| 00:00:2911 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
Good morning. Thank you. (Applause.) Everyone, please. Good morning, and welcome to the White House. |
| 00:00:4019 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
I want to thank all of you for joining us here today to discuss an issue of great concern to me and to Barack, not just as President and as First Lady,... |
| 00:00:5928 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
As parents, this issue really hits home for us. As parents, it breaks our hearts to think that any child feels afraid every day in the classroom, or... |
| 00:01:2715 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
And as parents, Barack and I also know that sometimes, maybe even a lot of the time, it’s really hard for parents to know what’s going on in our... |
| 00:01:4215 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
We don’t always know, because they don’t always tell us every little detail. We know that from Sasha. Sasha’s response is -- “What happened... |
| 00:01:5723 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
So as parents, we know we need to make a real effort to be engaged in our children’s lives, to listen to them and be there for them when they need... |
| 00:02:2033 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
That’s just what Jacqui Knight did. She’s a mom from Moore, Oklahoma, who’s here with us today. We got a chance to spend some time with her... |
| 00:02:5335 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
But parents aren’t the only ones who have a responsibility. We all need to play a role -- as teachers, coaches, as faith leaders, elected officials,... |
| 00:03:2819 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
We all know that when we, as adults, treat others with compassion and respect, when we take the time to listen and give each other the benefit of the... |
| 00:03:4731 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
So we all have a lot of work to do in this country on this issue. And I hope that all of you, and everyone who is watching online, will walk away from... |
| 00:04:188 sec. |
Obama, Michelle - First Lady
So with that, it is my pleasure to introduce this guy here -- (laughter) -- my husband and our President, President Barack Obama. (Applause.) |
| 00:04:2629 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Well, welcome to the White House. I want to thank Michelle... |
| 00:04:5514 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
I want to reiterate what Michelle said. Preventing bullying isn’t just important to us as President and First Lady; it’s important for us as parents... |
| 00:05:0940 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
We’re joined here by several members of Congress who’ve shown real leadership in taking up this cause. We’ve got a number of members of my administration... |
| 00:05:4926 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
Bullying isn’t a problem that makes headlines every day. But every day it touches the lives of young people all across this country. I want to thank... |
| 00:06:1539 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
And that’s why we’re here today. If there’s one goal of this conference, it’s to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage... |
| 00:06:5434 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
As adults, we all remember what it was like to see kids picked on in the hallways or in the schoolyard. And I have to say, with big ears and the name... |
| 00:07:2824 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
So consider these statistics. A third of middle school and high school students have reported being bullied during the school year. Almost 3 million... |
| 00:07:5211 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
And bullying has been shown to lead to absences and poor performance in the classroom. And that alone should give us pause, since no child should be... |
| 00:08:031 min. |
Obama, Barack - President
Today, bullying doesn’t even end at the school bell -- it can follow our children from the hallways to their cell phones to their computer screens.... |
| 00:09:2549 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
No family should have to go through what these families have gone through. No child should feel that alone. We’ve got to make sure our young people... |
| 00:10:1446 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
The good news is, people are stepping up and accepting responsibility. They’re refusing to turn a blind eye to this problem. The PTA is launching... |
| 00:11:0052 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
Joining this conference today is a young man I just had a chance to meet, Brandon Greene from Rhode Island. Brandon is 14 years old. Back in 6th grade,... |
| 00:11:5231 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
There are stories like this all across the country, where young people and their schools have refused to accept the status quo. And I want you all... |
| 00:12:2325 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
And we’re also launching a new resource called stopbullying.gov, which has more information for parents and for teachers. And as part of our education... |
| 00:12:4820 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
Now, as adults, we can lose sight of how hard it can be sometimes to be a kid. And it’s easy for us to forget what it was like to be teased or bullied.... |
| 00:13:0827 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
A couple other young people that I just had a chance to meet -- Sarah and Emily Buder, who are here from California. They’re right here next to the... |
| 00:13:3533 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
They figured they’d send Olivia about 50 letters. But in the months that followed, thousands and thousands of letters poured in from every corner... |
| 00:14:0819 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
The fact is, sometimes kids are going to make mistakes, sometimes they’re going to make bad decisions. That’s part of growing up. But it’s our... |
| 00:14:2713 sec. |
Obama, Barack - President
And that’s what ultimately this conference is all about. And that’s why all the issues that we’re talking about really matter. And that’s... |
| 00:14:401 min. |
Obama, Barack - President
So thank you for the good work that you’re already doing, and I’m sure you’re going to come up with some terrific ideas during the course of this... |