Report bullying, victim's mom tells St. Pete students

Debbie Johnston's 15-year-old son, Jeff, hanged himself by the strap of his book bag after nearly three years of bullying by a classmate.

His death in 2005 led to the passage of a Florida law three years later requiring every public school district in the state to launch anti-bullying programs.

And it launched Johnston, a Cape Coral schoolteacher, on a mission: Teach kids they hold the power to stop bullies.

Johnston met Tuesday with about 50 middle school-aged children at the Frank Pierce Recreation Center as guest speaker for an outreach project of the Florida Holocaust Museum called Speak Up Speak Now!

The eight-week summer program explores the historical connection between bystander behavior and how it relates to societal problems, such as community violence or school bullying.

Organizers hope to take the program, which also addresses the stigma of snitching, into Pinellas County public schools. They hope to approach the Tampa Police Department later about reaching children across the Bay.

"This is real world," said Carolyn Bass, the holocaust museum's executive director, noting the recent shooting deaths of two Tampa Police officers. "It's happening today. We're trying to make that connection with kids.''

Johnston, who now heads the nonprofit Students for Safer Schools, supports the museum's message, which is based on lessons from the Holocaust, and praises programs that empower students to stop bad behavior.

"We should not allow children to believe it's OK to turn away when you see something wrong,'' Johnston said.

Citing research, she said that if an adult intervenes, it often makes the bullying worse for the victim.

"But if a peer intervenes,'' Johnston said, "it usually stops in 30 seconds or less.''

Behind her were enlarged portraits of her son as a tow-headed toddler with a wide grin who loved elementary and middle school and as a teenager with long hair and a hat who reveled in being different.

Johnston described how her son was a happy 12-year-old with many friends, including a girlfriend, when a classmate began picking on him and making comments about him on a website.

The harassment continued through middle school, stopping only when Jeff and the bully went on to different high schools. It took nearly nine months for her son to smile again, Johnston said.

He slowly started to make friends, but by the end of his freshman year the harassment started again.

It was too much for him, she said.

She came home one day and found him hanging in his closet. Later, his family came across some of Jeff's last words about his life, how you couldn't change the world no matter how hard you tried.

"We're going to change the world,'' his mother said. "One kid at a time.''

Jeff's Law requires every public school to offer anti-bullying training for students and staff with an emphasis on reporting incidents.

After the presentation, children asked Johnston hard questions like why her son killed himself.

"I don't know,'' she said matter-of-factly. "I ask myself that question every day.''

As the children filed out of the meeting room, 11-year-old Sierra Davis, a seventh-grader at John Hopkins Middle School, said she learned a lot about bullying.

Sometimes it's more than just name-calling and shoving.

Sierra said she wouldn't stand by and watch in silence.

"I wouldn't want to be bullied,'' she said. "I wouldn't want to take my life away.''