Bullying Needs To End!

Bullying was one of the main things that I had to deal with in middle and high school. I would get called names, other students would just be mean to me on purpose and one time in middle school another student tripped me in the hallway but a teacher saw her do it and the sad thing is I don’t think she got in any trouble. That same girl used to follow me in the hallways as we switched classes. I started to walk faster to each of my classes so she couldn’t catch up to me.

Bullying needs to stop!!  I have been out of high school for almost 7 years now and I still see acts of bullying when I go volunteer at an elementary school. There needs to be more acts of kindness and bullying needs to disappear!!  The facts are difficult to read. Did you know that 160,000 kids in the US stay home every day because of bullying, or that Eighty-three percent of bullying incidents receive no intervention and continue to happen(van der Zande, I, 2014).  If you see a classmate getting bullied, stand up for them. You don’t have to go over there and get into the bully’s face and tell them to quit being a bully. Go find a teacher you trust and bring them to the incident that is going on.

Bullying doesn’t always happen at school.  Bullying can happen through the internet, called cyber bullying. If you are being cyber bullied tell you parents. They will most likely tell you to print off what the bully is saying to you to use as “proof” if it gets way out of hand and if your parents and yourself need help from a higher level like your school principal or sometime authorities.

If you are being bullied and need someone that you can trust and want to talk to for advice, Don’t be afraid to contact me, I have been in your shoes, write a comment with your email and I'll email you. If you’re a bully, please stop and take a look in the mirror and ask yourself these questions:

1.      Why am I being mean?

2.      What makes me better than the people I bully?

3.      How would it make me feel if I was being bullied?

Now, I know that sometimes being bullied can make you a bully because you want to take your anger out on other people but if you want to stop being a bully, talk to your parents or a school counselor and let them know that you are done being a bully and ask them for help if you are having trouble.

After reading this, think of one way that you can spread the act of kindness? What’s one way that you can pay it forward?

Reference:

Van der Zande, Irene. (2014). "Bullying Facts and Solutions: Upsetting Statistics and 4 Actions You Can Take." Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 July 2014. http://www.kidpower.org/library/article/bullying-facts/

<3 Amanda