Bully-proofing Your Teens, Interview with Candice Dugger

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Bully-proofing Your Teens, Interview with Candice Dugger. Bully-proofing Your Teens, Interview with Candice Dugger NOTE: This episode contains discussions about bullying, harassment and suicide. Sensitive listeners should listen with discretion. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. We are investing in National Anti-bullying Month with this interview with Candice Dugger. Many of you are familiar with Candice because of her work on the Reimagine Education Online Conference. You may also know her with her diligent work helping families find resources to deal with bullying. Her Bullied, Broken, Redeemed workshops and resources are popular in churches, homeschool organizations and businesses nationwide. Vicki asked Candice if she could share with us about bully-proofing teens. Candice Dugger Photo used with permission Candice genuinely cares about young people and their wellbeing. Candice got started homeschooling in an unusual way. It began with fear, anxiety and pain. Her kids had been in both public and private schools. When her oldest was in seventh grade, Candice noticed there was something wrong. He had gone from being a happy, joyful kid who liked school, to a child she did not recognize. He was withdrawn, angry and his grades were dropping. While he had some learning differences, they had always been able to stay on top of school success. So what was wrong? She discovered that bullying was overwhelming her son. She realized that she needed to start homeschooling her son. It took about six months for Candice to gather her resolve to start homeschooling. She had come from the corporate world but had been sick for several years. The illness caused her to slow down and truly see the pain her son was in. Then, at a school IEP meeting for her son, she watched the failure of the school to meet his needs. That was the breaking point. She said: "That's it! We are homeschooling!" Fortunately, the next week was the state homeschooling conference. She got training and resources there to start. Candice feels that homeschooling truly saved her son's life. As they have unpacked the true level of bullying her son experienced, she realized the pain of his experiences and have seen him healing. She realized she had to help families around her who were upset over the bullying their children were experiencing. Some families reported elementary-aged students who had suicide plans because of the desperation they were feeling about the bullying they experienced. Candice started the organization Bullied, Broken, Redeemed. When she started homeschooling some of her family was concerned about her ability to homeschool because of her poor health. Candice is not one to be easily deterred, though. The first thing she did was "flip my son's education on its head". The schools had concentrated on his weaknesses. He began to see himself as defined by his weaknesses, this was dangerously compounded by the attacks of cyberbullying and in-person bullying at school. So, instead of spending 80% of their time on his weaknesses, Candice spent 80% of their time focusing on what he could do well. She spent most of her day speaking life, value, and truth back into him. She surrounded him with things he could be good at: sports, history, wilderness and survival topics. As he succeeded in these courses, his confidence grew and his healing from the damage of bullying progressed. By the time he finished eighth grade, he had blown through three years of high school hist...