Once upon a time there was a child who was bullied, teased and talked about whenever she was going to school, was in school or was coming home from school. No one knows the exact reason. Maybe it was because she belonged to a minority religion, maybe it was because her family didn’t have a lot of money, maybe it was because she didn’t wear “the right” clothes, maybe it was because some members of her family spoke another language, maybe it was because she was too tall, too short, too smart, not smart enough…maybe, maybe, maybe…
Maybe it was because they just “could” bully. The saddest part of this story is that this child was silent through it all…she didn’t talk back and she didn’t tell a trusted adult. She kept all the hurt to herself. Just as sad was that the kids who saw and heard the bullying were also silent.
Now this child is an adult and sometimes thinks back to those days…if only I had told a trusted adult, if only I hadn’t been silent, if only the kids who were by-standers hadn’t been silent…then my life and the lives of the other kids would have been bully free, safe and fun.
This “child” in the story is ME asking anyone who is reading this to be “Silent No More” in your own life now, and to reach and teach children to do the same.
Cheryl Melody “Peace Begins with You and Me” Teaching Concerts www.cherylmelody.com