Take A Stand!

I am really enjoying being a part of the blogging world.  I love how I can express feelings I have, share ideas, and hopefully maybe inspire those who read it.  Today I want to blog about a topic that I feel very strongly towards: Bullying.  

I was very fortunate growing up to have never really been bullied.  I absolutely loved high school and had a great childhood.  I was one of the lucky ones.  Unfortunately, not every child has the same experience.  Bullying seems to be happening more and more.  Now with cell phones and social networking sites, bullying seems to be getting worse.  Kids will say hurtful things online that they would never say in person.  Cyber bullying is ruining children's lives.  

Bullies don't understand that what they say and do will affect that child for the rest of their lives.  I remember seeing a video where every time the girl was bullied, a scar would form.  By the end of the short clip, she was scarred from head to toe.  I wonder if a bully would stop if they could see the scars.  But just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they are not there.  These scars will stay with victims of bullying throughout their lives.  They are permanent and affect a child/adult's self-esteem.

When a child is bullied, that bully is taking away their childhood little by little.  Victims of bullying fall behind in school because they are afraid to be there or to be noticed.  

Being a teacher, I see bullying happen every day in the schools and it needs to stop.  Yes there is education out there to teach children about the effects of bullying but it doesn't seem to be enough.  I truly believe that bullying awareness needs to exist in every classroom, every day.  Bullying awareness and prevention should be a part of the school's curriculum and there needs to be harsher consequences.

Children are innocent and they should feel safe going to school or playing on the internet.  They should be allowed to be themselves without judgment.  

This is a video that myself and two fellow classmates worked on for a Psychology assignment.  I feel like I could blog about this topic for hours.  But this short video sums it up perfectly.