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The author of the book in question, Jodee Blanco, is also a successful publicist. She came to visit me here in Ojai back in 1997, to help me launch my book.

I have never understood what this lawsuit was about!

The news article says:

"The plaintiffs alleged in a 2005 lawsuit that they never gave permission for their children, who were in the fifth grade at San Antonio School at the time, to read the book "Please Stop Laughing at Me — One Woman's Inspirational Story," by Jodee Blanco. It describes the author's experiences of being bullied from fifth grade until high school."

I consider Jodee Blanco one of the most amazing people I have ever met! I will never forget our first meeting in Ojai. She walked into my house and immediately spotted my pig Rossie in the back yard. She seemed more interested in getting acquainted with Rossie, than me, which immediately broke the ice and put me at ease.

In case anyone else is curious about this "controversial" book here is a link:
http://www.jodeeblanco.com/

And this one about the author:
http://www.allworth.com/Jodee_Blanco_s/48.htm

The above anonymous was Suza.

Since its release, Please Stop Laughing at Me… has enjoyed phenomenal success including heading straight to the New York Times Best-Seller list. Other highlights include:

• Please Stop Laughing at Me… is now required reading and summer reading in hundreds of middle and high schools, colleges, and universities coast to coast. The book is routinely taught as part of curriculum

• Jodee’s remarkable story has been featured in such influential media outlets as: CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, FOX News, Teen Newsweek, Parade magazine, Teen Guideposts, Hispanic, Teacher Magazine and Scholastic

• Please Stop Laughing at Me… has been published in Japanese, Arabic, French, Danish and Indonesian

• Jodee’s life story has become part of a permanent exhibit at the Chicago National Historical Society. She was chosen as one of the most influential teens of her era

• Please Stop Laughing at Me…is nominated for the 2004-2005 Eliot Rosewater Award sponsored by the Association of Media Educators and the Indiana Library Association

• Please Stop Laughing at Me…was selected as a favorite by student members of Chicago’s Mayor Daley’s Book Club. The annual convention keynoted by Jodee brought a sustained standing ovation for both her and the book

• Dramatic interpretations of Please Stop Laughing at Me…are garnering state-winning awards in school competitions

• Please Stop Laughing at Me…has been selected as the One Book, One Community selection for the 2005-2006 school year in Lansing, MI. Over two thousand students will read the book throughout the school year, culminating with a keynote address in March, 2006 by Jodee

• Please Stop Laughing at Me… has become a standard among book clubs throughout the country, most especially among mother/daughter book clubs

Hmm, Suza. To each their own, I guess.

This book strikes me as the kind of pablum I too might react against were a school to forcefeed it to my child. I would hope we could do better than this stuff for our fifth graders.

Nonetheless, how tragic that these parents filed a lawsuit over it, of all things. The public school feeds trite, simplistic, insipid materials to one's kid, and the legal system is supposed to get tuition paid for you at the private school of your choice? Plus damages for "emotional distress"?

Thinking back over the years, there have been quite a few painfully bad texts I've been assigned. To think: my parents could have sued!

This was definitely the trust fund that got away.

Meanwhile, parents, you have another option. Its called homeschooling.

Good morning Anonymous #4,

I appreciate your feedback. I should have clarified that I have not read "Please Stop Laughing at Me," or the author's other books on bullying---just the information on her web site http://www.jodeeblanco.com/

and amazon.com, excerpts and reviews.

I thought it was worthwhile to visit the author's site and get a whole different view of the book.

My son and daughter were both home-schooled and also attended alternative schools in Ojai. But not all parents and children are able (or willing) to organize their lives to take advantage of this great option!

After hearing about the uproar this book caused for so long in the local media, the fact that the author is invited to speak at schools made this lawsuit seem even more ironic. The lawsuit itself struck me as bullying!!

"During the school year, I will again be consulting, speaking, and holding workshops and teleseminars for parents, teachers, and students at several schools throughout the United States, Canada, and several other countries throughout the world. I also work with organizations such as police, judicial, government, counseling, PTA’s, school boards, and youth groups. I’ve developed an instructional program for colleges and universities titled “The Desperate Freshman” where I work with administration, faculty, parents, students, and fraternities and sororities to help identify students at risk for becoming hazing and bullying targets. I can come to your school or town, too, and would be honored to be invited."

Just to complete the previous thought about homeschooling.

I'm not suggesting that kids who are bullied be pulled out of school and homeschooled for this reason alone!

The bullies would just find other kids to pick on plus the whole problem of bullying in schools would not be addressed.

I still remember as a young child walking on the opposite side of the street or taking a different route walking to and from school, to avoid kids I was afraid of!

Actually, Suza, I think that is one very good reason to homeschool. Along with keeping one's kids from having to grow up without sleep, getting up at unnatural times; from having to adapt to 45 minute serial classes replete with bells signalling that the mind is to stop one task and start another; and of course, from having to learn to unquestioningly accept authority, which is at the heart of bullying.

All this, without even getting into the superior education that homeschooling makes possible.

True, many parents could never get it together.

The most many parents can be expected to do is occasionally step in to see what kind of schlock their kids are being fed, get outraged, and, for at least some, then go out and sue everyone they can see.

All in all, I think I like homeschooling.

I agree! Those are all the reasons we home-schooled our son and daughter through most of their school years. (My youngest sister also homeschooled her three daughters up until junior high and one all the way to high school).

Just to clarify my previous comment #7, in case it sounds contradictory to comment #9.

The idea of kids being bullied to the point that desperate parents pull them out of school and are forced to homeschool is different from homeschooling as a viable choice. That is what I was trying to say.

Re bullying in public schools, as a member of the school board in Ojai, I want to highlight the fact that we are working to change the culture in our schools so that bullying is eradicated. We are going to get all schools to focus on training the BYSTANDER to become involved so that bullies do not have free rein to exert their cruelty on the unfortunate victims.
And we may get an additional bonus from bringing bystanders forward: when they grow up into adults, they will not recede back to the identity of bystander, but rather, they will stand up to bullies in authority and take responsibility for their society and the world.

Kathi-

That is fabulous.

What those parents and their attack dog lawyer did was pure and simple bullying of a teacher and even a school district.
Does that make us all guilty bystanders?