I am sure that many of you have noted the anti-bullying campaigns
flying around social media and everywhere for that matter. I have heard many stories of children getting
bullied recently. In fact, I went through something similar not too long ago
with my sixteen-year-old sister. My question is why is this still an issue? We
have all seen the results of bullying, and many have claimed to be against it.
Why then, is it still such a common occurrence? Who is to blame? And why does
it seem to be starting so early, as in Kindergarten?
I want to tell you my sister’s story first so that I can
explain how I have a connection to the issue on a personal level. I am 28 years
old, and my sister is 16. I have always been a big part of her life and when
her father was not able to go to school to take care of things, I did. When she
was in elementary school, she had some issues that made her very different from
other children her age. It was in the third grade that she started showing
signs of being bullied. So we, her father and I, sat down and asked her all
about it. She explained that she was being made fun of at school and wanted to
stop going to school. We explained to her that she was beautiful, and she would
encounter people who were going to be hateful to her all of her life. She just
needed to keep her head up and move forward. She did exactly that. This girl
was a survivor I tell you! Every now and again, she would come home and cry and
tell me how bad things were, but she never doubted that she was not good
enough. She knew she was perfect! After the third grade, we moved. She went to
a new school and all seemed fine for a few years. Then high school came, and it
seemed we were right back to square one. This time, however, she was not going to
take the bullying. So she began to get into arguments and even fights with
people at school. I was called several times to meeting with the counselor and
principal. They all told me she was a trouble maker. Her father and I were
constantly punishing her for her actions. She kept complaining that she was
only defending herself. I advised her to tell the counselor or principal then
next time it happened instead of taking matters into her own hands. A few days
later this girl began to attack my sister verbally at school again, and so she
reported it. No action was taken against the student. The next day this same
girl spits on my sister during a pep rally and she reports the event and again,
no action was taken. I went the next day to report it to the principal. She
assured me that this girl would be punished. The girl was never punished and
the very next day the girl started again on my sister. This time there was a
big fight with a teacher to witness the event. I attended a disciplinary
hearing where my sister explained that she was tired of being bullied, and that
is why she got into the fight. The director of the board of education’s response
to her was “What exactly is your term of bullying? This word keeps getting
thrown around these days. I see nothing of the sort in the situation that you
could call bullying. None of your claims are considered bullying.” I was
shocked! So if this is not bullying, what is? Needless to say my sister was
sent to alternative school. She is a strong girl, and I am sure all will be
well with her but what if she decided to end her life because of it all? We
have heard of this happening before, it is not uncommon, as sad as it is.
I have seen other families going through the same thing. I
know a boy with a form of Autism called Asperger. To make matters worse for this
young man he comes from a family of giants. So he is a big boy. He is ten years
old, 5’7, and at least two hundred pounds. There are things that trigger him,
and he acts out sometimes. He is not the type of person who makes friends easy.
These are all symptoms to his medical condition. I will not go into full detail,
but I will say that this poor child has been picked on from day one in school.
I do not know how much damage it can cause in the long run for a five-year-old to have to worry about things like this, but
I am sure that they are much worse than we think. I also just read on Facebook
about a ten-year old little girl getting
made fun of for being over weight! Come on, what in the world are we the
parents teaching our children? Is it even our fault?
Who can prevent this from happening? I do think it starts at
home. I am constantly telling my children that they are not in any way better
than the next person. I make sure they know how much I love them, how smart
they are, how pretty they are, and how proud I am of them. When they notice
that someone that is different I explain that they are smart in their own way,
they are pretty in their own way, and I am sure that their mom and dad are very
proud of them. I have never had a problem with my children being a bully. In
fact, my son’s teacher tells me that my son is friends with everyone in class
and is well loved by everyone. When he misses school, every student in the
classroom notices and is upset by it. I
am proud of this fact!
I also feel that teachers and school faculty has a responsibility
to the students. I think they should pay closer attention to each of their students
so that when they notice a change in behavior, they can immediately reach out
and take action. I do not feel like enough is done in schools to prevent
students who are different from being made fun of. I also do not feel that
enough is done to discipline known bullies.
I think the community needs to be involved. I firmly believe
that it takes a village to raise a child. If the community is against bullying,
then it will make it harder for the schools or parents to let it slide!
I encourage everyone to look at the bigger picture. I am not
trying to make a political statement here, I am simply saying for the welfare of
our children, even adults, in this world we need to do everything we can to
stop this from happening. Children are killing themselves over this; people are
dying over being bullied. I think it is way past time to STOP BULLYING!
Interesting links you should look at:
