“I know you haven’t completed your homework and now, you suddenly have a stomach ache.”
“But mom, my stomach hurts.”
“No more excuses, Max! And your bus arrives in 5 minutes. You better hurry up!”
Max, a 12 year old boy, with immense singing talent is brought up in a nurtured environment. His parents have high hopes from him and he is determined to make his parents proud. He enjoys his music lessons. However, he makes all the possible excuses not to go to school. Why??? Because his classmates call him fat. They outcast him making him feel lonely.
Bullying has been an issue in schools all over the world. Its cause can be race, cast, religion, sex or just the child’s personality. The victim is singled out by a bully or a group of bullies and humiliated to the extent that he/she may begin believing them. The child would hesitate to go to school and would gradually become silent or anxious or temperamental. It may affect not just his/her academic performance but his socialization skills and may shake his confidence and self esteem. The constant fear of being rejected would make the kid depressed and feelings of inferiority may find their way into his/her functioning. It may drive him to develop suicidal tendencies.
The other half of this issue, played by the bully, should not be left unnoticed. Bullies feel powerful and have a high need of authority. They humiliate others to feel elevated. Mostly, they end up being criminals, eventually, being rejected by the society. Sometimes, the bullies play a passive role by being a part of a group and hurt others in a long-drawn out way. Bullies can be an outcome of a bullying parent or some kind of bullying experienced by them in the past.
Usually, the signs of this psychological trauma remain unnoticed. So, the need of the hour is to make parents as well as teachers aware of the existence of potential bullying in the kids’ lives and effectively dealing with such problems. Also, they need to develop a connection with the growing child and attend to his/her subtle signs. Once the victim is noticed by his/her parents or some authority figure, he’s in safe hands. The bullies, too, need to be discovered and should be provided with the required help.
Teenagers, however, may want to handle such situations alone. They should calmly handle the situation by not reverting back to what the bully says or holding back his/her anger. If it doesn’t work, the situation must be grave. He/she should inform an adult who can take care of it. In such times, the victim should remember that he/she is not alone.
Physical, emotional or psychological-the wounds would remain unhealed until they are noticed and cleansed and removed by taking an action.
Always remember-The power lies within you.
Im in high school now and i see polpee gettin bullied everydayI just wish the teachers in our school do something but you cansay do but they really don’t .. My friend taris get bullied by half the Sophomores and i do be trying 2 stop it but i cant take down all ofthem [] Reply:March 18th, 2011 at 11:29 am, That’s crazy and so not ok. Good for you for sticking up for your friend, I think you should keep doing that and even telling the principal or teachers IN WRITING. Sometimes adults will respond more when they know the complaint is being documented and tracked. Tell your friend Taris to hang in there, speak up and know that those bully sophomores are really probably just messed up in someway themselves.