Of all the traits and characteristics that children possess, none is so endearing as their innocence. In spite of the inherent shyness of many, they also possess the capacity to willingly accept others. Over time, many learn to selectively accord people various levels of respect and trust. Sadly, some children also choose to make their peers a target of intimidation and abuse.
Long the scourge of the classroom and schoolyard, bullying has left many a child’s sense of security shattered. As many victims past and present can attest, being the victim of bullying can transform a school from a nurturing environment into a source of fear and unhappiness. Nor is the schoolyard the only realm where one encounters bullies. Cyberspace and the workplace also are fertile soil in which bullying and harassment can, and do, take root.
Indeed, we’re sure we are not alone when calling for an end to bullying and an increase in any effort that aims to combat the phenomena.
As some elementary students and parents learned this week at an Anti-bullying Student Conference at Sunflower Elementary School, bullying needs to be talked about more openly if is to be stopped. The first-ever conference aimed to raise students’ and parents’ awareness about the problems associated with bullying. As part of Public Schools Week, the conference invited various community members to speak with students about ways in which bullying and harassment can be stemmed.
Left unchecked, such behavior has a tendency to carry over into adulthood, where workplaces and social gatherings often offer up plenty of new targets. The anonymity offered by the Internet has also produced an ever-present and unidentifiable mass that constantly threatens to pounce with or without reason. As many victims of bullying and harassment could painfully share, a bully’s behavior often defies any rational explanation. That such perpetrators need help goes without saying, and we hope they get the help they need.
Learning healthy ways to cope with being subjected to bullying is just as important as well for victims. When dealt with properly, those subjected to such unwarranted harassment can do much to help with prevention and remedial efforts in the community.
THE ISSUE:
Schoolyard and workplace bullying.
WE SAY:
Whole community needs to work to make it stop.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
Long the scourge of the classroom and schoolyard, bullying has left many a child’s sense of security shattered. As many victims past and present can attest, being the victim of bullying can transform a school from a nurturing environment into a source of fear and unhappiness. Nor is the schoolyard the only realm where one encounters bullies. Cyberspace and the workplace also are fertile soil in which bullying and harassment can, and do, take root.
Indeed, we’re sure we are not alone when calling for an end to bullying and an increase in any effort that aims to combat the phenomena.
As some elementary students and parents learned this week at an Anti-bullying Student Conference at Sunflower Elementary School, bullying needs to be talked about more openly if is to be stopped. The first-ever conference aimed to raise students’ and parents’ awareness about the problems associated with bullying. As part of Public Schools Week, the conference invited various community members to speak with students about ways in which bullying and harassment can be stemmed.
Left unchecked, such behavior has a tendency to carry over into adulthood, where workplaces and social gatherings often offer up plenty of new targets. The anonymity offered by the Internet has also produced an ever-present and unidentifiable mass that constantly threatens to pounce with or without reason. As many victims of bullying and harassment could painfully share, a bully’s behavior often defies any rational explanation. That such perpetrators need help goes without saying, and we hope they get the help they need.
Learning healthy ways to cope with being subjected to bullying is just as important as well for victims. When dealt with properly, those subjected to such unwarranted harassment can do much to help with prevention and remedial efforts in the community.
THE ISSUE:
Schoolyard and workplace bullying.
WE SAY:
Whole community needs to work to make it stop.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Send us your thoughts on this topic to www.ivpressonline.com/letterstotheeditor
