From the desk of ... Mary Robinson Reynolds

THIS JUST IN... there are 30 more of these incidents posted at the Huffington Post online today, so much so that my computer froze after I captured the last photo included here, so I stopped to make my point...

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Arizona Student's Halloween Costume Drawings
Cause Firestorm At School

Where one pair of parents saw innocent drawings of ninjas and soldiers, school administrators reportedly saw disturbing and threatening images.

Last week, the parents pulled their sons out of Scottsdale Country Day School in Arizona after the school's headmaster reportedly threatened to expel their 8-year-old over a set of drawings. According to the child's father, the drawings of a soldier, ninja and Star Wars character were meant to depict Halloween costumes. However, school administrators were upset that the drawings showed each character holding either a knife or a gun, according to CBS local affiliate KPHO-TV.

The school's headmaster was also reportedly upset about what he saw as violent passages from the child's journal, including ones about scenarios with killer zombies. The child's father, Jeff, whose last name was omitted from the report, told KPHO that the journal contained other passages about saving the world and that his son has no history of violence.

Kathy Prahcharov, the school's director of operations, told The Huffington Post that reports of the incident have been inaccurate. While she could not elaborate on what happened for confidentiality reasons, she said the student "was not threatened or expelled from the school."

The charter school's handbook states that "[a]ny behavior that is deemed threatening such as violent behavior, drawings depicting weapons, blood, or aggression" can be grounds for expulsion.

A number of schools across the country appear to have cracked down on students who use drawings, food or toys to depict guns and violence. In recent months, students have been suspended for actions such as chewing pastries into the shapes of guns or having gun key chains.

Washington state student was terrorized in a bullying attack by peers -- and at some points, by the teacher. The incidents occurred in February at a Gig Harbor middle school. Cell phone footage shows more than a dozen students dragging the then-eighth-grade boy around the classroom, carrying him by his arms and legs, burying him under chairs, writing on his feet and stuffing his socks in his mouth. The antics last about 15 minutes while teacher John Rosi watches, and later joins in.

Texas Teacher
A Houston, Texas teacher and teacher's aide have been removed from their classroom for allegedly disciplining their pre-K students by placing them in custodial closets they nicknamed "monster closets."

Laurie Bailey-Cutkomp, a 47-year-old Zephyrhills High School science teacher in Zephyrhills, Fla., is under fire after photos of her students wearing dog collars as punishment for bad behavior surfaced on Facebook.

Patricia Mulholland
A middle school teacher in South Carolina has been accused of dragging a student under a table during class, telling the boy "this is what the Nazis do to Jews," police said.

The 12-year-old student said he got up to sharpen a pencil at Bluffton Middle School on Wednesday when Patricia Mulholland grabbed him by his collar and said, "come here, Jew," police said. The teacher then dragged him 10 feet under a table and made the comment about Nazis, according to police.

North Carolina Teacher
A state investigation was been opened at Hudson Middle School in Caldwell County, N.C., following allegations that a teacher forced a student with special needs to sit in a cardboard box as a disciplinary measure.

Malibu Teacher
A teacher at Malibu High School in Malibu, Calif., was under investigation after ninth-grade student Dionne Evans went to local authorities claiming the educator slapped her six times for not bringing her notebook to class.

Grounds for Expulsion

The point of today's email is to talk about the BIG HONKIN' elephant in the room so don't get your knickers in a twist, because I'm not talking about all of the really awesome, outstanding, great educators and parents in the world.

The point being: we must do something different and effective so that there is not even one adult who believes themselves entitled to go to these extremes.

I've worked with extremely difficult, emotionally disturbed students and there is absolutely, unequivocately NO EXCUSE for abuse.

The solutions so far are to kick unskilled students and abusive teachers out of the school as if this is going to solve anything WITHOUT getting them the help that they most obviously need. And yes, HELP should most certainly be mandated by a court of law not to put them in jail but to require a year of Compassion Power type EduTherapy. Otherwise, we are turning abusers back out into society as if expulsion will teach them a lesson.

Understand, most abusers believe themselves entitled because they too were abused and it is what they know, understand and believe works. They are not motivated by punitive measures to learn how to become compassionate, high functioning, healthy people because they've never been on the receiving end of compassion, kindness, understanding or an effective skill set to deal with their emotions and woundedness.

They remain in a cycle of failure and punitive disciplinarian measures do not pop them out of this downward spiral and the big question is, "Who will they hurt next and how could this end up with an erruption in a public setting?"

We as a society must to HEAL this (stands for Help Everyone Allow Love.)

We are quickly moving into the holiday season, which is not a happy time for entirely too many people, and last Winter we saw a significant increase in violence.

How many TV interviews do you see where people say, "I thought it would never happen in our town," or "I never thought it would happen to me or my family."

I consider myself an extremely positive person on a mission to make a difference ...AND I've been in the school systems throughout the country, and I know where the kids AND the educators are hiding that are just about to erupt into violent acts. They are hiding in plain sight! The only problem is we don't have enough trained eyes to SEE them!

Certainly most schools have already brought in ANTI-Bullying and STOP Bullying programs.

LOOK at how these programs are being described: "ANTI" meaning AGAINST. Let's look at the definition of against:

Most of these programs treat (label) students who are causing harm to others as "bad," and in many cases going so far as labeling these kids "sociopaths." The reality is that they are being abused themselves. How does this help? How does this heal?

Please understand that Labeling these kids (educators and parents) "Bullies" IS destructive and IS judging them even more; it is NOT the solution! It is inflammatory and breeds MORE unskillful, hurtful, harmful behavior and most importantly, it does not heal what's really going on at school or at home.

You want to name it? Name it as "UNSKILLFUL behavior."

We have a very counter-productive response of "hitting back" with attitudes, words and punishments that are intended to "teach them a lesson." Right!?! And while an impulsive, punitive method may suppress behavior momentarily, it also fuels anger and resentments which will ultimately combust into something bigger than it would have ever needed to be IF handled effectively and humanely. Old school authoritarian methods teach them how to be better at causing harm to themselves and each other.

You want a program that gets to the heart of the problem from all three standpoints of the person dishing it out, the person on the receiving end, and the person watching it and not doing anything about it. What is needed is a specific skill set to come up over the problem in a humane and healing way!

But here's the thing ...

I have an email list of 100,000 subscribers, out of which a few have donated $1 or $5 and only three have dontated $50 in the past year.

And these donations most likely came from generous souls who didn't have a lot of money to really give, while there are people reading my newsletters and articles every day who work in multi-million dollar businesses and corporations that have plenty of money to get MDPA Programs funded with the snap of a finger.

A great story about Mother Theresa: she was invited to speak to an elite group of Billionaires. After her talk they handed her a check for $100,000.

She gave the check back to them saying, "Are you trying to just make yourselves feel good, because you can do much better than this!"

She walked out that day with a million dollars in donations for her work.

The first school we awarded the MDPA program to was Pueblo City School District 60, Heroes K-8 Academy, thanks to Nadine Garcia'Montoya, Literacy Coach/Specialist for stepping up and submitting her 1000 word essay so that she could make this happen for her school.

However, we funded this first project from our own tithing, because donations have not been coming in. I am sharing this information with you in case there is any misconception you may have that others are stepping up and this program is doing fine without your help.

Of myself, I cannot do this, but with your help we can reach millions of kids.

Help me help schools.

What I think is most relevant to the kind of school culture this program creates is that it helps kids get out of their heads and into their hearts to think about their impact on others and how they can be making a difference at school, home and in the community.

MDPA kicks off an "I Make A Difference" WEEK-long program that has safety nets and skill development built in, because acknowledging others can sometimes make us feel vulnerable - if only for a moment. However, it is in our vulnerable moments that we are actually the most powerful and authentic, and this is exactly what we MUST be teaching today's youth in order for them to grow up to BE the CHANGE society needs all students to learn to manage and experience.

The Acknowledgment Ceremony - first created by Helice Bridges over thirty years ago - has a "pay it forward" component, so students will reach out to each other, and to the significant people in their community to touch lives.

The MDPA program makes use of three inspirational stories, which my company turned into online movies under exclusive contracts with each of the respective authors. Together they've received over 10 million views so far. Perhaps you've seen them:

AcknowledgmentMovie.com -Who I Am Makes A Difference, Helice Bridges
MakeADifferenceMovie.com - Teddy Stallard Story, Elizabeth Ballard
Simple Gesture Movie - The Simple Gesture Story, Jack Schlatter

It is the kind of program that will complement any existing bullying or drug abuse prevention and intervention programs that schools may already have in place.

I am asking for your help today as big and as boldly as I know how to ask.

I have three schools waiting in the wings ready to go the second I can get their materials and training to them - to get this program into their schools:

Parkview Elementary, Wyoming, MI
Warren E. Bow Elementary / Middle School, Detroit, MI
St. Stephen Elementary School, St, Stephen, SC

We have more schools inquiring every day. The need is immense.

Many of my subscribers have been with me for fifteen years or longer, so I know that you know me and that I am a woman with a mission to make a difference, and am good to my word. I will personally see to it that you will also receive confirmation of the results achieved from the school(s) that received your Make A Difference donation.

We are not a non-profit, so you would be giving for the sake of giving.

However, if your company participates, we have an advertising plan in place for large donations which makes the investment tax-deductable as an advertising expense.

Schools will receive a 6' X 8' banner to put up for a minimum of 30 days to acknowledge corporate sponsorships/partnerships in which case you would want to call us to determine how much advertising you want. 800-639-8191

So... If you are at a place in your life where you are, or know someone who is, in a position to give back and help the schools in your community with the social emotional issues facing today's children, then NOW is the time to get on board with bringing my field tested program for Making A Difference with the Power of Acknowledgment UTrain® Program to your local schools.

I am asking for your help to bring the transforming impact of the "Who I am Makes a Difference" Acknowledgment Story into Your Community's classrooms NOW, along with other momentum building stories / movies: The Teddy Stallard Story, The Simple Gesture and more.

The Make a Difference with the Power of Acknowledgment UTrain® Program is designed to inspire and equip educators with a revitalized educational philosophy and practical techniques that will give life to academic performance and requirements.

Each Lesson in the program comes with discussions and activities to bridge the gap between social emotional issues and their often dramatic, life-altering effects.

MDPA UTrain® Program is specifically designed to:

==> create social connectedness
==> provide concrete support in times of need
==> teach social and emotional competence

How YOU Can Help Schools, Make A Sustainable Difference

1. DIY Do-It-Yourself - walk MDPA program into your school district as your gift to them OR ...

2. If you'd really rather not get directly involved with schools but would very much like to give a donation then please know that we have a growing list of Persistently Low Performing Schools on our WAITING LIST to receive our Make A Difference with the Power of Acknowledgement UTrain® Program.

For a school of 500 students/faculty and staff would be $1,500 for the UTrain® Program which include 4 "I Make A Difference" Wristbands and 10 Stickers per individual at our current 85% fall savings.

For a school of 1000 students with faculty and staff the investment would be $2,680 for UTrain® Program plus 4 "I Make A Difference" Wristbands and 10 Stickers per individual at our current 85% fall savings.

You make the donation and I'll work directly with the school's leaders to get this program successfully under way.

I will personally see to it that you will also receive confirmation of the results achieved from the school(s) that received your Make A Difference Gift.

JOIN ME IN MY '13 -'14 MOVEMENT and let's Make A Positive Difference NOW!

Please click here to participate:

Our very First school to receive the full program from our personal donation is:

Pueblo City School District 60, Somerlid Elementary/Freed Middle
Their Kick-Off date was this Fall. Congratulations to Nadine Garcia'Montoya, Literacy Coach/Specialist for stepping up to make this happen for her school.

"Wow what a fast paced year this has already been! I have been meaning to inform you of our awesome "Make a Difference" kickoff which was held on Friday, September 13. We rolled it out with Kinder-1st, 2nd-3rd, 4th-5th and 6th, 7th and 8th assemblies. The students and staff loved the messages! It is so amazing to see blue wristbands throughout the building! Please call anytime so that I may share more with you! Sincerest thanks to you and your program!" -Nadine Garcia' Montoya

CLICK HERE to listen to what Nadine had to say about how straightforward and flexible Make a Difference with the Power of Acknowledgment UTrain® Program was to deliver, to get teachers K-8 on board with and the community it has created with the students.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Reaching out ...

Mary Robinson Reynolds
Author & Founder, Heart Productions & Publishing
MakeADifference.com/Acknowledge UTrain® Program
Click here for Business, Churches, Organizations and Schools

PS ... Persistently Low Performing Schools Apply HERE.

Heart Productions & Publishing, Greater Boston Area, 800-639-8191