Imagine a world where every school is free of bullying.
While it may seem impossible, Bullyproof Australia is on a mission to make a difference to every student, every teacher, every school, everywhere!
Bullyproof Australia is an Australian-registered charity, which focuses on a proactive approach and teaches practical solutions for a wide range of bullying situations.
At the helm are Frank Mechler, Jeff Horn and Glenn Rushton, three men dedicated to bullying prevention and management, mental health improvement and fostering an ideal learning environment for academic performance.
“I’ve been in the awareness side of bullying prevention for more than 20 years,” Frank said. “I have a background in Kung Fu and part of that mandate is to give back to the community and when I became a master, I decided that I was going to help kids with bullying. I experienced bullying myself when I was at school and I wanted to empower others and get the attention of kids to try and be kinder to each other. But the biggest problem was that while it was creating awareness, that awareness doesn’t actually fix anything.”
Building Resilience and Conflict Resolution Skills
In 2014, one of Frank’s close friends lost his 14-year-old daughter Erin to suicide as a result of bullying. It was at this point that Frank knew more had to be done.
“It hit us really hard – Erin taking her life was kind of the catalyst and I knew we needed to do more and we actually had to teach kids skills on how to resolve conflict and manage conflict in their personal lives,” Frank said. “I spent two years working on a pilot program and took it to my good friend Jeff Horn and we decided to team up, along with Glenn and worked out how we were going to do it all.”
Through the AMAYDA Resilience Program, Bullyproof Australia provides comprehensive and complex training around conflict resolution for teachers and students with the overarching principle of achieving the best outcome for everyone involved.
Many would be familiar with Jeff Horn as a former boxing champion. However, he also spent time teaching and has seen firsthand the complicated nature of bullying.
“As a teacher, you struggle to either recognise exactly what’s happening or you just don’t have the time to get through everything you need to and deal with the issue at hand as well,” Jeff said. “Behaviour management is very time-consuming for teachers and if you were to try and stop every little thing happening in class, there’s very little time left for teaching!”
Jeff has also taken on the role of national ambassador for Bullyproof Australia.
“Bullying and mental health are issues very close to my heart,” Jeff said. “A lot of people see me as a boxing champion, which was a big chapter in my life, but believe it or not, I was actually bullied at school and it’s not something you want to happen or see happen to others.
“I’ve always been about showing respect to others, no matter who they are or what they do and that’s what I teach my kids at home, we should treat other people the way we would want to be treated in return.”
For further information, visit Bully Proof Australia here.
Read more stories from The Caboolture Guide print magazine here:
- Caboolture Connect: Updates from the Community
- What’s Hot Around Town
- The Legacy of Narangba Train Station
- Swing Into A Rockabilly Wonderland
- New Women’s Health Hub Opening in Caboolture
- A Carnival of Fun for All Ages
- Expansion Time for Caboolture Neighbourhood Centre
- Tis the season to be jolly!
- Honouring Local Heroes at Combined Services Awards
- A Spiral Away From the Top
- Carrot, Zucchini and Date Muffins (a Weight Watchers recipe)
- Buckle Up for Bulls, Broncs and Bands at Triple B Rodeo
- Find Help for Life’s Problems at Zonta Wellbeing Expo for Women and Girls
- Shimmy and Sparkle at Rhythms of Mayyada
