Silverdale Baptist Academy is hosting bullying expert and public speaker Paul Coughlin for a four-day Courageous Community Conference Sunday, Jan. 31, through Wednesday, Feb. 3, on the campus of Silverdale Baptist Academy.
Mr. Coughlin is an expert witness regarding bullying and the law, and is a Fox News analyst and contributor. He is a popular speaker who has appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, CSpan, and has been published in The LA Times, The New York Times, Newsweek and other media outlets. Mr. Coughlin is a bestselling author of eight books, including the freedom-from-bullying parent and teacher resource Raising Bully Proof Kids, as well as a former newspaper editor. He works with numerous professional organizations to diminish bullying, including the Baltimore Ravens.
His antibullying curriculum is used throughout North America as well as in South Africa, Uganda, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil among other countries. Mr. Coughlin’s curriculum, known as The protectors focuses primarily upon the potential strength, heroic desire, and rescuing capacity of bystanders, transforming them into what he calls “alongside standers.” He also provides assertiveness training for targets, helps authority dispel the many damaging myths about bullying, and inspires children who bully to employ their power in life-affirming directions instead.
One school superintendent wrote Mr. Coughlin saying, “I just wanted you to know how meaningful your presentation was to the students in our school district. For you to be able to talk to students in grades five through high school about bullying in a context that they could understand and appreciate, was very gratifying for us…Perhaps, more importantly, was the time you spent with our parents and neighbors from our school community. For them to hear how many ways they could actually help their own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews grow strong and understand how bullying really works was a most profound experience for them.”
While Mr. Coughlin is at Silverdale, he will be speaking to different groups on the campus. There is a community night scheduled for Sunday evening, with special events on each of the following days focused on community groups like local youth pastors, school counselors, and heads of school/school administrators. Complete details can be found on the website at www.silverdaleba.org/ccc. For more information, contact the Office of Development at 892-2319 ext. 2224 or development@silverdaleba.org.