Free Community Speaker Event with New York Times Bestselling Author Dr. Michael G. Thompson

Event is on October 6, 2016: 7:00pm to 9:00pm, and will be hosted by Atrium School (69 Grove St, Watertown, MA).

This Free Community Speaker Event with Michael G. Thompson, New York Times Bestselling Author and International Speaker, is on the topic 'Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Friendship Development, Popularity & Social Cruelty in Childhood Event.'

Event will focus on media attention on bullying in schools has many parents seeing childhood social relationships only through the lens of bullying. That focus is simplistic and unfortunate because most school communities are places of tolerance and inclusion, as well as occasional bullying. For children, the relationship with friends is one of the most important things in their lives, a source of learning and growth. However, all children also discover social power and experiment with teasing and exclusion. Classes are stratified into very popular, accepted, ambiguous, neglected, controversial and rejected children. During this event, Dr. Thompson will distinguish between the normal social pain of childhood from which all children learn and actual bullying, which is traumatizing. He will discuss ways in which communities can make children safer.