Bullying

Did you know that 1 out of 4 kids are bullied? That means a quarter of your highschool may have been bullied sometime in their academic career.

The problem with bullying is that it is not always noticeable, unless a person is willing to look close and see what is really happening. A friend may not tell you that she is bullied, or that people are saying terrible things to her face or behind her back, because the comments make her feel low. Sometimes bullying can even lead to violence and abuse. Out of the students that are abused, 77% are bullied mentally, verbally, & physically, and 14% experienced terrible reactions to their experiences.

Most people in this world don't notice the terrible things that can be said from one students to another, and maybe that is our problem. We don't have the courage to step in and interfere, or to protect the one that we love. Perhaps we are afraid that we will get bullied ourselves.

And maybe another problem with the world today is that adults are not helping. Parents are not coming together to get rid of the constant bullying that goes on in the halls of school. And teachers are afraid to say anything to the school administration. Schools are not even giving strict enough punishments. A student might be suspended for a couple of weeks, but then he or she may come back, and the bullying ensues again.

Students have already taken their own lives to avoid this type of treatment. It may be a drastic measure for something like this, but that doesn't mean that we can't fight for them and let those students know that we will be there for them. They don't have to take their own lives to know that we care.

What needs to happen is that schools need to do more to keep their students safe. Bullying usually happens in school grounds, because that is where a child or teenagers spends most of his/her time during the day. If there is a protection here, a child can stay pretty safe. Where do kids spend the rest of their time, though? Maybe on the computer. Cyber bullying has also been an issue, so it may be best to protect kids online as well. Facebook, MySpace, Formspring, and any other online website tries to stay as safe as possible, but maybe that's not enough. More sites need to be blocked, or more safety precautions should be taken.

I'm not saying that the world would be perfect without bullying, but it would be safer. There wouldn't be so much violence and so many hate crimes for everybody to worry about. Children wouldn't be afraid to go to school like some are nowadays. They stay home to avoid the harassment that they receive. Some even miss a day of school almost every week, and this cuts down on their learning experience. Think of how much they miss. But what if this could be avoided? Think about all of those kids that took their lives so that it would all be easier.

One voice out of millions can make a difference, especially to somebody who has or is bullied. If you would take the time to write a letter to the government about schools not taking the time to address this issue properly, I'm sure that they will listen. Especially if every single person in this room does the same. A sea of voices is no doubt going to catch the attention of who matters.

But remember to speak, because silence is what got us here.