This week’s Sports Illustrated, September 14, 2009 issue, has a story for all of us. Written by Selena Roberts and appearing on the very last page of the magazine in the ‘Point After’ column, she writes a poignant article about a high school athlete.

It is an article about what is most joyous and what is most sad in the lives of our teenagers. The article is about a high School athlete, Kaleb Eulls, an outstanding student and athlete from Mississippi. Kaleb was on a bus one morning when another student, a 14-year-old girl took out a gun from her backpack and threatened revenge for being bullied. Kaleb was able to disarm her (Please get this magazine and read the article) and save anyone from getting hurt. Ms. Roberts details how modest and hardworking Kaleb is in his everyday life apart from this incident. He remained that way throughout the national attention he received as a result of this heroic deed.

In the last two weeks I have given many presentations on bullying and teasing at schools in my professional role as a clinical psychologist. I have also just finished publishing a very affordable and comprehensive manual for schools to apply to their school to STOP and PREVENT bullying and teasing behavior among students. My goal is to provide schools with tools they can use without expending enormous resources and money. (Comparable programs cost in the thousands of dollars-mine is a straightforward, hard-hitting manual for schools for $25.)

The appearance of this article, in a magazine devoted to sports underscores the seriousness of this problem of bullying and teasing among students of all ages. Children, teens, adults are being hurt and killed by this behavior. It is time we stopped it in our society. In the next few weeks I will have a booklet available on www.NogginPower2.com, I call them Mini-Manuals, for parents on this issue as well.

We could have lost this special young man, Kaleb Eulls, innocently because of this deadly behavior of teasing and bullying others. Help stop it NOW!

Dr. John E. Mayer-President, ISPA