Civics Bits #16 Bullying - the Bystanders

Compassion is another important quality for good citizens, related to kindness and empathy. It's the ability to connect with the feelings of others (empathy) AND take action to make things better for another person (kindness). Explore who it benefits and why, as well as strategies to help you become more compassionate.

Empathy is about putting yourself in someone else's shoes! It's about understanding and connecting with the feelings of others. In this episode, we explore why being empathetic matters, and we share some strategies that can help kids learn to be more empathetic with others.

Kindness is an action, and it can change the world! In this episode, we explore what it is, what it means to be kind to others, some ideas for kind actions, and WHY it's important to be kind to others.

In this episode, we continue to explore the big idea of facts and opinions - with a focus on reasons WHY it is important to know the difference. We discuss "informed decisions" and set the stage for a future episode where we will explore how people interpret facts.

In this episode, we explore the big idea of facts and opinions - what they are and how to tell if a statement is a fact or an opinion. This is very challenging for young children, and needs lots of practice over their years in elementary school. We also set the stage for WHY knowing the difference is important.

Voting and elections are especially challenging for kids to understand. Nonetheless, it is important for them to begin to build an awareness of the importance of being informed so they can make the best choices possible as they approach voting age. This episode helps listeners organize the what and the why of elections.

This episode provides an example of what it means to vote, presented in a scenario to which most kids can relate. This is the first of three (at least) episodes about voting and elections.

This is the third of three episodes about bullying. In this episode we focus on the role of bystanders in both encouraging bullying behavior and helping to stop it.

This episode continues the discussion about government, this time at the level of the state. We explore the structure of state government as well as its role in the lives of its citizens.

In this second episode on bullying, we touch on the longterm impact that bullying behaviors can have on a person. We also explore what kids can and should do if they believe they are being bullied.