Kat
Hi my name is Kat and I’m a freshman. Today, I want to talk about bullying in schools. I have been bullied my whole life, from kindergarten to now, and want to share what I have learned from my experiences. It is important to help support students in schools, both those who are being bullied and kids who bully.
I moved around a lot when I was younger and was often the new kid at school. During many of those moves, I was made fun of for being the new kid. From the very first day at these schools, it felt like I did not have a strong support system. I used to get a lot of mean comments from my peers during class, lunch, and other places with my friends. Even some of my teachers contributed to this by speaking down to me. Imagine being a 5-year old, having to worry about who is going to pick on you next rather than how to solve the worksheet in front of you. This consistent bullying made me not want to try in school; I didn’t want to go to school anymore. I didn’t feel supported in my school. I didn’t feel comfortable telling any of my teachers about what was happening. When I built the courage to tell one of my teachers, they brushed it off thinking that somebody just had a crush on me. I reported the bullying to my principal and one of my teachers but they didn’t do anything about it until my mom stepped in. My guidance counselors were also always busy and made it seem like we can’t talk to them. I felt alone.
From my experiences, it seems like most bullies do what they do because of outside things they have going on in their lives. On the other hand, students who are getting bullied, like me, also feel alone, like they can’t talk to anyone about it. Schools should encourage their teachers and staff to look out for signs within students. One way to do that is by building better relationships between teachers and students. Students need people in schools that they would feel comfortable talking to. This year, my math teacher is someone that I feel comfortable talking to and have been able to build a good relationship with. He is always there for his students, is very calm and reassuring, and matches his students’ energy. He also always remembers and offers me my favorite soda. All students should have access to a teacher like him, to be able to talk to if they were going through trouble so they feel like they can do well in school. Having supportive staff would also help schools stop bullying early. Encouraging staff to build relationships with all students will help identify problems that students are facing, making it easier to understand why bullying happens too.
It is also helpful to have more available guidance counselors in schools. The guidance counselors are so busy at my school that I don’t want to go to them with small things that I am worried about. The counselors sometimes tell students how busy they are or make it seem like they have no free time, which stops us from going to them. However, sometimes the small things build up that lead to bullying situations. To see a counselor, we have to go through one of two things: send them an email or have a teacher make a pass for us, to which most of the time they don’t respond. If I was able to see a guidance counselor more frequently, I might have been able to share my struggles with bullying earlier and put a stop to it. There would have been more of an opportunity to intervene earlier.
My school experience would have been better if these interventions were in place. If I had teachers and staff that I felt comfortable talking to and a guidance counselor that I didn’t feel bad reaching out to, maybe I would have felt safer in my schools. I would have liked school better. It is just as important to understand why students bully and its root causes. I do not want another student to feel alone in their schools. Better relationships with teachers and more access to guidance counselors will help with that. I hope my experience helps shed light on what we can do to stop bullying in schools. Please consider supporting the Safe and Supportive Schools Act so that all schools can appropriately stop bullying.
“Imagine being a 5-year old, having to worry about who is going to pick on you next rather than how to solve the worksheet in front of you.”—Kat
“Schools should encourage their teachers and staff to look out for signs within students.”—Kat