Best-selling author to visit Ozark County
Area students, parents, educators and community members will soon have the opportunity to meet and listen to Rosalind Wiseman, an internationally recognized anti-bullying expert and author of the book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World. The New York Times best-seller was the literary basis for the popular movie Mean Girls.
The community presentation, co-sponsored by Gainesville Schools and Century Bank of the Ozarks, will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, in the Gainesville High School gym. Books will be available for purchase, and a book signing, sponsored by the Hastings store in Mountain Home, Ark., will be held in the library immediately after the presentation.
Organizers stress that the program will include Wiseman’s guidance on conflict resolution, self-dignity and how to conduct oneself in a respectable manner. Despite the titles of the book and movie, the program can be beneficial to everyone, and it’s open to all area residents. It’s not limited to teenage girls.
Gainesville superintendent Joe Donley said he hopes “people won’t just see this opportunity and think it is only for girls. The strategies she is going to talk about are for girls and boys alike. I also think it will be beneficial for parents to be there because she is going to give some tips and strategies to help their kids deal with conflict at school, at home, with social networks and with cyberspace. It will cover all those avenues.”
Wiseman will also be conducting an in-depth leadership workshop for Gainesville High School administrators, teachers, counselors, aides and staff members the next morning, focusing on equipping area educators with tools to promote and encourage a respectful and appropriate social climate in school. She will “direct our teachers and staff on how we can be aware that a kid is struggling with bullying and other social conflict issues,” Donley said.
Wiseman’s passion for helping individuals understand their responsibility to treat themselves and others with dignity is apparent through her many years of work. In addition to working with thousands of schools and communities every year, Wiseman has been a frequent guest on the Today Show, Anderson Cooper 360 and Dateline to discuss ethical leadership, media literacy and bullying prevention. She has also been profiled in the country’s largest newspapers and several television and radio news programs.
In addition, Wiseman has worked toward national policy change, serving as one of the principal speakers at the White House Summit on Bullying in 2001. Her book Queen Bee Moms and Kingpin Dads, the follow-up book to Queen Bees and Wannabes, addresses conflicts among parents and now is being made into a motion picture by New Line Cinema.
For more information, visit Wiseman’s website at rosalindwiseman.com.