Written and Produced by:
Kelly Davis, Jerry Fu, Alan Propp, Kendal Songer, & Christina Walecka
In the past, Character Ed has looked at the topic of bullying. Now we look at it again, but it a deeper way.
In November, a small group of Ms. Malquist’s 802 core students read The Revealers, by Doug Wilhelm. This was a book about three kids who had been bullied by their peers, and they decided to do something about it by posting their stories to their entire school over the school ‘emailing’ network.
This book shows how much of an impact a simple story or the words of one person could have on a whole group of people.
Today we will be relating the situations in the book to the situations that we have here at Hillview. YES, there is bullying at Hillview, and popularity issues, as well, just like there is at every school.
Here is a poem about a person who sort of bullies as a hobby, performed by your peers.
Different is Normal
I’m a normal kid, you know
I’m not exactly the same
But every person is different
For difference, there’s no blame
I’m not sure what I did
If anything, at all
Yet you point and laugh at me
You push me and let me fall
You do this to everyone
Just because they aren’t like you
This causes pain and sadness
Aren’t you different too?
What if you were like him?
Teased because you were small?
Or what if you looked like her,
Super skinny and very tall?
He may not be like others
He may not be too cool
But why then should you hurt him,
And tease him after school?
Perhaps she doesn’t get the grades
So what if she’s not smart?
You have no excuse to be mean
It only shows your horrid heart
Don’t forget about what we wear
Everyone has there own style
Whether it be jeans, shorts, tee-shirts, or sweaters
Again, it’s how people act towards others that’s worth while
There are many talents out there
Form art and music, to drama and sports
Back to computers, writing, science, and math
Even cooking, measuring cups and quarts
We are all very different
But its what makes us unique
It’s all right to be your self
You have what others truly seek
It does not matter, ugly or handsome
Strong or weak, short or tall, or even smart
Treat everyone with kindness
As giving kindness is a marvelous art
As written by our fore fathers:
“Endowed rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”
And, “All people are created equal,”
This is what the Declaration of Independence says
Whether or not you give others the respect
And the rights they deserve is really up to you.
But before you poke fun
Think about how it will affect the people around you.
We now ask you this: In your own words, what is a bully?
Several definitions for “bully” are:
Many people bully others so that they can seem superior, or so that they can become ‘popular’. What is the meaning of “popular”?
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, here is one definition of popularity:
‘Liked by many or most people’.
But often those who are consider ‘popular’ aren’t truly liked.
By reading The Revealers, our attention was suddenly drawn to what goes on here at Hillview.
2nd: The Revealers gives you taste of two types of bullying: physical bullying and mental bullying. We also got a chance to see those ‘popular’ kids. Who really scared they’re peers more than treated them with respect.
Today we are going to compare the experiences that some of the characters in The Revealers to what we see going on in the real world.
Throughout the story of The Revealers a lot of verbal abuse takes place.
Bethany DeMere is the most popular girl in the grade. She has an exclusive group of girls follow her around like they’re her subjects, and she expects everyone to almost bow when she passes by.
She picks on almost everyone at Parkland Middle School and she sends nasty letters to girls she doesn’t like to intimidate them.
2ndBut bullying also goes on among the boys aswell. Elliot Gekewitz is a little bit small for his age and obsessed with dinosaurs. He is different but he is still a very nice kid. But the popular boys don’t see it that way.
They push him around steel his things call him names and call him at home, insulting him in front of his parents.
4thBut eventually he gets used to being the ‘weird’ kid and when something goes missing he doesn’t even bother any more to find it, because he knows the ’popular’ boys have taken it.
Some things bullied kids experienced in the book actually relate to things that go on at Hilllview.
We all started to wonder why kids at our school thought it entertaining to bully others around them.
2nd We came up with a few reasons: (interviewed kids will say this)
The kids who bully desire attention
They want to make others feel bad to make themselves feel better
Some kids think that bullying will make them more popular around their peers
They sometimes envy a trait the kid they bully has and are jealous of them
But for whatever reason bullying, to some, is considered funny. A big joke to laugh at.
Whether you’re the bully or just a bystander, what is so funny about hurting other’s feelings?
Does it really help you feel better as a person? You’re popularity can’t truly be determined by crushing others.
So we leave you with this today. Just because others around you are laughing doesn’t really mean you should, too. If you want to become popular, become that way by treating everyone else with kindness, no matter how different they are.
Stand up for the bullied, don’t be afraid to fight for what is right.
In the end courage is all you need to accomplish anything. Bravery will get you through, you don’t need to hurt others to have other look up to you.
So next time a bad situation comes around, don’t be afraid to stand up for how you feel. You have all of the courage you need, don’t let bullying, in any way, keep you from doing what you want.
So we leave you today with these thoughts, and we all hope that those of you who don’t show respect others can learn to, day treat other how you want to be treated. Which surely isn’t the way we see some kids being treated today at Hillview.
Eventually, you will learn that its better to be kind.
Words pop up on screen:
With your homeroom class you will be filling out a private survey.
Homeroom teacher will have a list of questions to ask the students and then they will go to the side of the room that they agree with:
Have you ever been bullied? (Yes/No)
Have you ever bullied anyone? (Yes/No)
Do you think people bully one another because they want to fit in with the crowd? (Yes/No)
Do you know of any popular groups who aren’t really very nice? (Yes/No)
Situation: In PE, you’re playing soccer, and one of your friends trips over the ball and really hurts their foot. Everyone else on the team laughs at them and teases them about tripping. Do you laugh along with everyone else? (Yes/No)
Situation: During science, the people at your table group start talking about a friend of yours in a bad way. Do you tell them to stop saying negative things about your friend? (Yes/No)
