MISSOURI FORUM
By Chris Guinther
“It’s an average teenager’s weekday…going to school, being beat up, having lunch money stolen...the usual. It’s sad to say, but bullying is at its worst these days. About 1 out of every 4 teens admits they are bullies or are being bullied. Many schools don’t even care about those things. They say it’s just a part of life. Bullies can be very dangerous. Bullies are a part of everyday life, but they shouldn’t be. Too many people are being tortured on a daily basis. I may just be a kid, but I hope that I can open your eyes.”
After I read this middle school student’s essay, my first question was, “Why should any student believe that torturing and bullies are a part of everyday life?” The follow-up question has to be, “What are we doing to help?”
The answer to the first question is simple. Bullying is not just “kids being kids” and should never be considered as a rite of passage. In many cases, it’s keeping our children from being successful or it’s keeping them from coming to school. In some cases, it’s killing them. The “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids” report indicates that those who are bullied are five times more likely to be depressed and far more likely to be suicidal.
Click Here to Read Full Op-ed
“It’s an average teenager’s weekday…going to school, being beat up, having lunch money stolen...the usual. It’s sad to say, but bullying is at its worst these days. About 1 out of every 4 teens admits they are bullies or are being bullied. Many schools don’t even care about those things. They say it’s just a part of life. Bullies can be very dangerous. Bullies are a part of everyday life, but they shouldn’t be. Too many people are being tortured on a daily basis. I may just be a kid, but I hope that I can open your eyes.”
After I read this middle school student’s essay, my first question was, “Why should any student believe that torturing and bullies are a part of everyday life?” The follow-up question has to be, “What are we doing to help?”
The answer to the first question is simple. Bullying is not just “kids being kids” and should never be considered as a rite of passage. In many cases, it’s keeping our children from being successful or it’s keeping them from coming to school. In some cases, it’s killing them. The “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids” report indicates that those who are bullied are five times more likely to be depressed and far more likely to be suicidal.
Click Here to Read Full Op-ed
0 comments:
Post a Comment