Whoever said that high school would be the best time of your life and that those would be the days that you looked fondly back on obviously was never the victim of a high school bully.
Steve would love to be able to look back and think about positive and happy memories that he shared with his friends during high school.
But for Steve, the main memories that come to his mind are ones of being tripped in the hallway, shoved from behind, chairs pulled out from underneath him as he went to sit down, and paper clips stinging him on his cheek after being carefully aimed and flicked from another student's desk.
As I write down just a few of the things Steve endured at the hands of his peers, it continues to fill me with amazement that students can get away with such unacceptable behavior.
Even if a victim reports an incident to the school principal, it isn't likely that the bully will get much more than a slap on the wrist, leaving the victim feeling alone and helpless to stop the abuse.
I am completely clueless when I try to figure out how it is that this behavior is allowed to go on in our schools.
The above incidents are just a few of the abuses that students are subjected to while attending school.
But Steve doesn't put up with it anymore.
See, Steve made the decision that he would rather stop going to school than have to put up with being humiliated everyday.
Steve happens to be a boy that I know who is a great kid and has a heart so big he would never think of hurting anyone.
Have you ever noticed that the kid that gets picked on the most is very often one of the kindest and most respectful kids at school? Why is that? What makes a nice young boy or girl the target of some cold hearted, hateful and unhappy student? I can tell you in Steve's case, it is most likely because, although he is extremely kind and respectful, he is also hyper active and finds it hard to sit still.
He likes to talk and move around and this behavior just doesn't fit in a traditional classroom.
He was marked by other students as being "different" and any kid who is considered 'different" automatically becomes fair game and a great target for those kids who feel in some way superior, or perhaps "more cool" or "more popular" than every one else.
Steve's family has talked to him and to the school(s), but sadly there was never an end to the bullying.
Steve is trying to decide what he wants to do for the upcoming school year.
He has attended only Christian schools up until now (which makes the bullying even harder to understand) and he is talking about trying out the local public high school.
If the bullies rule the Christian schools, I shudder to think what might go on in public high schools.
Will he be so badly picked on that he gives up on school all together? Or, will he be able to find someone in this much larger school who will befriend him? I seriously doubt that the harmful impact that being bullied has upon the person being bullied can completely be understood unless you have been through it yourself or you know of someone who is a victim.
Being bullied and not having some one who is willing to take a stand and help put a stop to it can, and often does, have major negative consequences.
It is impossible not to notice that there are more and more stories in the news about this very issue.
Kids are dropping out of school and even taking their own lives because they are driven by experience to believe that this is the only solution they have that will put an end to their constant humiliation and pain.
Aren't there programs specifically targeted to help with this problem that could easily become a regular part of our school's curriculum? Isn't there something that can be done before any more kids make the headlines because nobody was able to help them put a stop to being bullied? I feel helpless and I hate that feeling.
I'm not sure I hold out too much hope that things in our schools will get any better.
Does anyone know of a school where bullying simply is not tolerated? Is it possible the world is simply at a time where it is all about survival of the strongest and meanest and if you don't fit in, then you better get out of the way? I have lost so much respect for our school system that I honestly think kids would be much better off if their families would find alternative ways of educating them.
Once upon a time, not so very long ago, the teachers and faculty of our schools took very seriously the responsibility of teaching our children not only reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also manners and morals and what it meant to be a responsible, respectful young man or woman.
How I crave to see some of the old fashioned virtues being taught once again in our schools.
That used to be so important.
But, that was once upon a time, not so very long ago.