By Benjamin Norton, Age 10
Hi, my name is Benjamin and I just finished the fourth grade. This year has been very rough for me due to a bully in my class.  Tyler (not his actual name) made things miserable for me. He would tease me on a daily basis, calling me “stupid” and told me that I sounded “weird” when I talked.  At one point, he announced, “Oh no, I have to go to a party with Ben!” in front of other classmates. It got to the point where I wanted to do anything to get out of going to school, including getting hurt so that I could miss class.
One of the problems is that I didn’t tell anyone about Tyler until the end of the school year.  Eventually, things got worse and I told my Mom and she got the principal involved. I realized that I should have told an adult about Tyler much sooner.
Another issue is that bullying is not addressed much at my school. Â This past year, bullying has only been mentioned once and that was when cyber-bullying was discussed in my technology class.
I have thought a lot about bullying and I came up with some “rules” that I think will help other kids:
Stand up for yourself. It is ok to verbally defend yourself if you feel comfortable doing so.
Tell someone. Tell a trusted adult about what is going on.
OK to walk away. If someone is giving you a hard time, it is also OK to just walk away.
Peaceful.If you stand up for yourself (or others), do it calmly and peacefully.
Overall, I am looking forward to the 5th grade.  I feel more prepared to deal with issues in the future if they occur.  I hope that my experience and set of “rules” can help others deal with their bullies.
