STORIES ABOUT BULLYING

Ever since I can remember I have been bullied, but it really started as soon as I started secondary school. There was this one girl in my class who, along with her cousin, singled me out and for 3 years continued to bully me. I was never physically bullied but I think that verbal bullying is in some ways worse as the scars from that can take longer to heal! After having told the teachers on several occasions but to no avail, I decided (wrongly) to take matters into my own hands. I started calling her names and even though I knew I was just sinking to her level, I found that it got to her, so much so in fact that she told a teacher! The tables had turned and she didn’t like it!
The trouble came when I got called into the teacher’s office and told not to bully this girl. I couldn’t believe my ears! I told the teacher how this girl had been bullying me for years and I was just trying to get her to see how much it hurts. The teacher luckily was sympathetic to my situation and although she warned me that I mustn’t bully she spoke to the girl in question and the bullying stopped!
After about 6 months we began to become friends and have been ever since. I think she realised that I wouldn’t put up with being singled out. As for her cousin, he stopped when she did!
The moral of this is, don’t ever give up and never ever think that being bullied is your fault, it’s a problem with the bully not with you. The sooner you can come to terms with this, the stronger you will become.
Show them that what they are saying is like water of a ducks back even if inside your are really hurting and believe me I know how painful words can be! Don’t ever let them see it hurts and don’t ever let them think they have won.
Finally, when the bullies are getting you down remember "You are worth ten of them, so don’t let them get to you!"
H.E.





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hursday, 01 April 2010

• My Bullying Story

  

  15 year old, Phoebe Prince hung herself after a series of bullying incidents

  School bullying is everywhere. I don't know if there's even a way to intervene without making it worse for the vicitm of the bullies. Hearing about the 15 year old who hung herself over bullying, really hit home for me. I was bullied in the sixth grade, when I started getting acne, and my family was so poor we could not afford socks for myself. I never cared, about being poor, if I had to go without socks, so be it. I knew my parents were trying. Other kids, well, they cared. I wore hand-me-downs from my older cousin, and Goodwill-bought clothing. I never had a cell phone, or nice shoes, or anything really nice. Other kids, would call out from across classroom mocking me, and I still remember everything they said word for word. "Your so f-ing ugly, ew." "Your really wearing that sh-t?" "EW OH MY GOD, you are seriously wearing that?"
  Sure, they were petty, but it hurt. I started cutting myself, crying all day, all night, every night. My teacher HEARD what they said, she WATCHED me cry my eyes out, she LISTENED when I told her what was wrong. She did NOTHING. She did not inform my parents of what was happening to me, she did not give any punishment, nothing. Not even when she watched a student beat me up - with his textbook- until I was crying and begging for him to stop. She did nothing. She told me to stop crying. She told me to do what other students wanted me too.
  Another teacher held me while I cried, and stood infront of my class yelling at the "bullies" and that only made it worse. That night I went home and took a bottle of sleeping pills. I was 11. My mom made me puke everything out. My parents did not know, until now, that I was bullied, and I am almost 17.
  I am scarred for life, I have no confidence in myself, I can't go back to public school, I have seen three counselors and things are not getting better for me. I can't face people, I can't go shopping without crying in the dressing room because I feel ugly. I had to face those bullies from 6th-11th grade. They were in my classes, they had my lunch periods, so I dropped out. I am now homeschooled. They ruined life for me. Now, I'm only happy when I go shopping. That's because I feel better then them, new things, recklessly spending money - I'm dropping hundreds every week. That's the only time I feel good about myself. It feels like revenge - like I'm showing them up - like I'm saying "No, I'm not an ugly little girl any more, look at all my nice things, look at everything I have. I'm not poor anymore.".
  I don't know what you can do to stop bullying. When the victim of bullying tells, the bullying only gets worse. Parents need to step in and discipline their children who are bullies. Schools need to have better policies on bullying.
  If your child is a victim of bullying, you need to intervene. You need to help your child. Not only is it ruining your childs childhood - it can hurt them for life. Please, step up when your child needs you. Here is a website parents should read whether the know their child is being bullied or not.
  Have you or your child suffered from bullying? How did you handle the situation?