Bad News Bullies

Raymond L. Young's fourth through sixth graders recently attended a workshop presented by April Colley from Concern for Children in Anniston. Mrs. Deese, counselor for Young, discovered this resource for the students and arranged for the speaker to come.
Ms. Colley identified 3 characters in a bullying situation: the BULLY, the BULLIED, and the BY-STANDER. Each character plays a role and can determine the outcome of the situation.

After this informative workshop, Hillari Hallmark wrote this moving essay on bullies.
Bad News Bullies
At some point in our lives we have all probably been bullies or a bully's victim. So here are some things that we need to know about bullying.
Bullies push, shove, and hit other people. They can also call them names and they will tell others not to talk or play with you. They will take your things and maybe even your money. so we need to stop them and now is the time.

Bullies will do some of these things to try and discourage you and make you lose confidence. Sometimes they do it because they may be having trouble themselves. They may need to get it out so they are mean to others to make themselves feel better.

Bullies harm others and they also harm themselves. They are mean to others and on the inside the bullies are hurting, too. Like most of you who have a lot of friends, bullies don't have many friends because they are mean to everyone. The only people they like are other bullies. So you know what that means...they don't have a lot of fun, they don't get invited to parties, and they don't get to go to the movies or the mall. The only fun they have is terrorizing other people and most of us don't think that is very funny.

You can't always tell if the person is a bully because they may not act all big and bad, they may dress like any other student, but they don't act like them. When you get bullied, it may not be your fault. Sometimes you just get caught up in it. So just walk away, take up for yourself, or you can act like you don't care.

You need to feel strong and confident about yourself because God made us all different and unique. It is not your fault if you do get bullied. We are all special in our own way and don't let a bully tear down your confidence.

Sometimes you can't always solve a bully problem by yourself. You need someone that you know you can count on and talk to like your parents, your coach, your teacher, your principal, or your guidance counselor.
You need to help a bully if you can, even if they bullied you. You can tell them to cool down and take a deep breath when they feel the urge to bully someone. Tell them by taking a deep breath, counting to 10, and walking away that they may get the urge to be nice and get more friends.

So next time you bully someone, think again. If you are the person being bullied, remember God made us all different and that you can just walk away, take up for yourself, or you can act like you don't care.

I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT BULLY FREE YEAR!

Excellent advice from one of Young's finest! Thanks for sharing...