Time to End School Bullying
By Michael Boyajian
My fondest memories of childhood were of joyously finger painting in New York City kindergarten. Then mid-term my family moved to Long Island where I entered another kindergarten class as the new guy in school and my happy world came crashing down to a sad end.
As the new guy I became the target of school bullies. Through early elementary school I was frequently chased home the minute I walked out the front doors of the school, I was thrown into sticker bushes and forced to engage in Spartacus style fist fights with other bully targets. One time one bully shouted out what religion are you? I replied Apostolic. He pointed a finger at me and said he is an Atheist. I was immediately attacked by the bullies.
During all of this my teachers stood by watching without taking action. But when I became rebellious because of my treatment the teachers identified me as the problem. And there was a strange code back then that no matter how bad things got you could not tell your parents what was happening to you perhaps because the treatment would worsen. The teachers did not tell either but would not hesitate to call your father at work if you got into trouble.
This bullying ended as I got older but it left a scar on my psychic that I carry to this day. And I was not alone. There must have been millions of kids going through the same hell as there are millions more today.
The solution today is educating parents and kids about the wrongness of bullying so that it is not kept secret any longer. Teachers must identify bullying as soon as it occurs and take appropriate action against the perpetrators not the victims.
Maybe once this is done future generations will grow up to be more congenial and more willing to contribute to the good of the nation and the world. But until that is done the misery of our children and the world will languish on in geometric proportions.
End