Selasa, 04 September 2012

Power Pledge - Stop the Bullying

I recently took the "Power Pledge" to end bullying. This is near and dear to my heart and I would challenge everyone to join me in this effort to stop bullying.

My son was killed 21 years ago by being hit in the chest by another boy. He was 13 years old. This young man had been bullying my son for some time, without my knowledge and nothing being done. When he finally talked to me about it, I wanted to go to the school and handle matters! When I talked to my son about going to school on his behalf, he asked me to wait just a little bit so that he could try to handle it. He was 13 and I felt that I needed to respect his request. A few days later he was dead. My son was sitting in his classroom at school, by his teacher, when this incident happened. It was fast, and my son was hit in the just the right spot to stop the impulses that go from your heart to your brain. He was on life support until we had to make the decision to take him off of the life support and let him go home to God. Not addressing this matter myself has been one of my biggest regrets for the past 21 years.

This happened over 20 years ago, and "bullying" was not known or talked about during that time. I am so happy that it is finally being addressed. There are so many types of bullying - physical, verbal, written. Even the internet has become a powerful tool for those who want to bully someone. If you are a little different and someone doesn't like it, they feel they have free reign to say or do whatever they want. This just isn't right. Even more, I believe that most parents aren't aware, don't care, or believe it is the school's responsibility to handle the issue. That is not the case. If I had found out my children were treating someone like that, they would have been punished accordingly. The school would not have to suspend them - they wouldn't be able to sit down to go to school.

What has happened to the world today? Because of child abuse, parents are not able to discipline their children. Please don't misunderstand, I do not believe that hitting is the only way, but I am also not saying that an occasional pop to the bottom should be considered abuse.

What happened to "treat those around you the way you want to be treated"? I feel it is important for families to communicate with each other. I know that the world has changed significantly in the last 20 years, as have family dynamics, but I still believe that good old fashion values are still acceptable. I believe that it is important for families to have "family time" - be it sharing your day over a meal, prayer time, or reading a book when they go to bed. Our children need to know that they are loved and respected. They have to feel safe coming to their parents to talk. If they can't talk to their parents, who can they talk to? It is not the school's responsibility. It is not the teacher's responsibility. It is not the baby sitter's responsibility. It is the parent's responsibility.

My challenge to you is to love your children, talk to your children, value your children. Please join me to put an end to bullying.

Jody L. Pike invites you to visit the Sear's website to review the material and join her in the pledge to stop bullying by visiting the following link: http://www.sears.com/anti-bullying-campaigns/dap-120000000244933

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