The past few weeks have seen an upswing in stress at school. Teachers, administrators and kids alike. One of the uglier ways it comes out in kids is harassment - a big word that means one kid makes another kid feel bad. It is one of the harder things to get 6th graders to understand about middle school. There is no more calling Mommy to tell you to behave. You are now responsible and you are responsible for what you do, say and even for the looks you give. If it makes someone else feel uncomfortable you are harassing them whether you meant it or not. It is a rude awakening into the real world for some. Lately we have had some more serious bullying going on - name calling to the extent of racial slurs. This is the line in the sand for all of us. Our students have difficulty understanding the emotional response from their teachers because they hear these words all the time and they mean nothing to them. They are on TV, in the movies, in their music, even in video games. So not only are we challenged to teach the hazardous effects of bullying but it also becomes a lesson in vocabulary and the history of these words. Today's reality is that kids are committing suicide over harassment. It's a new world out there with e-mail, texting, facebook all under the auspices of cyberbullying. There is no margin for error when we are talking about kids' lives.
Recently, a harassed student at our school told an administrator that he didn't think the racial slurs could be stopped. That was a challenge we are all ready and willing to take on. The vice principal and counselor made the rounds to the classrooms last week and now everyone is talking about it. I heard a student on the quad say, "Stop being a bully and give me back my soccer ball." There is an incredible sense of empowerment in that simple statement. We have named it for them and now they can deal with it head on.
Yesterday my kids wrote about it. Here are a few of my favorites:
Bullies have become a really big threat to students. Everyone has been bullied at least once. Bullies hurt people physically and emotionally and that affects a student’s academics. Teasing hurts kids. It makes them think of what’s going to happen instead of what is happening. What about school? They don’t think about school. Bullying might make you feel very powerful. You are really not getting any power by hurting someone. All you’re doing is causing fear in your environment. Do you feel powerful now?
Bullying changes others. Bullies hurt other people’s feelings. When people become depressed from bullying, their emotions change and they don’t act normally. Bullying discourages people and other people will think of themselves as people who are the outsiders. Often people don’t do well in school when they are bullied. Bullying is wrong and puts people down. Bullies think bullying is right but they just want power. They think that if they bully, they will get the power they want. People who try to get power from bullying don’t think about the other people who aren’t bullies. Power comes from positive things you do well. Making other people powerless doesn’t make the bullies more powerful.
Bullies, bullies, bullies. One thing I don’t get about life is bullies. All they do is make people feel bad about life and themselves. I say this because they put people down who they don’t even know. Some people who have been bullied have killed themselves. Why would someone want to be responsible for someone’s life? Maybe one reason they do it is to get power or feel better about themselves. I believe that power cannot come from others. It can only come from yourself and your achievements. Bullying is the worst thing that can happen to anyone in life and it could kill someone in the end.
Bullying is wrong because it hurts people’s feelings by insulting them. Insults hurt people a lot. When bullies insult people, it scares them and people think they are powerless. The only reason why the bullies bully people is because they want themselves to look cool. But it doesn’t make you look cool; it makes you look like a jerk. Bullies hurt innocent people’s feelings and that’s very rude. These people did not do anything to the bullies and they are forced to live in fear.
Many times people get bullied at schools for no apparent reason. Well, bullying is wrong. The bullied get abused emotionally and physically. Even if there is a reason behind it, it is just wrong. The bullies don’t think of how the bullied feel. They only think of power and everything in the present. They don’t think about the consequences. They should think ahead 20 minutes and better yet, 20 years and how their life could change horribly for bullying.
Bullying can cause a negative effect on people mentally and physically. People can feel powerless, weak, or worthless. Bullies can affect someone’s emotions very strongly which will give them nightmares that they’ll never forget. Bullying allows everyone to stay in fear and never express themselves because they hate the thought of being bullied or laughed at. Kids might not want to go to school because of the thought of being bullied. Bullying can affect someone’s focus in school because of the hated thoughts constantly lingering in their head. Bullying is wrong and puts people down. Most bullies think bullying is right but all they really search for is power. They think that if they bully they’ll be powerful. Bullies never give a second thought about the victims being bullied. The truth is that power must come from success that you earn throughout life. You can’t gain power so easily. You earn power with the good traits that will guide you in the future.
Bullying is wrong because it puts people down. First of all, bullying creates negative effects both mentally and physically. Many kids think they don’t look good enough or that their clothes are out of style and ugly. Bullying makes kids feel insecure. Harsh comments and name calling that bullies say to kids make them feel unworthy and not good enough. Most bullies are just searching for power. They try to gain power by taking power away from others, making them powerless. But the truth is that power doesn’t come from making others powerless. You must gain power doing good things like getting good grades and being talented. Everyone has something they’re good at to gain power, not by bullying.
Bullying. Put-downs. Insults. It will never stop, will it? Bullies do all these things for cheap laughs and thrills. It’s like everybody forgot the golden rule, “Do unto others as you want them to do to you.” So overall, if all the bullying that the bully did to someone returned to them, a load of depression mixed with anger and sadness would hit them. Scientists have figured out why bullies bully. They do it for power because they feel powerless themselves. But power can’t come from bullying; it will just bring you down in your social life. True power comes from what you like doing, like soccer or art, even just talking to your friends. I’m not telling you to change yourself, just think about how you would feel if you got bullied.
Bullying is wrong because it changes the way people feel about themselves. As bullies are constantly reminding the victim about their mistakes, and other people agree, they feel that they are incorrect the whole time and that whatever the bully says is correct. They can be taken advantage of more often because of these negative feelings. Bullies think differently. They think that bullies have nothing to do with other people’s feelings and that each person is in charge of controlling their own feelings. Sadly, they are mistaken. Bullying can change one’s emotions. One minute they feel totally confident with themselves, the next depressed and shy. This can make them grouchy with their peers and/or lose focus in class discussions and assignments. If bullying were to stop, I think it would make a huge difference in everyone’s lives.
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