in Eagleville Tuesday night about missed signs, red flags, and hard-learned lessons from his son's death. In Ryan's case, John explains the bullying began in fifth grade at school, but it was only after his death that the extent of the bullying online became clear.
"I got a glimpse into what was going on in my son's world," Halligan said, "got onto his account...and it's only gotten worse."
Worse with more technology, cell phones, and social networking sites, there are now more places for the bullies to operate according the Montgomery Country District Attorney, a sponsor for this series of forums.
Halligan has spoken to students at over 400 schools across the country, not to mention parent forums like this one. Parents here in Montgomery County are hoping to learn the lessons John wished he knew before his son's death and hoping John's words open up discussions in their own homes.
A parent forum will be held:
7-8:30 pm at Colonial Elementary School, 230 Flourtown Road, Plymouth Meeting, pa. 19462.
