Do I dare attempt the idea of the School Bully?
You know, I was bullied in elementary and junior high school. First of all I transferred from a school where my entire family had gone to a new place at the beginning of the third grade. And, the new school was laden with people were terribly religious in nature and since my parents were divorced, I was an outsider.
I’d like to think that I wasn’t bullied because of that but I heard the other kids talk, I heard the whispers, I heard it all. And, then, the worst part of it is that I would cry about it, at school, in front of everyone. So, then, the kids knew they had a hold on me and control me. It wasn’t pretty.
When I moved on to high school, I went to a high school that wasn’t with the same kids. And, it was the smartest move I had ever made. I got a fresh start basically and in a bigger community where divorce wasn’t seen as such a horrible part of one’s family life.
I was hospitalized 3 times from the fifth to eighth grade and the only diagnosis that they doctor’s could come up with was “nervous stomach”. And, that basically came down to the bully factor. My mom refused to see it and always led me to believe that if others were mistreating me, it was because of something I did. I knew then just as I do now that this wasn’t the case.
So, what do you think? Those of you who still have kid in public schools, is bullying a big deal there? How would you or do you handle it with your own children? What would you do if your kid was the Bully?
March 25th, 2009 at 11:06 am
My mom has long said that homeschooling makes a ton of sense until at least high school, where kids aren’t quiet as mean.
From the few conversations I’ve had with the kids I teach for Sunday School, bullying and general nastiness is still huge. …but that’s all part of that super important “socialization” that homeschoolers miss out on [smile].
…wait, was I beating the homeschool drum again? [laughing]
~Luke